Newport Residences
Anson Road, Tanjong Pagar · City Developments Limited (CDL)
A rare freehold residential tower inside a mixed-use CBD integrated development -- the scarcity is real, but so is the CBD-residential demand question.
Location & neighbourhood
Where this sits on the CBD map.
Newport Residences sits on Anson Road, inside the Newport Plaza integrated development -- the redevelopment of the former Fuji Xerox Towers. You are in the southern rim of the CBD: a short walk to Tanjong Pagar's Keong Saik / Craig / Duxton shophouse belt, and a few minutes on foot from the Tanjong Pagar MRT interchange and the Shenton Way office core.
The character here is hybrid -- Grade A offices on weekdays, F&B and hospitality in the evenings. Tanjong Pagar has more weekend life than Raffles Place, but it is not a family neighbourhood. Demand skews toward singles, DINKs, expat executives, and landlords feeding the CBD rental pool.
MRT & transport
- • Tanjong Pagar MRT (EWL) -- ~5 min walk
- • Prince Edward Road MRT (CCL Stage 6, ~2026+)
- • Shenton Way MRT (TEL) -- one stop
- • Expressways: AYE, ECP, MCE
- • To Raffles Place: 1 MRT stop · Orchard: ~10 min drive
The developer
CDL -- one of Singapore's two bellwether developers.
City Developments Limited is an SGX-listed Hong Leong group company and one of the two largest private developers in Singapore alongside GuocoLand / UOL. CDL has been building homes here since the 1960s and holds one of the deepest freehold landbanks in the CBD and prime districts. Newport is their flagship CBD integrated project and effectively replaces Fuji Xerox Towers.
Build quality on CDL's recent completions (Irwell Hill Residences, Haus on Handy, Amber Park) has been acceptable, though some defect-report volume is normal at scale. Their after-sales handover is generally more corporate than a boutique developer -- pros and cons. What matters for a freehold CBD tower is balance sheet: CDL will finish this and maintain the common areas, which is not a guarantee with smaller players.
Recent SG track record
- • Irwell Hill Residences (D9)
- • Haus on Handy (D9)
- • Amber Park (D15)
- • Piccadilly Grand (D8)
Unit mix & layouts
What's inside the 246 units.
The mix skews small -- 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom stacks dominate, with a smaller count of 3-bedroom and a handful of 4-bedroom and penthouse units at the top. Sizes are indicative pending the final price list; CBD towers of this vintage typically run tight on 1BRs (~450-520 sqft) and efficient on 2BRs (~700-800 sqft). Expect high floor-to-ceiling glazing and typical integrated-development specs (lift lobbies shared with the commercial floors below up to the sky terrace).
Efficiency read: CBD integrated towers typically carry 5-8% bay-window and AC-ledge loss -- verify the specific stack on the balance sheet before signing.
Indicative pricing & PSF context
What the numbers actually say.
Expected PSF band
~S$3,000-3,300 psf (launched avg ~$3,012 psf)
Newport launched in Jan 2026 with 57% sold on the first weekend at an average of ~$3,012 psf. The freehold-in-CBD thesis is priced in but actual launch PSF came in below pre-launch estimates, signalling CDL calibrated for absorption over margin. Remaining units and subsequent tranches may price incrementally higher.
Resale comparison
Nearby 99-yr resale -- Wallich Residence (top floors of Guoco Tower), The Clift, Icon, Altez, Marina One -- transacts in the S$2,400-3,000 PSF band for quality stock. Newport's freehold premium over these will likely sit at 15-25%. Justified if you value tenure protection past 2050; not justified if you benchmark purely on current yield.
Schools, amenities, connectivity
The catchment that matters.
Primary schools (within 1-2km)
- • Cantonment Primary School
- • CHIJ (Kellock) -- within 2km
- • Radin Mas Primary -- within 2km
Secondary & beyond
- • Outram Secondary School
- • CHIJ St Theresa's Convent
- • SMU city campus (tertiary)
Malls, F&B, healthcare
- • 100AM, Tanjong Pagar Centre, Icon Village
- • Duxton / Keong Saik / Amoy Street F&B
- • Singapore General Hospital (SGH)
Investment thesis
Why someone would actually buy here.
Freehold in the CBD is a short list
Almost every residential project launched in Tanjong Pagar / Shenton since 2010 has been 99-year leasehold (Wallich, Marina One, Skywaters, V on Shenton). A freehold tower of this size here is genuinely rare -- and for a family passing it on, that matters.
CBD rental pool, amplified
Tenant catchment is the Shenton Way / Raffles Place banking and tech crowd. A well-specified 1BR or 2BR in an integrated development with MRT access below is the exact product they lease. Yield will not be headline but occupancy should be sticky.
URA Master Plan tailwind
The CBD Incentive Scheme and the broader Greater Southern Waterfront rezoning are pushing this pocket toward more residential use. Long-term, that means more amenities, more weekend life, and -- importantly -- less pure-office dependency.
CDL balance sheet behind it
For a mixed-use freehold tower you plan to hold for 20+ years, developer durability matters. CDL is not going away; common-area maintenance standards on the commercial/residential shared spaces should hold up better than a boutique GP.
Risks & what to stress-test
Where this could bite you.
Entry PSF is already full
At a launched avg of ~$3,012 PSF, a lot of the freehold-in-CBD thesis is already priced in. If you are underwriting 3% p.a. capital growth, you need a buyer willing to pay S$3,500+ PSF by ~2031. That buyer exists, but the pool is not deep.
Yield compression
CBD 1BR rentals have retraced from the 2022-2023 peak. A 2BR at ~S$6,500-7,500/month against a ~S$2.4M purchase is a gross yield around 3.3-3.7%. After maintenance and management, net yield in the low-2s% is realistic -- stress-test at floating SORA +1%.
Weekend character
Tanjong Pagar is better than it used to be, but still thin on weekends outside the F&B cluster. If you are an owner-occupier with kids, this pocket does not compete with River Valley / Bukit Timah / East Coast on lived experience.
Competing supply
Skywaters Residences (~190 units) is directly comparable and already transacting. Union Square Residences (River Valley), and further-out TEL launches, will compete for the same CCR buyer pool through 2026-2027. Exit liquidity is thinner than it looks on paper.
Winfred's take
The honest read.
My read: Newport Residences is a legacy-and-tenure play, not a pure yield play. You are paying a meaningful freehold premium over Skywaters and Wallich, and the justification has to be that you (or your next-of-kin) will still own this in 2050. If the buy thesis is "I'll flip in four years," the maths gets tight fast -- because the 99-yr comps anchor the market, and most new-launch buyers shop on price per month, not on tenure.
This suits two specific profiles well: (1) a family with liquidity looking to hold a freehold asset inside the CBD for inter-generational purposes, and (2) a Singaporean investor already holding RCR/OCR stock who wants one CCR freehold anchor for portfolio mix. It does not suit a first upgrader stretching TDSR, and it does not suit someone chasing 4%+ gross yield -- that product is in D15 or D19, not here. Book a 30-min analysis if you want to see how this slots against your existing portfolio.
Related reading
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