BT: Catering to the trendy, well-heeled and the gays

Catering to the trendy, well-heeled-- and the gays:
High tea party at Lincoln Modern targeted at gay and lesbian singles and couples a first

by Andrea Tan and Daniel Buenas
Singapore - Simon Cheong's Lincoln Modern project has broken new ground - for the first time in Singapore, and probably Asia, a property developer is openly targeting its project at the gay community.

Mr Cheong's SC Global and Fridae, which bills itself as Asia's Gay + Lesbian Network, are jointly organising a 'special exclusive viewing' of the Newton condominium for the gay community. Singles and couples in the gay and lesbian community in Asia will be invited to the Sunday high tea party on Nov 23.

Apart from this, a private viewing can also be arranged through marketing agent Colliers International. Owning a piece of Lincoln Modern does not come cheap. The 30-storey, 56 'ultra-modern' units are designed by Chan Soo Khian of SCDA Architects. The two-bedroom units are priced at $1.3-1.5 million while three bedrooms go for $1.4-1.8 million, or an average price tag of $1,100 per square foot. The project was first released at the end of 2000 at just under $1,200 psf average.

There are 33 units left. Commenting on its marketing tack, an SC Global spokesman told BT: 'We have a duty to our shareholders to reach out to all segments of the market and to maximise the sales of our development, and it would include this community.' The Lincoln Modern is targeted at the 'trendy, glamorous and well-heeled urbanite'. Fridae said on its website that strong interest has been recorded by gay and lesbian individuals, expatriates and affluent Singaporeans.

'The Lincoln Modern as a product was conceived as a recognition that singles and couples who want housing that is well designed and fits their expectations of quality and lifestyle,' the SC Global spokesman added. 'We're just trying to reach a very specific segment of the market with this product. There's a very good match here.'

Lincoln Modern is inspired by the late architect Le Corbusier's signature interlocking system and has a six-metre high loft space in the living areas. Are there plans for such future events for other SC Global developments like The Ladyhill and BLVD at Boulevard? 'We have no organised marketing programme to target this community specifically,' the spokesman said. Other developers which have attracted the gay community's attention have been very discreet about their marketing activities.

'We don't particularly target this segment but a lot of the projects that we've done appeal to this group,' said property agent Hampden managing director Michael Ng. 'We do see quite a lot of alternate lifestyle people coming by. It's modern city-living in happening locations and near amenities.'