The 30-year-old red brick chalets at East Coast Park will be given a new lease of life with a $5-million revamp, one year after NTUC Club withdrew from the site.
Its new tenant, Island Park Resort, hopes to transform the chalets into a cluster of beachfront English cottages, sectioned into a tranquil zone and a party zone, complete with a world-class conference and convention centre with WiFi access.
The current 197 chalets will be renovated and refurbished, with landscaping improved and the fencing surrounding the chalets lowered to give a better sea view.
Some units will be expanded to form suites with attached jacuzzis. A central clubhouse, with spa facilities to appeal to the high-end market, will also be built.
The resort — formerly known as Costa Sands Resort (East Coast) under NTUC Club — will be called Island Park Resort. Phase One of the revamp — starting with the tranquil zone — is expected to be complete by early July, with renovations commencing in March.
Said Mr H D Gupta, managing director of Island Park Resort’s parent company, Goldkist International: “We hope to develop this site into the preferred destination for both domestic families on holidays and international business tourists for conducting conferences and conventions.”
The chalets will be probably priced higher than the current hotel room rate of between $100 and $135 a night.
IT products distributor Goldkist International won the bid for the three-year tenancy, renewable up to 2015. It offered the highest monthly rental bid — $324,444 a month — in the Singapore Land Authority tender. The four-hectare site also has approval for sports and recreation facilities, a corporate retreat site and an adventure camp. Members of the public can still rent the chalets from current managing agent United Premas until Feb 25.
Source : Today – 16 Jan 2007