http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...dents-20141026
Big welcome for d'Leedon residents
Developer, partners throw lavish party to celebrate completion of Farrer Road project
Published on Oct 26, 2014 12:55 AM
By Rennie Whang
The party started at 4pm. With it came a carnival, buskers, magic shows and balloon sculpting for the children.
Food was also a highlight, not just a delicious buffet spread, but food catered from 10 famous hawkers in the area.
The highlight came at 7.30pm: A performance of a piece specially composed for the occasion by American musician William Close on the "Earth Harp", the world's longest playable string instrument.
And before the guests went home, they were treated to a 10-minute firework and laser show.
All this was quite a show put on for an audience of 4,000 guests - families, couples and singles - who are going to live at the 1,715-unit d'Leedon condominium along Farrer Road. The hosts? Property developer CapitaLand and its joint venture partners, who held the party to mark the completion of the project.
CapitaLand chief executive officer Lim Ming Yan said: "We are pleased to have the opportunity to interact with the residents of d'Leedon and their families at one of the biggest completion parties in Singapore."
CapitaLand also did not forget those living in the area, who would have to bear the noise from the fireworks. It gave advance notice to the project's neighbours, providing a pair of ear plugs to each household: 10,000 pairs were given away in all.
The 840,049 sq ft, 99-year leasehold project is set to be a landmark in the area, given its height and scale. It comprises seven 36-storey towers of 1,703 apartments and 12 semi-detached houses.
Many units have unobstructed views of Singapore's skyline, as well as the Botanic Gardens and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
The project also boasts a brand- name architect, Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Zaha Hadid, who will also be designing the futuristic Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar for the 2022 football World Cup.
As at end September, 1,461 units at d'Leedon, or about 85 per cent, have been sold at a price range of $1,400 to $1,850 per sq ft.
Units sold included one-bedroom units with study, as well as two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, ranging from 592 sq ft to 1,938 sq ft. Unsold units were mostly four-bedroom apartments.
About 65 per cent of the buyers were Singaporeans.
D'Leedon obtained its temporary occupation permit (TOP) last Tuesday, and residents are expected to start moving in soon.
CapitaLand said it also held a large-scale event to celebrate the completion of 1,040-unit The Interlace in September last year. The Interlace is one of the largest private residential projects here, taking up an 8ha site.
Other developers, including City Developments Limited and Far East Organization, said they hold such parties for their residential projects as well, though not on such a large scale.
Residents were enthralled by Mr Close's new piece titled Mini Symphony For The Earth Harp.
Strings stretched from the top of the clubhouse roof to the 36th storey of another tower, creating the longest playable stringed musical instrument ever set up and played in the world. The length of one of the 16 strings - 291.71m - was certified by A*Star's National Metrology Centre, the custodian of the national measurement standards in Singapore.
"It is a great initiative by CapitaLand to invite the owners to come. We had chosen to buy d'Leedon because of its proximity to schools and the reasonable pricing," said 32-year-old Ms Zhao Qian, who attended the party with her husband, parents and two-year-old son.
Mr Aaron Ching, 21, is looking forward to living at d'Leedon because of its location and range of facilities such as an aqua gym.
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