The most beautiful villa in the "golden land" of Ho Chi Minh City is quiet after 8 years in the hands of the female owner

Curious about the $35 million deal

The ancient villa with 3 frontages on Vo Van Tan - Ba Huyen Thanh Quan - Nguyen Thi Dieu streets in the center of District 3, Ho Chi Minh City has always been a topic of curiosity for real estate traders as well as city residents. If in the past, the house attracted attention for its "exorbitant" transfer price, up to 35 million USD (about 700 billion VND), now people are interested in its fate after the leaders of Van Thinh Phat Group were arrested.

The nearly 3,000 square meter villa was once called Phuong Nam Villa, located at 110-112 Vo Van Tan, District 3 (the district with the most villas in Ho Chi Minh City with more than 800 out of a total of more than 1,200). The owners of the property are Ms. Dang Kim Chi (born in 1938) and Ms. Nguyen Kim Sa Dang (American citizen, born in 1934).

The million-dollar villa, newly named The Villa, is in the process of being renovated and preserved (Photo: Kim Ngoc).

The building has 3 entrances: Two main gates on Vo Van Tan Street and a side gate on Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street. The usable space includes 2 floors with a total floor area of ​​over 2,500m2, designed in the North - South direction according to the order of each block of construction. The main part of the house is 990m2 wide, including 16 rooms.

In 2013, when the real estate market was booming, this over 100-year-old villa was put up for sale for $47 million. But it was not until 2015 that the transaction was successfully closed for $35 million (about more than 700 billion VND at the exchange rate at that time). The buyer was Minerva Joint Stock Company.

Established just a few months before buying the Minerva villa, the company has three founding shareholders: Mary Chu Yuet Fan (Chu Duyet Phan) holds 80% of the shares, Truong Hue Van holds 10% and Truong Lap Hung holds 10%. Of which, Chu Duyet Phan is the daughter of Truong My Lan, Chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group. The remaining two shareholders are Lan's nieces and also have shares in Van Thinh Phat.

It can be seen that the villa has been restored quite carefully and meticulously down to the smallest details. The dome roof has been replaced and painted with a new coat of paint. (Photo: Kim Ngoc).

The time Minerva bought the villa made experts skeptical. Because the villa was in a conservation area, the investor could not demolish it and rebuild. Therefore, many people wondered about the purpose of Minerva spending 35 million USD to buy the villa.

Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said that the villa is not only expensive in terms of money but also has historical, cultural and architectural value, carrying a unique identity during the period when Vietnam adopted Western culture, specifically France. "Buying this villa is not for the purpose of normal real estate trading, I think that affirming the position of the family, the success of the family is the main purpose. This is also a way to affirm class, polish the name for the real estate market", Mr. Chau emphasized.

Was renovating then... stopped

In early 2019, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approved Minerva to renovate this villa. Singapore's Stonewest Limited is the contractor for the project. Previously, for 3 years, Minerva hired a team of foreign experts to participate in a survey to comprehensively assess the origin of construction materials and architecture, and propose a repair plan for competent authorities to appraise.

Accordingly, the restoration team will demolish the surrounding houses built later, then restore the main building, music hall, outbuildings, garden, 3 entrance gates and fence. The restoration is expected to be completed by October 1, 2020.

The outer wall separates the side gate on Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street. From the outside, you can see that the villa grounds are still littered with construction materials (Photo: Kim Ngoc).

However, the renovation was not completed as planned. An incident occurred, Ms. Truong My Lan and Ms. Truong Hue Van were arrested in October 2021. The project was also stopped at that time.

Currently, all the entrances to the construction site are locked. There are no more workers inside the villa, the scene is a mess. According to observations from the outside, the villa has been basically renovated in terms of items such as the roof, wall painting... Outside the villa, people have requisitioned it as a parking lot and food stall. Another part has become a place to dump garbage.

“Listen to the motifs telling the story of time” is the message conveyed on the outside walls of the villa. Accompanying it are photos taken from the prominent motifs inside the building, with attached captions (Photo: Kim Ngoc).

It was expected that after restoration, the project could be completely restored to its original splendor, becoming one of the most important historical projects in Vietnam. However, when Van Thinh Phat leaders were caught up in legal trouble, the fate of this villa is still a question mark.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/bat-dong-san/biet-thu-dep-nhat-dat-vang-tphcm-im-lim-sau-8-nam-ve-tay-nu-chu-20230412150001722.htm