This beautiful vintage villa is located at 110-112 Vo Van Tan, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. It features 3 facades facing Vo Van Tan Street, Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street, and Nguyen Thi Dieu Street.
The villa was previously known as “Phuong Nam Villa” and is owned by Mrs. Dang Kim Chi (born in 1938) and Mrs. Nguyen Kim Sa Dang (American nationality, born in 1934).
The building has 3 entrances: two main gates on Vo Van Tan Street and a secondary gate on Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street. The exterior of the building is almost complete, with surrounding walls and other external structures nearing completion.
This vintage villa is built in the architectural style of ancient French villas.
This villa spans across 2 floors with a total floor area of over 2,500 square meters. It is designed in a North-South orientation, with each section of the construction following a specific sequence. The main part of the house covers an area of 990 square meters and includes 16 rooms.
The villa has been recently renovated, including repairs to the roof and wall painting.
According to VTC News, there are no longer any workers inside the villa, but construction materials and machinery are still scattered around.
The villa is surrounded by a corrugated metal fence.
At a workshop on the conservation and promotion of architectural, historical, and cultural values in Ho Chi Minh City, French architect Nicolas Viste (leader of the villa’s restoration team) highly appreciated the unique cultural design that reflects the essence of Vietnamese culture.
In 2015, Mrs. Truong My Lan, through MINERVA Joint Stock Company, purchased this villa for USD 35 million (equivalent to around VND 700 billion). After the purchase, she restored the villa to its original condition in 2019. As the villa is part of the heritage list, the owner is only allowed to renovate and repair it without any new construction. After Mrs. Truong My Lan was prosecuted and detained, the construction work was halted.
During the court hearing on March 15, when asked about the resolution of the real estate properties involved in the case, including this vintage villa, the defendant, Truong My Lan, argued that the villa is a historic property that requires restoration and preservation. She requested that the court does not seize the villa and return it to her family. Furthermore, her daughter has been working on the restoration process for the past 5 years, which is still incomplete.
