Today, we’re going to tour Clementi Crescent, a very private estate in D21, opposite Sunset Way.
Now some of you may be scoffing at the fact that I called a landed enclave in D21 "the most exclusive landed estate". However, have look at this map and you’ll see what I mean.
PHOTO: Stackedhomes
As you can see, Clementi Crescent is a tiny collection of properties situated all by itself, in the midst of verdant greenery.
Though it is located opposite the Sunset Way estate, there are no other residential properties on its side of the road for quite a good distance. (The closest would be the King Albert Park GCB estate to the right, and the Pine Grove apartments after Ulu Pandan Road.)
And whilst the houses and address here may not be the most premium (one usually thinks of Nassim or Holland when one says exclusive), I would say that privacy earns it the title exclusive.
(If you want to see exactly how private the houses are, have a look at this detached unit as well as the views from a semi-D there.)
PHOTO: Stackedhomes
Of course, like everything else in Singapore, good things don’t last forever. All the green space around Clementi Crescent is zoned "Subject to Detailed Planning" so one day this little estate may be surrounded by hundreds of other houses.
But for now, it enjoys its exclusivity. (I couldn’t take a photo of the surrounding green area, as there’s a sign prohibiting photography.)
Anyway, now that we’ve covered why I think the area is exclusive, let’s go on to have a look at the houses!
This is what you see when walking to Clementi Crescent from Sunset Way (the closest amenities to the landed houses). That’s the entrance to the estate in front, where the overhead bridge stands. As you can see, there are some HDB blocks (you can find executive maisonettes there) opposite, but they’re separated by very broad roads.
PHOTO: StackedhomesHere’s what you see when you walk into the estate. (Behind the row of houses on the right is empty green land, so the houses have a terrific unblocked view.)
PHOTO: StackedhomesStanding at the estate entrance and looking across, so you can see exactly how far away the HDB blocks are.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThis landed estate is so small, you can see almost to the end of the row of houses from the entrance!
PHOTO: StackedhomesHere are what some of the houses look like. It’s a mixed three-storey estate so there’s room for many houses to build upwards.
PHOTO: StackedhomesAs shown, the houses here have quite large car porches, so no lack of space to park. (The roads were quite uncluttered, so it wasn’t difficult to find a place to park.)
PHOTO: StackedhomesEven the terrace houses here are a very good size, with many over 2,400 sq ft and some even over 3,300 sq ft!
PHOTO: StackedhomesAs you walk in, the land slopes upwards slightly.
PHOTO: Stackedhomes
One thing I have to mention is that the houses closer to the main road can hear some road noise. (Clementi Road is a very busy road, especially during the SIM and Ngee Ann Poly start and end sessions.
However, that may be ameliorated when Maju MRT is completed, although that won’t be for a good while.)
Many of the houses here are still in old-school style, with room to maximise the plot ratio.
PHOTO: StackedhomesHalfway up, we see this alley to the left, in between two rows of houses.
PHOTO: Stackedhomes
Let’s see where it leads.
I passed the back doors of some properties along the way. I confess to sneaking a peek into their backyards and couldn’t believe how private and tranquil everything felt, despite them being terrace properties.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThe path soon widens into an open space.
PHOTO: StackedhomesOh wow, that’s a HUGE playground, especially given that there are fewer than 100 properties here! (So basically, not only are the houses not surrounded by other properties, but even the rows of houses within the estate are very far apart from each other.)
PHOTO: StackedhomesHere’s a close-up of the Master plan so you can see the situation for yourself. Basically, lots of single-row properties here.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThe Clementi Crescent Playground doesn’t have any rides that are out of the ordinary but it is extraordinarily large, especially when you consider the small number of properties here.
PHOTO: StackedhomesIt’s surrounded by houses on three sides, and the main road on the fourth. There’s also an entrance from the main road directly into the playground, making that three ways for residents to walk home. (There are two vehicular entrances/exits.)
PHOTO: Stackedhomes
Now that we’ve seen what was hidden at the end of the alley, let’s go back out and walk to the end of the road.
See how the houses are surrounded by only greenery? Amazing for Singapore.
PHOTO: Stackedhomes
One thing I would be worried about, being so close to green space, is wildlife.
I didn’t see any during my walkabout but I know the King Albert Park estate, just a little down the road, used to regularly get monkeys and snakes — and it’s not even as close to the forest as Clementi Crescent!
That’s the end of the row of houses: Trees, trees, and more trees.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThis is what lies behind the row of houses.
PHOTO: StackedhomesTurning around towards the main road, this is what I see. As shown, the row of houses is not very long at all.
PHOTO: StackedhomesLet’s head down this road (if you can imagine, the houses form an "n" shape, and we’re going down the top of the "n" now).
PHOTO: StackedhomesThat’s what the street looks like: At the end is the detached house that was featured in the YouTube video I linked to earlier.
PHOTO: StackedhomesSome of the houses here have been around for a while.
PHOTO: StackedhomesWhilst others have been rebuilt quite recently.
PHOTO: StackedhomesI also saw a few houses undergoing construction.
PHOTO: StackedhomesLook at how open the area is: You can see all the way to the other side of Clementi Road without obstruction.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThere’s also a side path here that leads to the main road.
PHOTO: StackedhomesClose-up of the house from the YouTube video: Most likely the grandest house in this estate. (I remember the asking price was pretty high.)
PHOTO: StackedhomesAnd now for the third and last street in the estate.
PHOTO: StackedhomesAs you can see, there’s a second exit and entrance for cars here, making it unlikely you’ll ever have to queue when turning in or out of the estate. I find it VERY generous given the small number of properties here.
PHOTO: StackedhomesA few houses I passed along the way — not sure if everyone was out, but many houses didn’t have cars parked in them. (At the moment, there isn’t an MRT within walking distance, so it seems unlikely that residents wouldn’t drive. Having said that, buses from the bus stop outside feed directly to Clementi MRT.)
PHOTO: StackedhomesThe terrace houses are so big you can even park several cars.
PHOTO: StackedhomesI like how you can see nothing but green when looking in between the houses.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThat brings us back to the main road. If we look to the right, there’s not much there (in terms of amenities within walking distance). There are florist shops, SIM and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. But the closest shops would be KAP Residences and Bukit Timah Plaza, which is over 30 minutes away on foot.
PHOTO: StackedhomesI’ll walk down a bit to show you.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThat’s Corona Florist behind the tree — it’s the closest shop to the right of the Clementi Crescent Houses, although I don’t imagine it being a very useful amenity. (Not much call to go to the garden centre every day, even if you’re a keen gardener.)
PHOTO: StackedhomesWalking back to Clementi Crescent — this is what I see. Now do you get why I say the houses here are super private and exclusive?
PHOTO: StackedhomesI would LOVE a house with a backyard like this.
PHOTO: StackedhomesNow let’s walk to the left of Clementi Crescent, towards Sunset Way, where a small hawker centre and some shops can be found. That would be where residents would find most of their daily necessities within walking distance.
PHOTO: StackedhomesAlong the way, we pass the pavement into the Clementi Crescent playground that I had mentioned earlier.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThis is what you see: the hedge helps to make it more private. You need to walk in to see it.
PHOTO: StackedhomesAnd, as you can see, a good number of buses stop here so it’s not too inaccessible, despite the lack of MRT access (until Maju MRT is completed, that is).
PHOTO: StackedhomesPHOTO: StackedhomesPHOTO: StackedhomesIt’s quite an easy walk to Sunset Way. You can see it from the entrance to Clementi Crescent — it’s located at the HDB block behind the green sign.
PHOTO: StackedhomesThis is about the whole of the hawker centre — as you can see it’s really tiny. (Or perhaps Kopitiam would be more appropriate?)
PHOTO: StackedhomesThere are more "atas" cafes here than hawker stalls.
PHOTO: StackedhomesA few old-school bakeries.
PHOTO: StackedhomesSmall supermarket/large convenience shop.
PHOTO: Stackedhomes
As you can see, you find a little of everything here.
