[1] The Pearl Bank Apartments was the first all-housing project to be undertaken in the Urban Renewal Department of the Housing and Development Board's Sale of Sites programme.

[9] On 13 February 2018, Pearl Bank Apartments was finally sold to CapitaLand for $728 million in a private treaty collective sale at the residents' reserved price.

It would eventually lead to the idea of a high-rise tower that rivals the peak of Bukit Timah Hill (the tallest natural point on the island) to take advantage of the panoramic view of Singapore.

[13] The Pearl Bank Apartments consisted of a 38-storey hollow ¾ cylindrical tower, resembling a horseshoe, designed for a total occupancy of 1,500 persons.

Its cylindrical shape allowed for daylight, ventilation and maximum panoramic views to all its units as well as connected residents to their neighbours whereas the opening in the circular structure faced west and minimised direct penetration of heat and light from the afternoon sun into the building.

Originally unpainted on the outer façade, with the raw concrete visibly showing, the building was painted cream with orange details (such as the inner-rim connecting staircases) in 2008.

"In a bid to complete the construction of the apartments in the shortest time possible in the 1970s and without any local precedents found for such high-rise buildings, new technologies were employed.

Conservation efforts were spearheaded by architects, the owners, heritage-lovers as well as students to preserve Pearl Bank Apartments for its high architectural and historical significance and value.

American architect Ed Poole, who moved into a penthouse unit in the apartments in 2000, started rallying against the multiple en-bloc attempts by opening the website, pearlbankapartments.com, which is now defunct.

[15] Poole was determined to transform the image of Pearl Bank Apartments which had become known as a dormitory for foreign workers into the residential heritage icon it was claimed to be.

Residents cited many of the building's infrastructure had been failing, such as water and piping leakage, the general unfriendly physical environment for elderly (and the disabled), lifts often breaking down and rat infestations.

[5] After en-bloc, Pearl Bank Management Corporation Strate Title (MCST) chairman Cecilia Seet noted that there was no conservation mentioned in the collective sale agreement.

Instead, CapitaLand promised to incorporate and blend "heritage elements with modern aesthetics" to reflect the culture of Chinatown stemming from the existing structure.