Touring Meadows @ Peirce: A freehold condo with luscious grounds and spacious units

Whilst touring Teacher's Housing (Landed) Estate last year, I couldn't help noticing the condominium (Meadows @ Peirce) perched on slightly higher land next to it.

Meadows enjoys many of the advantages that Teachers Housing Estate does (i.e. close to nature and tranquil) but being located above the houses means that the condo doesn't suffer from some of the problems that Teacher's Housing Estate, being located in a valley, does (i.e. lack of wind, ponding, etc).

I did really like Teacher's Housing Estate, and so was intrigued by what Meadows @ Peirce would be like.

 

 

A 479 unit freehold development by UOL, Meadows @ Peirce actually reminds me of a modern version of Clementi Park (but located in the D26 Thomson/Lentor area). Both are:

• Freehold
• Have just under 500 units
• Boast very spacious grounds for their age (Yes, Clementi Park has a land size of 973,984sqft in comparison to Meadows' 460,986sqft but Meadows was built in 2012, a good 26 years later and it is rare to find projects with such large land sizes and low densities past 2010.
• Have generously-sized units: According to Edgeprop, there are at least 67 units at Meadows that are over 2000sqft, although bear in mind that they usually come with equally generous outdoor spaces.
• Only one primary school in the vicinity (Within 1km, Meadows does have four childcare centres within 500m though).
• Considered to be 'quiet' developments as they're in/near landed enclaves
• Are not really within walking distance of the MRT, by Singaporean standards (although note that Meadows is about a 20-minute walk from Lentor MRT — just about manageable in our heat — whilst Clementi Park is a good 30-minute trek from Clementi MRT). 
• However, there are buses running from right outside Meadows to Lentor MRT. Clementi Park, on the other hand, doesn't have a bus stop nearby but it does have its own estate shuttle to Clementi MRT/Mall (plus it is pretty frequent at every half hour).

Driving down from town to Meadows @ Peirce is a lovely journey: The road is long, wide, and, at some parts, lined by nice leafy trees. It's definitely one of the nicer roads in Singapore to drive along, and you almost feel like you are on a driving holiday somewhere else.

However, there are also a lot of cyclists who like to enjoy the ride (as well as heavy trucks and lorries, even on the weekend) so do drive carefully. Another thing to note is that if you're driving from town via Adam Road, you'll have to U-turn back to get to the condo: It's not a big issue though, as there's a traffic light right in front, so it's an easy turn.

 

 

 

Meadows blends in very well with its green surroundings. In fact, there are so many trees outside it that you almost don't realise there's a condo there. The foliage actually blocks the name of the condo. It's not a problem for residents, but your guests may end up overshooting the condo the first time they visit you.

One thing that immediately struck me was how, despite its size, Meadows only has one car lane for both entering and exiting the condo. This will probably result in lines to enter and exit. I was there at seven-ish in the morning on a Saturday and there were two unfortunate cars who had to wait behind me on the main road while I registered with the security guard.

Given how many people order stuff online these days, this could be a regular issue when residents return home. Exiting the condo also resulted in queues, as Upper Thomson Road is a busy road, so cars can't turn out immediately. There is another entry/exit point into the condo, but it wasn't in use both times that I visited.

The car park, I am happy to say, is more than adequate and this is one of the few newer developments that have a decent number of visitor lots (fully covered parking for residents and outdoor parallel parking for guests).

However, it is the facilities, which are both well-planned and beautifully landscaped, that truly impresses about Meadows @ Peirce. You often hear condos claiming that they offer resort-like living but Meadows is the first condo I've visited that really brings the feeling to life. I'll let the photos do the talking below.

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The facilities are elevated above the road level, which helps to insulate them from the traffic noise — Upper Thomson Road is very busy — as well as afford the residents more privacy.

A friend's parents live down the road and the proximity to Peirce Reservoir means that they get the occasional wild boars wandering over — although we had one swim over to Malaysia earlier this year, I'm not sure if they've learned to climb steps yet, so perhaps this won't be an issue here?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, there is a playground right in front of it, so in terms of internal-facing units, it'll be hard to find a truly quiet unit, as one wing has the kids' pool and the other the kids' playground. Both times I visited, the facilities were not crowded but the noise level was high enough that the internal units would definitely be able to hear everything very clearly. Although to be fair, the noise coming from some of the units was actually louder than the kids!

READ ALSO: Touring Clementi Park condo: A sprawling development with its own hill and park

I like the fact that there are more than one of most types of facilities. For example, there are two pools, at least two indoor gyms and two outdoor exercise areas, etc. This helps to spread the crowd so that the facilities will not get too crowded. (There's no tennis court though FYI.)

 

 

 

One thing to highlight is there were some less-than-pleased comments about the upkeep of the condo when it first TOP-ed but I didn't see any issues on my two visits.

On the contrary, everything looked rather immaculate! I don't know about where you live, but the gardeners at my condo are nowhere as neat. Despite being on the ball, the management didn't seem super restrictive as many of the ground-floor units had some form of personalisation (e.g., some had custom flat unit signage whilst others used the green strips in front of their flats to grow the plants they wanted, etc.)

Another thing to note is that although Meadows is often linked to 'tranquil' living, the road-facing units probably are anything but. The sound of traffic was incessant both times I visited. There was a marked contrast in the noise levels of the 'front' (bordering Upper Thomson Road) and 'back' of the development (bordering Teachers Housing Estate).

 

There are quieter units that overlook the landed houses but you will get partial morning and afternoon sun. If you're looking for a unit that is purely North-South facing, these would be the internal-facing ones (numbers: 01-11 and 45-55).

Before we go, here are some final points for you to note about this condo: 

Meadows @ Peirce is one of at least three condos that do not permit smoking even on your own balcony. The management does seem quite active here, as there are many signs stipulating what should/should not be done in the common areas. For example, in the seating area by the pool — in between the internal-facing units — there is a notice asking people to keep the noise down.

• There's a healthy number of transactions at Meadows, with over 20 sales in 2021. (Click here to see past sales transaction data. The link also shows the unit breakdown (i.e. how many one-bedders vs two-bedders etc. which is good to know if you plan on selling your unit in future.)
• Meadows @ Peirce is not a 'one size fits all' development and many units have something unique about them: For example, some penthouses have lift access to both floors whilst others don't.
• In addition, there appear to be three second-floor units which have their own private 'viewing platform' overlooking the smaller pool. This could potentially be helpful when you want to re-sell your unit, as you won't have to worry about having too many identical flats on the market at the same time.
• There are a lot of empty plots of land surrounding Meadows: The good news is that new developments usually help to lift the prices of the nearby condos in Singapore. According to Edgeprop, the breakeven price for Lentor Hills Road Parcel A, a 99-year piece of land, will be $1,749 psf. The bad news is that residents will probably live with on-going construction for several years.

 

 

 

 

We've now come to the end of our tour of Meadows @ Peirce. If the development has caught your eye, do note that there were only five units for sale at the time of writing (and two for rent.) Join me again next week as I look at townhouses!

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This article was first published in Stackedhomes.