The Sail condo rents out parking lots for $480 a month

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Monday, Dec 30, 2013

The New Paper

THE FIGHT FOR LOTS

Singapore's tallest residential skyscraper, The Sail @ Marina Bay, has a solution to the Central Business District's (CBD) parking woes.

Located at Marina Bay, the luxury property with more than 1,000 residential units also offers parking spaces to non residents.

These lots, which cost about $480 a month, are coveted, especially by those working at the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) nearby.

The management of The Sail said there are 709 parking spaces, including five handicap lots, but declined to provide a breakdown of resident and non resident lots.

But it added that priority to parking lots will be given to residents of the 70-storey and 63-storey towers.

Although non-residents lament the steep price, they are grateful for a season- parking lot in the CBD.

A bank executive, who wanted to be known only as Mr C. Wee, has been parking at The Sail for the past year.

The 36-year-old used to park at the open-air parking lot at URA Bayfront Avenue, which does not have reserved spaces for season parking.

"If I drive out for lunch, it is difficult to get another lot again because people who have lunch at MBS (Marina Bay Sands) park there as well," he said.

Mr Wee added that a year ago, he queued up at the management office of The Sail for more than an hour before it opened to secure a season-parking spot.

Another bank executive, who works at MBFC and who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee, has been parking at The Sail for three months after starting his new job.

He said "I have no choice but to drive to work because there is no MRT station near my home in Bukit Timah.

"I was lucky that I got a parking space here quite easily. There are always people resigning, so just try again (for a lot) every three months."

While The Sail's management declined to say how much it makes monthly, the parking lots are a great moneyspinner, property experts said.

"It is a useful income-earning opportunity that residents will benefit from, for instance in the form of lower maintenance fees," said Mr Colin Tan, director and head of research and consultancy at Suntec Real Estate Consultants.

Mr Tan added that parking lots are not owned by the individual but collectively.

As a result, the management is allowed to lease out parking lots to non residents, if agreed by the Management Corporation Strata Title.

As such, residents at The Sail, who pay $120 a month for a parking space, are not allowed to lease out their lots.

A resident said that there had been such incidents in the past, but the management has clamped down on such activity by ensuring that the vehicle registered belongs to the owner.

But is there a problem of outsiders crowding out the residents?

Although there are more residential units than parking lots, residents said they do not have problems finding a lot.

A reason for the availability of parking spots is because most residential units are leased rather than owner-occupied.

For now, The Sail is the only residence in the area that lets non-residents park at its premises.

THE PLIGHT OF MOTORISTS

The nearby Marina Bay residences, which has 428 apartments, offers parking lots only to companies linked to MBFC and not individuals.

Motorists who work in the CBD have long complained of the lack of season parking in the area. The numbers have been on the decline, especially after the closure of 704-lot Market Street Carpark in 2011.

Some buildings, such as Hong Leong Building at Raffles Quay, offer parking spaces to non-tenants, but they are limited.

Another popular choice is the 10-storey Golden Shoe Complex carpark, which gives priority to its tenants.

And the parking situation continues to look bleak for motorists in the CBD.

The Land Transport Master Plan 2013 released in October said there will be fewer parking spaces in the CBD in future as older buildings make way for newer ones.