[first - 14] np/news/pages 25/03/12

14 25 March 2012
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THE NEW PAPER ON SUNDAY
THE NEW PAPER ON SUNDAY 25 March 2012
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15
THEN & NOW
RESTORED:
Alkaff Mansion
has been given
a new lease of
life.
PAST & PRESENT: (Left) Alkaff Mansion under renovation in 1990.
(Above) The decor in the renovated and refurnished building.
PICTURES: GAVIN FOO, ST FILE
After periods of highs and
lows, Alkaff Mansion has
been reopened and restored
to its former glory
REPORT: NUR ASYIQIN MOHAMAD SALLEH
asyiqins@sph.com.sg
Most people would have seen an
old, silent house on a hill.
With some of its windows boarded up to keep the
rain and trespassers out, the stately Alkaff Mansion
looked still and completely lifeless.
But Mr Kelvin Lim, the managing director of the
space management group LHN, saw much more.
“When I saw it, I felt like I had been transported to
Europe. It was such an interesting building,” he says.
He saw images of dinner crowds, weddings and the
perfect spot for a luxurious Italian restaurant.
Mr Lim explains: “Alkaff Mansion is a unique building. You can’t find another one like this in Singapore...”
“It has the advantage of being surrounded by beautiful scenery, making it a very romantic place for wedding events, and a dramatic place to hold private
events.”
Well over 90 years old, Alkaff Mansion has had quite
a chequered past.
Says Mr Lim: “It has a rich historical background
and was once a successful restaurant.”
SEEING ITS WORTH: Mr Kelvin Lim, the
managing director of the space management group
LHN, saw value in restoring the building.
The colonial-style mansion used to serve as a holiday home for a family of wealthy Yemeni spice traders
in the 1920s.
The Alkaff family came to Singapore in 1852, where
they set up a lucrative business dealing with sugar,
coffee and spices.
They then expanded into the property business,
constructing houses, bungalows and mosques.
Alkaff Mansion was built in 1926.
The family entertained guests and clients of all nationalities at the mansion.
Back then, it was known as Mount Washington, the
site of many opulent parties.
The mansion was said to be a household name
among Singapore’s high society in the 1930s.
In an interview with The Straits Times on Jan 4,
1989, Mr Rajabali Jumabhoy – who once owned Scotts
Holdings – mentioned that functions at Alkaff Mansion
were attended by society leaders, including British officials and their wives.
Alkaff Mansion was abandoned after World War II
for “reasons unknown”, going by press reports.
But in 1989, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
awarded property developer Hotel Properties the tender to restore and manage the mansion.
They set up a Dutch-Indonesian restaurant on the
premises.
In its heyday back in the 1990s, Alkaff Mansion was
the choice site for over a hundred weddings a year.
But it fell onto hard times.
Hotel Properties closed its restaurant due to financial problems in 2003.
It fell to the care of STB again, then the Singapore
Land Authority, who did regular grasscutting and
housekeeping to maintain the property.
It was only in 2010 that the mansion was put up for
tender again.
Out of the eight parties which
submitted bids, the LHN Group
clinched the deal with their winning
offer of a monthly rent of $79,251 –
almost three times SLA’s guide rent
of $28,100.
Mr Lim said they spent a year and $5 million renovating the place, restoring it to its former splendour.
Since Alkaff Mansion was granted conservation sta-
tus by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2005,
LHN was obliged to preserve the facade of the mansion.
Mr Lim says: “The process has caused us to be
deeply engaged with the building... The works are delicate as we are dealing with an old heritage building
with deep historical value.
“The time and money spent was worth it. It was a
painful year in my life, waiting for the renovation to be
completed. When it was over, I was very happy.
“I said to myself, ‘It’s finally ready.’ ”
Since LHN opened a fine dining restaurant serving
Italian cuisine in the two-storey mansion last December, it has been a throwback to the past for some.
Enquiries about weddings and private functions
have poured in – as well as a steady stream of lovebirds
with fond memories of the mansion.
Ms Ng Shi Hui, LHN’s operations manager says:
“We’ve had a number of customers who have attended
events or held their weddings here in the past.
“They’re really happy to see that the place open
again.”
And it’s already drawing interest from new couples.
Mr Peter Goh, 33, recently proposed to his girlfriend
of three years, Miss Charissa Tan, 30, over dinner this
January.
Mr Goh, a banker, who has been to the Alkaff Mansion Ristorante once this year for dinner, loves the
stately elegance of the building.
“It looks very, very elegant – if we can hold our
wedding or even our wedding photoshoot at Alkaff
Mansion, it would feel like a fairy tale,” he says.
A spokesman for the Urban Redevelopment Authority says: “Conservation in Singapore is not about freezing a building in its past, but allowing it to have continued relevance and use in today’s context. Most conserved buildings are in private hands.”