Pasir Ris is so ulu. Are you sure you want to stay so far east?
That's a common exclamation from one who does not know Pasir ris well enough. I would not blame anyone for thinking like this because I had similar thoughts years ago.
However, when Pasir Ris 8 condo was launched with great fanfare, I took a long hard look at its attributes, and I totally changed my mind!
Five BIG reasons why Pasir Ris 8 is a hidden gem
1. Super convenient
Pasir ris 8 is an integrated condo development with 2 MRT lines, a bus interchange and two shopping malls all within a 5 mins walk.
At the time of writing, there are less than 20 integrated developments in Singapore. Only a few of them have 2 or more MRT lines plus a bus interchange with many transport options (many have only one MRT line).
The selling point of such integrated condos is the convenience where residents can get to our transport stations quickly in minutes, or visit shops to buy daily necessities all within shelter from the rain and sun.
The 2 MRTs lines give residents great accessibility to many destinations. The East west line brings you downtown or far west; The cross island line brings you northwards and across the island with connections to many other MRT lines. Not to mention should one train line break down, you will have alternative train lines to get you home.
The 2 shopping malls - Pasir Ris Mall (below the condo) and White sands mall (just beside) together, offer over 500,000 square feet of retail space, over 300 shops, eateries, amenities within an elevator ride or 5 mins walk.
Not all integrated condo developments are equal! Pasir Ris 8 is a super convenient place to live.
2. Lower density housing in a town centre - almost unheard of?
One of the worries of living near a town centre, malls and transport hub is the crowds and noise.
What about noise? I am pleasantly surprised that noise is not an issue for me. My unit is on the inner side (nearer to the pool and train line). I cannot really hear the trains. Perhaps because the train station is located below the condo level (around level 2). The condo units only start from level 4 upwards, so noises below are not so obvious. I suspect units closer to the road side, may get some road noise. If you are keen on buying a unit, best go walk around and listen for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised.
What about crowds? Pasir ris has a relatively smaller population compared to other towns. Building heights here are limited to 10-13 floors due to its proximity to the airport. There are many other towns with residential flats over 30-40 storeys high, meaning we get 3-4x lesser number of people living in the same land area. No doubt, Pasir ris town centre can still be busy during weekends, but if you compare to visiting Tampines or Bedok central, you can feel the definite difference!
Unit Density comparison.
This is a rough calculation (not exact science) to gauge density of housing. Unit Density = Total Land area / Number of units. A higher number means more breathing space for each unit residents.
I have compared Pasir ris 8 against four other integrated developments below.
Let me try to explain the math. Pasir ris 8 unit density score of 838 means: each unit in the condo enjoys about 838 square feet of common area space vs Parktown where each unit enjoys only 457 sqft of common area space.
Pasir ris 8 appears to have an amazingly low housing density! Space is a luxury!
3. Access to Nature & amenities
Access to nature is a blessing! I enjoy strolling, jogging, cycling in Pasir ris park with my family. Pasir ris park covers an area of 700,000 square meters, over 3 km long! (Wikipedia)
Pasir ris 8 residents can walk across a bridge (still under construction) on level 2 which will bring you to Pasir ris park and beach within 10 mins. You can also cycle to Coney island, Punggol waterway or to Changi beach easily.
Image from HDB showing the central greenway bridge connecting pasir ris mall to the park.
Not many condos can boast of close access to a large park and the sea. Many will say homes along our East coast park enjoy similar benefit but their prices are a lot higher and they face a busy highway with noise and dust pollution.
Other amenities I love in the area, less than 10mins walk:
- 2 storey hawker centre
- Sports centre with 2 tennis courts, badminton courts, basketball, futsal court, sports classes
- National Library at White sands mall next door
- Pasir ris town park with a large fishing pond (a lesser known park)
4. New condo with spacious rooms & interior
Over the years, newer condos tend to shrink in size due to higher development costs. But Pasir ris 8 bucks the trend in good ways. Two major plus points to share:
(a) Good internal unit sizes: The Pasir ris 8 developer designed great internal spaces with good size rooms unlike many new condos these days with increasing small rooms. The 3 and 4 bedder units have very spacious master rooms with walk in wardrobes (20 m2 vs 11-14 m2 in others). NO bay windows, planters, super-high ceilings which you have to pay for in other condos.
Of course, one downside is that the air-con ledge is still part of the payable area (this project is pre-harmonisation), but even factoring in the aircon ledge space, the overall prices here are still significantly lower than newer post-harmonised developments in the East (eg. Parktown).
(b) Re-configurable internal layout: Pasir ris 8 does not use PPVC or prefabricated construction, meaning many walls are hackable and internal layout can be flexibly reconfigured if needed. If you want to combine 2 rooms into one big spacious room, no problem! This is unlike PPVC or prefab condo units where walls are structural, cannot be hacked and spaces cannot be reconfigured at all.
5. Great Developer team
The developer Allgreen had put in a lot of effort to win the public land tender for Pasir ris 8. They had to spend significant time, resources to develop their proposal which were thoroughly evaluated by public authorities before given the award to build. The public authorities used a "dual envelope" evaluation system which consists of 2 rounds of evaluation.
The main contractor or builder is Woh Hup, one of the oldest and largest construction company in Singapore. I have great admiration for their management and the quality of their projects. They won our BCA (Building & Construction Authority) quality awards every year for many of their projects. In short, build quality should be better than average, if not excellent.
To summarise, Pasir ris 8 has truly amazing qualities for the price we pay. I didn't manage to snag a unit during its crazy launch, but only bought later (subsale) at a higher price. But it was still worth it. Do you agree it's a gem?
中文版
巴西立8：新加坡东部的隐藏瑰宝——五大理由
很多人误以为巴西立偏远且不方便，其实这是一个误解。随着巴西立8的推出，这个东部社区正逐渐走到聚光灯下——原因如下：
1. 超便利的生活方式
想象一下，家门口步行五分钟内，就有两条地铁线、巴士转换站，以及两座大型购物商场。巴西立8是新加坡少有的综合发展项目之一，将便捷的交通网络与超过300家商铺和餐饮选择无缝结合。不论晴天雨天，日常所需可轻易满足。
2. 人口密度更低的市中心
尽管位置优越，巴西立的人口密度却比附近的淡滨尼、勿洛要低。这里的建筑普遍限制在10至13层之间，相比那些超过20层的高密度住宅区，居民拥有更多的生活空间。这意味着更少的拥挤与更高的宁静感——即使在周末也如此。
3. 自然就在家门口
巴西立公园占地超过70万平方米，绵延三公里，非常适合慢跑、骑行或家庭野餐。不久后，一座新桥将直接把巴西立8与公园及海滩相连——步行只需约十分钟。附近还有小贩中心、体育综合设施、国家图书馆，甚至钓鱼池。
4. 宽敞灵活的户型设计
在公寓面积日益缩小的趋势下，巴西立8反其道而行。三房和四房单位的主卧空间宽敞，户型布局也可灵活调整以适应不同的生活方式。没有尴尬的飘窗或浪费空间，只有实用又宜居的设计。
5. 顶尖开发商打造
由建筑巨头和合建筑集团（Woh Hup）支持的宏利地产（Allgreen）负责开发，确保高品质建造和周到规划。他们的项目多次获得建设局（BCA）奖项，为业主带来高质量的居所保障。
总的来说，巴西立8号不仅仅是一座公寓——它融合了便利、舒适、自然与品质，而且价格极具吸引力。你怎么看？这会不会是东部最值得期待的秘密？
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