Latest news with #DraftMasterPlan2025
Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
S'pore's age is showing in its latest draft masterplan – and that's a good thing
News analysis S'pore's age is showing in its latest draft masterplan – and that's a good thing SINGAPORE – Hanging in the atrium and pasted on the glass walls of The URA Centre in Maxwell Road are portraits of people – members of the public, activists, architects and others who call Singapore home. Some of them were among nearly 220,000 people who took part in a months-long exercise to put together a new blueprint that will chart the country's development for the next 10 to 15 years. Unveiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on June 25, in Singapore's 60th year of independence, the Draft Master Plan 2025 and its accompanying exhibition show Singapore's age – and that is a good thing. Initiatives under the blueprint demonstrate that Singapore is now old enough and eager to tell its story through its conservation programme or by other means of remembrance. Telling Singapore's story While Singapore's unlikely and rapid growth since independence has been well documented, the country's post-independence buildings have been under-represented in the more than 7,200 buildings and structures conserved thus far. At the launch of the draft masterplan exhibition, URA announced a thematic framework that will improve the way it assesses buildings' significance, by considering how they contributed to Singapore's history under at least one of four themes – economy, housing, social and defence. On top of the architectural, historic, traditional and aesthetic lenses through which buildings are considered for conservation, the thematic framework broadens the scope used to assess buildings, and considers what they mean in Singapore's story – and to Singaporeans. The exhibition hints at the buildings and sites that the authorities have in mind. Facade of Prima Flour Mills, which was Singapore's first flour mill when it opened in 1963. PHOTO: ST FILE URA cited Prima Flour Mill in Keppel Road, which started operations in 1963 as Singapore's first flour mill, as well as Selegie House, also completed in 1963 as the country's then tallest mixed-use development. The hope is that as Singapore turns 60, this renewed emphasis on telling the nation's story, as well as a more holistic heritage framework, will prevent another nationally loved building – like the old National Library – from being lost to redevelopment. The old National Library at Stamford Road, which was demolished after its closure in 2004. PHOTO: ST FILE Time for details With decades of work shaping the city-state and Singaporeans' basic needs largely met, the planners of today are looking beyond just quantity – the need to rapidly establish new towns – and focusing on improving the quality and variety of existing living environments. By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be 65 or older. As the population greys, talk surrounding new homes is now not just about whether they are public or private, but also whether they are senior-friendly, with more assisted living options and senior activity centres in the pipeline. In the recreational realm, the authorities have in recent years also focused more on quality. In the last decade, large, airy 'community living rooms' have become a feature of new and refurbished malls, giving patrons a comfortable space in which to chill out and chat, read a book, or sip a coffee. Called Privately-Owned Public Spaces, or Pops, more than 30 of these spaces have sprung up, thanks to guidelines that URA rolled out in 2017. Geneo's Privately-Owned Public Space, The Canopy, which opened earlier in 2025. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH The provision of Pops shows the detail that goes into planning – not just providing malls, but using policy levers to nudge developers towards providing meaningful and accessible public spaces. While areas where basic infrastructure is already in place may be easy to overlook, planners have continued making improvements. Upcoming efforts to upgrade the walking and cycling paths in three identity corridors – elongated stretches with identities and characters that the authorities aim to strengthen – are a case in point. A stretch of Zion Road between Ganges Avenue and River Valley Road will be repurposed to accommodate wider walking and cycling paths. The stretch of Zion Road between Havelock Road and River Valley Road will be repurposed for wider walking and cycling paths. PHOTO: NATIONAL PARKS BOARD And along a stretch of Kallang River next to St Andrew's Junior College where there already is a park connector, more public spaces and cycling paths are being planned for visitors and students to enjoy the waterfront. New cycling paths along the riverbank fronting St Andrew's Village will connect to the Kallang Park Connector. PHOTO: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY These plans show that planners are not just focused on creating new estates, but are continuously finding ways to improve the living environment for residents. Be that as it may, the provision of more homes remains a key priority. The upcoming redevelopment of Sembawang Shipyard, Kranji Racecourse and Paya Lebar Air Base shows that future development needs are still front and centre, while as-yet-undeveloped land plots slated for housing remain in areas such as Tagore and Clementi Road. Users as experts In many aspects of the draft masterplan, public feedback was sought . Improvements to existing areas, such as upgrades to walking and cycling infrastructure along the identity corridors, were proposed after engagements with 2,300 residents and users. Draft Master Plan 2025 marked the most extensive engagement exercise URA has conducted so far, with nearly 220,000 people engaged. It trumps the more than 15,000 engaged for the Long-Term Plan between 2021 and 2022 – during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Long-Term Plan, which informs the draft masterplan, charts the country's needs for the next 50 years and beyond. All this shows that when it comes to urban planning, regular users of spaces are the experts. URA's engagement efforts are in line with broader global trends in urban planning, which has become much less top-down or expert-led, and where citizens have a stake. To ensure Singaporeans were heard, multiple exhibitions and roadshows were organised for the draft masterplan from October 2023, which almost 186,000 people visited. More than 26,000 people participated in focus-group discussions, workshops and other conversations. About 7,000 people responded to public surveys. Some members of the public even joined planners in kayaks and paddled down Kallang River, as part of efforts to generate ideas on how to improve an identity corridor there. Participants at a kayaking expedition in Kallang River organised by the URA on July 21, 2024. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Such interactions build trust and understanding between those with differing needs and interests, and between the public and planners. The latest land-use plans show that public feedback does make a difference. In response to suggestions from a focus-group discussion for the Katong-Joo Chiat area, where participants requested more shaded public spaces and seating, URA is planning a new pedestrian mall in East Coast Road, between i12 Katong shopping centre and Katong V mall. The future pedestrian mall in Katong could include landscaping, seating and recreational spaces for community use and interactions. PHOTO: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Engaging widely for Draft Master Plan 2025 is a step in the right direction, and it would augur well for URA to keep up this scale of outreach efforts for future reviews of the masterplan. Only then can land-use plans closely mirror the needs of the public. A long-term endeavour While a refreshed blueprint is put out roughly once every five years, planning is an ongoing endeavour, with old plans revived and new ones in the works for years. Upcoming developments under the draft masterplan – such as turning Bishan into a business hub and the rejuvenation of Istana Park and its surrounds – were already announced in 2019, following the previous review of the masterplan. Reaching further back, plans to build new homes in Pearl's Hill were announced in June 2003. Yet much of the land there that has been zoned for residential use has not had new homes built on it for the past two decades . Outram Park Complex on the day of its official opening in 1970. The HDB-built complex was demolished in the early 2000s. PHOTO: ST FILE After works on the Thomson-East Coast Line were completed in the area , these plans were presented again in November 2023, when the authorities said 6,000 new public and private homes will be built. A 2004 photograph shows the area the Outram Park Complex once occupied (left), which has been vacant for more than two decades. PHOTO: ST FILE Notably, a plan revealed in 1991 to reclaim a 'Long Island' off East Coast Park has in recent years been revived as a coastal protection solution, in addition to meeting other needs. It may be hard to reconcile Singapore's pace of rapid urban change with the protracted, continuous nature of longer-term urban planning. Yet, as the Draft Master Plan 2025 has shown, Singapore can make development decisions that honour its past and reflect the needs of its citizens, while remaining open to change. Ng Keng Gene is a correspondent at The Straits Times, reporting on issues relating to land use, urban planning and heritage. 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The Star
2 days ago
- General
- The Star
News Analysis - Early start to heritage studies for Singapore's Bukit Timah Turf City housing site is paying off
SINGAPORE: A study published in 2021 found a swimming pool complex in the Old Police Academy at Mount Pleasant to be among the most significant in terms of heritage value, second to only a Senior Police Officers' Mess. The heritage study – meant to guide the development of the 33ha Mount Pleasant housing estate – said the complex was where trainees learnt swimming and life-saving skills, and police officers and their families spent their leisure time. Despite the findings, demolition work began on the complex earlier in 2025, some 49 years after it was completed in 1976. Six buildings in Mount Pleasant have been conserved in all – four will be repurposed within the upcoming housing estate, while the other two, including the Senior Police Officers' Mess, are just outside of it. In contrast, 22 buildings are slated for conservation within an upcoming residential estate at the old 176ha Bukit Timah Turf City, including two grandstands that a separate heritage study identified as the site's most exceptional buildings. The differing outcomes for the two sites' most significant buildings can be explained largely by the timing of the two studies vis-a-vis planning and building works for the future estates. When the Old Police Academy study started in 2018, six buildings and ancillary structures had already been demolished after the Land Transport Authority began work on Mount Pleasant MRT station within the academy's compound in early 2015. The underground station's location – just next to the swimming pool complex – had been fixed since 2014, under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) masterplan. In comparison, heritage studies on the area near the two grandstands in Turf City were completed before the Government announced in September 2022 that a future MRT station will be located near the two stands. Work on the station site began only after Turf City closed in late 2023, and the station's location was reflected for the first time in URA's plans on June 25, when the agency unveiled the Draft Master Plan 2025. The Turf City study was the first implemented under the Government's Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) framework, which was announced in 2022 and for which the Old Police Academy study served as a pilot. The conservation of 22 buildings in the upcoming Turf City estate shows that the Government's move to start heritage studies sufficiently early in the planning process – and make decisions based on their findings – is paying off. Based on initial plans, future visitors to the North Grandstand – set to be part of a mixed-used development, along with the South Grandstand – could dine at the spectators' area which overlooks a field and park. The south stand was completed in 1933, and the north stand in 1981. A former housing area for racecourse workers called Fairways Quarters, and the Bukit Timah Saddle Club Clubhouse, could be put to community use. An illustration of how the former Bukit Timah Saddle Club Clubhouse can be repurposed to form a new amenity node for future residents. - Photo: Urban Redevelopment Authority Under the HIA framework, large-scale public redevelopment projects impacting clusters of buildings and structures with potential heritage value are subject to studies by external consultants, who generally assess the heritage significance of a site, identify impacts that a proposed development project would have on it, and recommend strategies to mitigate the impact. The Turf City study was conducted by the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Architecture and heritage consultant Purcell. Subsequently, more granular studies on 27 buildings and structures were done, before the decision to conserve 22 – a figure that pleasantly surprised heritage observers. Retaining this many buildings allows future residents of the estate to appreciate its history, and step into various spaces that the racecourse's visitors, senior leaders and workers once used. Founding chair of non-profit heritage group Docomomo Singapore Ho Weng Hin said the phased studies – from a broader study to more site-specific ones – meant that plans could be refined and adjusted. For instance, NUS professor Ho Puay Peng, who was involved in the HIA for Turf City, said minor tweaks were made to the design of the upcoming MRT station there, so that the North Grandstand's facade would not be blocked. An artist's impression of Bukit Timah Turf City's North Grandstand in the future housing estate. - Photo: Urban Redevelopment Authority Deciding to keep the buildings is also just the start of a long process of ensuring that future users can meaningfully enjoy them. Planners and architects now have the task of making that happen. How will the greenery and openness of Fairways Quarters be preserved, with new high-rise housing blocks expected in the estate? Ho of Docomomo Singapore suggested putting in place a conservation management plan to guide future developments in the sprawling estate and ensure the former racecourse's significance is retained. Another question is what planners and developers will decide to house within the two grandstands, which will be part of a neighbourhood that is envisioned as the estate's 'civic heart', with sports, recreational, commercial and community amenities. Building an integrated facility like Our Tampines Hub from scratch is relatively simple, but inserting new and varied uses into the purpose-built grandstands necessitates creativity. An artist's impression of how the former Fairways Quarters could be integrated in community node. - Photo: Urban Redevelopment Authority Conservation buildings should ultimately benefit the public, and URA's early plans are promising, with most of the 22 in sites that are likely to be publicly accessible. The agency has also said that it will commemorate and mark the original extent of Turf City's racetracks – an idea put forth by heritage groups. Considering the HIA framework's success in guiding the redevelopment of Bukit Timah Turf City thus far, the authorities should apply it to other large sites set for a makeover, such as Sembawang Shipyard and Paya Lebar Air Base. On this front, the Draft Master Plan 2025 exhibition shows that URA's planners already have one eye on the future. There are plans to integrate Paya Lebar's old airport structures and a section of the runway into a new town there, while repurposing a dry dock in Sembawang for sports and recreation has been mooted as a possibility. If treated like Turf City, the development of these towns will demonstrate Singapore's ability to meet future growth needs, while remaining grounded in its heritage. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Maiden plot in Singapore's Bukit Timah Turf City snags nine bids as developers jostle for first-mover advantage
SINGAPORE: A consortium led by Frasers Property, Sekisui House and CSC Land Group (Singapore) has submitted a top bid of S$491.5 million in a hotly contested tender exercise for the first residential site in Turf City along Dunearn Road. A total of nine bids were submitted by developers jostling for first-mover advantage in Turf City, which is among key new housing areas in more central locations identified in the Draft Master Plan 2025, and will bring 15,000 to 20,000 new public and private homes to the prime Bukit Timah area. This 13,492 sq m prime district Government Land Sales (GLS) site, which could yield 380 homes, has attracted the highest number of bids since October 2021, when 10 bids were submitted for two smallish sites at one-north, and nine bids were put in for a plot at Lentor, now Lentor Modern, in July 2021, said Tricia Song, CBRE research head for Singapore and South-east Asia. 'We believe the Draft Master Plan 2025 may have boosted sentiment for this Turf City maiden site,' she said. 'The plans for Bukit Timah Turf City look promising, with 15,000 to 20,000 homes, lush greenery, good transport connectivity and 22 heritage buildings being proposed for conservation, including the two grandstands, which will be rejuvenated as community nodes,' she added. Apart from the Dunearn Road plot and an adjacent site that is slated to be launched for tender in December 2025, Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content, noted there are '20 pure residential plots, three white sites and two residential with commercial at first storey plots potentially lined up in Turf City over the next 10 to 15 years'. Mark Yip, chief executive of Huttons Asia, said the draft masterplan has provided 'more clarity on the land usage in Turf City and reduced risks for developers'. 'The two adjacent residential sites with commercial use at the first storey will provide amenities for the new housing area. Community and recreational facilities and parks will be within a 10-minute walk,' he added. The top bid of $1,410 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) is also the highest since the River Valley Green (Parcel B) plot was awarded to GuocoLand for $627.8 million, or $1,420 psf ppr, in February 2025. Among the nine bidders for the site, the top bid is 3.7 per cent higher than the second highest of $1,360 psf ppr tabled by City Developments. The two close bids suggest that the developers share a good measure of confidence for the site, despite more housing supply slated for this area, Wong noted. Nonetheless, the $1,410 psf ppr bid is still lower than land prices in December 2017, when a nearby plot in Fourth Avenue – now Fourth Avenue Residences – drew seven bids, with a top bid of $1,540 psf ppr, Song said. 'The lower land bids (today) generally reflect higher construction costs, lower efficiency from gross floor area harmonisation and higher potential Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) on both developers and buyers,' she said. Tight competition for the Dunearn Road site was expected as District 10 has only seen a few GLS sites made available in recent years,' Marcus Chu, chief executive of ERA Singapore, said. The most recent site awarded in District 10 was in Orchard Boulevard, now Upperhouse at Orchard Boulevard, which sold for $1,617 psf ppr in January 2024, he added. Justin Quek, chief executive of OrangeTee & Tie, noted that the Dunearn Road site is close to Sixth Avenue MRT Station and some top schools in Bukit Timah, which may fuel pent-up demand from families. Dr Lee Nai Jia, head of real estate intelligence PropertyGuru Group, noted that demand for non-landed homes in District 10 grew steadily in the first quarter in 2025 but fell in April due to heightened macroeconomic uncertainty from geopolitical and trade tensions. 'In May, demand started to rebound, but activity remained below that from a year ago. But a renewed projects pipeline, coupled with (the future project) on the Dunearn Road GLS site, could re-energise interest in this area,' he said. Soon Su Lin, chief executive of Frasers Property Singapore, said this will be 'an exciting opportunity for us to be part of the Turf City masterplan', if awarded. 'Given that the last GLS site in the vicinity was awarded nearly a decade ago, we believe that quality developments, specifically in prime districts 9, 10 and 11, will continue to be highly attractive to home buyers,' she said. - The Straits Times/ANN
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Bishan to get over 2 million sq ft of office space, new integrated development
[SINGAPORE] Plans to develop Bishan as a business node could add over 2 million square feet (sq ft) of new office space to the area, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat disclosed on Thursday (Jun 26). The fresh office space will be part of a new integrated development mapped out for Bishan, one of Singapore's more densely populated areas. The housing estate will also get new community amenities such as a polyclinic, a hawker centre and a revamped bus interchange with air-conditioned waiting areas. Works for these new developments will start within this term of government, and take several years, said Chee in a video shared on social media channels on Thursday morning. It follows the unveiling of the Draft Master Plan 2025 on Wednesday, which revealed the government's plans to grow decentralised office spots with the refresh of regional business nodes across the island. At around 200,000 square metres or 2.2 million sq ft, the office space will take up a rough equivalent of 28 football fields, and be of similar size to Suntec City's office space. It is also expected to be on the scale of Paya Lebar Central, a relatively new commercial precinct that now houses the Paya Lebar Quarter development, completed in 2018 to 2019. Market watchers had pointed to several plots of vacant land near the Bishan interchange and around the Junction 8 mall, suggesting that new developments could sit atop the interchange. Property developer Lendlease and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority jointly acquired the Paya Lebar plot at a state tender in 2015 for S$1.67 billion, trumping the offers of five other bidders. The 3.9-hectare site was then developed into seven buildings: a retail mall, three office towers and three private residential blocks. Paya Lebar Quarter and Paya Lebar Square contain well over a million square feet of office space. Some government agencies are now looking at relocating their offices to Bishan, to kick-start the development of the business node, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said on Wednesday.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Work on hawker centre, polyclinic in Bishan town centre to start in this term of govt: Chee Hong Tat
Artist impression of pedestrian mall linking future developments and community facilities within the Bishan Sub-Regional Centre. PHOTO: URA Work on hawker centre, polyclinic in Bishan town centre to start in this term of govt: Chee Hong Tat SINGAPORE - Work on the new hawker centre, polyclinic and revamped bus interchange in the Bishan town centre will start within the current term of government and take several years to complete, said National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat. About 200,000 sqm of new office space could also be built in the town centre, matching the scale of that in Paya Lebar Central, Mr Chee said in a Facebook post on June 26. The Government is studying plans to develop Bishan into a new business hub as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) 2025 draft masterplan, which was unveiled on June 25. Several government agencies are exploring the feasibility of relocating their offices to the area, to jump-start the development of this business district, URA said earlier. Plans are afoot to develop Bishan into a sub-regional centre. Such areas are business hubs, such as those in Paya Lebar and Serangoon, that bring jobs closer to homes. They are smaller than the regional centres in Woodlands, Jurong East and Tampines. Efforts to improve connectivity in Bishan will make it easier for residents to move around the town and access neighbouring facilities, Mr Chee said. For instance , cycling paths in the Bishan town centre will allow residents to cycle to upcoming recreational spaces such as the North-South Corridor and Kallang River. Bishan Place – a road behind Junction 8 shopping centre – will be transformed into a pedestrian mall and be linked to transport hubs and facilities, he added. There are also plans for a walking and cycling street along the developments in Bishan Road that will be connected to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. These plans are on top of that for the Toa Payoh Integrated Development on the site of the former Toa Payoh Sport Centre in Lorong 6 Toa Payoh , which will be completed within this term of government, said Mr Chee. The integrated development will have an improved sports centre, an upgraded polyclinic, a bigger library and a rejuvenated town park. It will have sheltered linkways to Toa Payoh MRT station and bus interchange. The Draft Master Plan 2025 includes plans to continue driving Singapore's economic growth by strengthening its economic gateways and business districts, rejuvenating key precincts and supporting innovation. The exhibition for the draft masterplan will be displayed at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh from Aug 9 to 17. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
