Pandan Valley Condominium has come a long way since the late 1970s.

It was built at a time when the majority of Singaporeans were choosing between HDB flats or landed property.

Condominiums were still an unfamiliar concept then.

This made the project the first of its kind.

First of its kind

Built in 1977, Pandan Valley Condominium was of a scale like none other.

The sprawling project featured seven blocks of varying designs, totalling 605 residential units.

On top of that, it also boasts a wide range of facilities including shops, education centres and landscaped gardens.

Diversifying housing in Singapore

Pandan Valley Condominium was developed by DBS Realty, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS.

At that time, the project was a substantial gamble given the poor property market conditions, scale of the project, and rising costs.

There were also doubts over whether Singaporeans would accept the condominium concept.

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In the 1970s, there were two main types of property in Singapore: Landed property and HDB flats.

This created two distinct types of housing catering to higher and lower income groups.

HDB flats, at that time, weren't as appealing to the population, because they came in small point blocks without communal spaces.

And this was where condominiums plugged a gap by offering community spaces within a private housing project, at prices comparable to public housing at that time.

Targeted at middle-income families, a unit at Pandan Valley Condominium ranged between S$80,000 to S$280,000 for a penthouse back then.

The challenge was to entice landed-property customers to high-rise living, by offering more than what a terrace house can provide.

Risk paid off

Despite all the challenges faced, the risk eventually paid off.

And by 1979, the condominium was almost fully occupied.

Today, the condominium has become an architectural icon.

It was also recently in the news for eyeing a record breaking S$2.6 billion in collective en-bloc sale.

Watch our video on Pandan Valley Condominium here:

Top photo composite image: Screenshot from Mothership video, and DBS