KOP’s maverick duo launches Ritz-Carlton Residences super penthouse at $5,999 psf

Seventeen years after its initial launch, property developer KOP Properties has finally released the super penthouse at The Ritz-Carlton Residences for sale. The triplex penthouse is its most exclusive apartment in the 56-unit, freehold luxury residential tower along Cairnhill Road in prime District 9. The super penthouse is a 6,501 sq ft triplex spanning the 35th, 36th and roof levels. On the 36th level is the main living room, dining room and an enclosed patio with a lap pool. The 35th level contains the family room and four bedrooms, including the master suite and junior master suite. The rooftop level is designed as an entertainment deck with a conservatory-style sitting room, a jewel-box dining pavilion and an enclosed barbeque area. There are also two fully-fitted kitchens with top-end appliances — a larger one on the 36th floor and a smaller one on the 35th level. Read also: Six-bedroom duplex penthouse at Dalvey Haus sold for just under $40 mil Advertisement Advertisement “The 35th level is designed as the private family quarters, so you can separate your guests from your family area when entertaining at home,” says Leny Suparman, group CEO of KOP, a Singapore-listed property group involved in property development and hospitality. She adds that the 36th and 37th floors are ideal for entertaining at home. The penthouse boasts unblocked 270-degree city views. It has a price tag of $39 million or $5,999 psf. If achieved, it would set a new record for The Ritz-Carlton Residences.

One of the highest prices

The highest price psf achieved at The Ritz-Carlton Residences was $5,397 psf when two adjacent 3,057 sq ft four-bedroom units on the 33rd floor were sold for $16.5 million each, according to caveats lodged on Jan 9. A Chinese couple turned Singapore permanent residents (PRs) purchased both units. According to a property title search, one of the units that the couple purchased was previously owned by Ong Chih Ching, executive chairman of KOP. Ong had purchased the unit when the project was first launched in late 2007. She had also been one of the first residents at The Ritz-Carlton Residences when it was completed in 2011. Suparman was also one of the early buyers at The Ritz-Carlton Residences and was among its first residents. She continues to hold her unit and has leased it out. “It was the first Ritz-Carlton Residences outside North America,” Suparman relates. Besides the luxury finishes and materials used in the development, the services provided by The Ritz-Carlton Residences include a 24-hour concierge, valet, and housekeeping. “You can feel the luxury hotel ambience the moment you step into the lobby,” says Suparman. “That’s why, even 13 years after its completion, it still commands some of the highest prices in Singapore.” Read also: KOP launches 9,600 sq ft duplex penthouse at Dalvey Haus for sale at $42 mil Advertisement Advertisement

First residential tower with sky garage in Asia

Besides The Ritz-Carlton Residences, KOP also developed Reignwood Hamilton Scotts (formerly The Hamilton Scotts) on Scotts Road. The 58-unit, 30-storey residential tower was the first in Asia with an ensuite sky garage for every apartment. The freehold Reignwood Hamilton Scotts is just down the road from Ritz-Carlton Residences. All the units in the development are three-bedroom apartments of 2,756 sq ft. Launched in August 2008, units were sold at prices from $3,000 psf. The project was completed in 2012. In April 2013, Reignwood Holding, controlled by Thai-Chinese businessman Yan Bin, acquired the remaining units at Hamilton Scotts via a share purchase of Sardinia Properties, an indirect subsidiary of KOP Properties. Hence, the project name was changed to Reignwood Hamilton Scotts. The latest transaction was for a unit on the second level that fetched $8.5 million ($3,085 psf), based on a caveat lodged in February 2023. Co-founded by Ong and Suparman in 2006, KOP was listed on Catalist of the Singapore Exchange on May 15, 2014, through a reverse takeover of Scorpio East Holdings. “At that time, the stock market was very good for IPOs, so we wanted to tap it,” says Ong. She wanted to raise funds because KOP was about to undertake its most ambitious project then: Wintastar Shanghai, an integrated resort with the world’s largest indoor ski and snow park. The joint venture partners in Wintastar Shanghai were Shanghai Lujiazui Development (Group) Company, KOP subsidiary Wintastar Holdings and Shanghai Harbour City Development (Group) Co. The three partners set up a joint venture company, Shanghai Snow Star Properties Co., to develop the Wintastar Shanghai project with 40:30:30 ownership stakes. KOP invested RMB300 million capital towards its 30% stake in the joint venture. Read also: Chinese couple buys two adjacent units at The Ritz-Carlton Residences for record $5,397 psf Advertisement Advertisement

World’s largest indoor ski arena

The project broke ground in August 2018 and was initially slated to open in 2022. The Wintastar Shanghai concept was KOP’s brainchild, says Ong. In addition to a 90,000 sqm alpine-themed indoor ski and snow park, there were also over 25 snow play attractions and apres-ski activities such as retail, F&B, a spa and a Nordic-themed water park. “It was a holistic concept because the greatest part about skiing is actually the apres-ski - the social activity after the skiing,” says Ong. “That’s why there is also a water park, and the first such rooftop water park in Asia, with an infinity pool and bar that allows guests to soak in the pool while sipping a drink and enjoying the view overlooking the entire resort.” KOP was also going to be the operator of the Wintastar resort. It had tied up with Ski Dubai operator Majid Al Futtaim to operate the ski and snow park and worked with ski federations to bring in ski competitions. There were plans for four new hotels with a total of 1,000 rooms to be operated by KOP’s hospitality arm under the Montigo Resorts brand. Back then, KOP had two Montigo resorts in Indonesia — one in Batam and the other in Bali. Sometime in 2020, however, disagreements arose among the joint venture partners, prompting the case to be taken to the Shanghai International Arbitration Centre. On Nov 29, 2021, the arbitration centre ruled that the framework and investment agreements had been terminated as of Dec 20, 2020, and that the other parties would acquire KOP’s 30% stake in the joint venture company at fair market value. On Dec 14, 2022, KOP received RMB158.4 million from the arbitration case in addition to the RMB235.2 million received a month earlier. After deducting expenses, KOP’s total proceeds from the case was RM392.2 million. With the final payment, KOP had completely exited the Wintastar Shanghai resort project by end-2022. When the resort opened early last month, it was named L+ Snow Indoor Skiing Theme Resort and set a Guinness World Record as the largest indoor ski arena in the world. It’s located in the Lin-gang Special Area, about 90 minutes outside Shanghai. The new L+Snow is even larger at 350,000 sqm gross floor area instead of the original 227,000 sqm. The 90,000 sqm Snow World has four ski slopes of varying difficulty levels, including a 340m-long advanced slope with a gradient of 26 degrees. There is also a ski slope for beginners with coaching courses and a teaching trail. The resort includes dining, accommodation, entertainment, shopping and leisure activities. The total cost was estimated to be RMB7 billion.

‘Everybody thought we were crazy’

Ong and Suparman were invited to the grand opening of L+Snow, where they were honoured as special guests. “They gave us the red carpet treatment and hosted us for dinner,” relates Suparman. Despite how the relationship ended, KOP’s contribution to the project was acknowledged by the former business partners at the event. “It was an endorsement,” says Ong. “I’m very happy with how it turned out; it’s very close to what I envisioned.” She sees the completion of L+Snow resort as “a calling card” to take on more entertainment projects. However, KOP’s role will now be that of an advisor or consultant rather than an investor. “We still have many entertainment projects for which we have conducted R&D [research and development] but have yet to implement,” she says. An example is Ong’s interpretation of ‘Noah’s Ark’ as a completely sustainable, standalone, off-grid project. “Unlike other developers, we do our own R&D, develop a concept first, then look for suitable places and the opportunity to implement it.” For Suparman, the completion of the L+Snow resort is a form of vindication for the duo. “When we first started, with every project we announced, everyone thought we were crazy — especially when we announced Wintastar,” she says. “L+Snow represents the fulfillment of all our dreams,” she continues. “When we announced the Ritz-Carlton Residences, we said it would be the most luxurious; Reignwood Hamilton Scotts would feature a sky garage for every unit; and then we opened the first Montigo Resorts in Batam, a location no one would have considered.”

Expanding Montigo Resorts

Built on a 12ha site in Nongsa, on the northern east coast of Batam, Montigo Resorts has a 1km stretch of the seafront. Soft opened in 2012, it has 146 one- to five-bedroom villas and suites for sale or short-term stay, each with a dipping pool and expansive view of the South China Sea. In 2015, KOP took over Semara Resort & Spa in Seminyak, Bali, and transformed it into the Montigo Resorts, Seminyak, with 108 rooms and suites. Last year, KOP expanded Montigo Resorts to the UK, where it purchased Charlton House Hotel & Spa in Somerset Mendips for GBP3.1 million in February 2023. A Grade II listed, 28-room English country house, the property was refurbished and rebranded Montigo Resorts, Somerset. In June 2023, KOP purchased the 105-key Burns Hotel in London for nearly GBP35 million. Situated in Barkston Gardens, in Earls Court, west London, the property comprises five interconnected Georgian townhouses, a reception room, a bar, a restaurant, and a private garden. The hotel has been refurbished as a luxury boutique establishment and renamed Ellen Kensington in honour of the renowned English actress Ellen Terry, who lived in the building during the 1920s. The hotel is managed by Montigo Resorts, KOP’s hospitality arm, and reopened in the middle of this year. KOP wants to expand Montigo Resorts’ footprint to other markets within the next 10 years.

Commercial play

Ong believes the Singapore property market will be “interesting” next year, especially the commercial sector. In 2007, KOP, together with partners Hwa Hong Corp and Dubai Investment Group, had bid for and won the first transitional office site on Scotts Road, with a lease of just 15 years. The KOP-led venture built the four-storey, 150,000 sq ft office building on Scotts Road for $75 million. The entire building was leased to insurance company Prudential for 14 years at a rental rate of $6.50 psf or $975,000 monthly. “We made back our capital in the first three- to four years,” recounts Ong. Due to Covid, the government had also extended the lease on the site by another two years, to end 2024. In 2014, KOP was part of a consortium with Lian Beng Group (32%), KSH Holdings (28%) and Centurion Corp (15%), which acquired 92.8% of the strata area in Prudential Tower on Cecil Street for $512 million. The purchase price was $2,136 psf based on the net lettable area of 221,080 sq ft. The consortium sold all the strata units at Prudential Tower by 2019. Based on caveats lodged, the last transaction at Prudential Tower was for a 5,715 sq ft unit that fetched $26.5 million ($4,636 psf) on Aug 15 — an all-time high psf price for the 99-year leasehold office block with 71 years left on its lease. Earlier this month, a 5,015 sq ft office unit at Prudential Tower was put up for sale at an asking price of $16 million or $3,190 psf by marketing agent Savills Singapore.

Freehold residential

When it comes to residential projects, KOP prefers to be in the prime districts and buy freehold sites. In Singapore, KOP’s latest residential project is Dalvey Haus, a 17-unit luxury condo completed last year. It is a redevelopment of the former Villa D’Este, a block of 12 apartments on a 55,000 sq ft freehold corner plot on Dalvey Road. KOP and Low Keng Huat jointly purchased Villa D’Este en bloc in May 2018 for $93 million. The biggest penthouse at Dalvey Haus — a 9,600 sq ft duplex — was sold in May this year at a price of just under $40 million. The buyer is believed to be a US citizen. To date, Dalvey Haus is fully sold. The boutique development was one of 44 residential projects granted an extension on the additional buyer’s stamp duty deadline. “We managed to sell all the units during this period and we are grateful for the extension,” says Ong. KOP and Low Keng Huat had initially planned Dalvey Haus as a boutique 27-unit luxury development. However, KOP redesigned the project by merging smaller units into larger ones, resulting in just 17 units. “We have always been the mavericks,” says Ong. “In time, it paid off, but we went through a period when people thought we were crazy.”