SINGAPORE – Singapore’s housing supply is set to increase as the authorities ready land plots in several areas for development, including two sites near the future Kampong Bugis residential precinct in Kallang.
On Friday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) published six proposed amendments to its master plan that largely involved assigning plot ratios to sites previously set aside for residential developments that were subject to detailed planning.
Property analysts said the plots in the six areas will likely increase supply in both the private and public housing markets.
The sites proposed for high-density housing developments include an empty plot in Kallang about 300m from Kallang MRT station that is around 3.5ha – equivalent in size to about five football fields.
Now zoned partially as a white site – which allows for a mix of uses – as well as for commercial use, the site is being re-zoned to be primarily for housing at a plot ratio of 4.2. A park of about 0.3ha will also be added.
Property portal Mogul.sg’s chief research officer Nicholas Mak said some 1,300 homes can be built on the site, after factoring in infrastructure such as access roads and pavements.
URA said future residents can enjoy the site’s central location, proximity to amenities, as well as a future lifestyle hub that will be developed around Kallang Riverside.
Mr Mak said that the site could either be used for private or public housing, given there are both public and private properties nearby.
Meanwhile, OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun said a public housing development is more likely for the site, and that it will probably fall under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model if so.
She noted that there are currently many Housing Board developments in the vicinity around Geylang, and said the site’s proximity to the Singapore Sports Hub will be a draw for future residents.
About 1.3km away, a 0.7ha housing plot at the intersection of North Bridge Road and Crawford Street was assigned a plot ratio of 4.9 in a proposed amendment.
Ms Sun said that if the site is released for sale for a condominium development, apartments could fetch a high price as they would offer waterfront views.
But she and Mr Mak noted that there are several blocks of HDB flats nearby that are in their 40s, which may spur the insertion of a new Build-To-Order (BTO) project to rejuvenate the area.
Should this happen, the project will likely come under the PLH model, owing to the site’s central location – a 300m walk from Lavender MRT station, said Ms Sun.
Mr Mak said the site could yield between 380 and 450 new homes.
Both the Kallang and Crawford Street sites are close to the Kampong Bugis site that was previously removed from URA’s list of Government Land Sales sites, after being added to the reserve list to be sold to a master developer.
The agency said in March 2022 that the site was removed due to delays in soil remediation works at the site, and National Development Minister Desmond Lee said in November that year that development plans for Kampong Bugis were under review, with launch dates to be announced when ready.
Elsewhere, an empty housing site in Jalan Tenteram in Whampoa spanning about 2.7ha was assigned a plot ratio of 4.9, which analysts said could yield 1,000 new homes or more.
Highlighting public housing projects in the vicinity, Ms Sun said the site could be used for BTO flats, and added that its proximity to Kallang River will add to its attractiveness. However, future residents must be prepared to live with noise and dust with two major expressways nearby, she said.
URA said the site’s development will support demand for housing in the area, and residents will be near amenities within Whampoa. A new park – to be located by Kallang River – will also serve existing and new residents, the authority added.
HDB has said that new two-room flexi, three-room and four-room flats will be launched in Kallang-Whampoa in its August 2023 BTO exercise, but it is currently not known if they will be situated in the above sites.
In an amendment for the Jalan Jurong Kechil area, URA proposed increasing the plot ratio of a roughly 4ha site from 1.4 to 1.6.
Within the site are buildings of the former Bukit Batok Primary School, which in December 2001 was relocated to a new compound in Lorong Kismis and renamed Bukit Timah Primary School.
The entire site, which currently is divided into three parcels in the master plan, may yield about 700 to 800 private condominium units in total, said Mr Mak.
Noting that the site is within a private residential enclave, Ms Sun said it will likewise be suited for low-rise condominiums.
URA said cycling paths will be added along Jalan Jurong Kechil and Old Jurong Road to improve connectivity in the area.
The authority on Friday also proposed amendments to two future residential sites in Woodlands.
One amendment, involving the Admiralty Road West area, confirmed the realignment of a future road in the area to avoid an extension to Admiralty Park, and added a place of worship site to serve the future HDB estate.
The other amendment involving Woodlands South proposed the addition of a health and medical care facility, in addition to a place of worship and a park. Housing plots in the area were also reconfigured and assigned plot ratios.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...-in-kallang-and-another-near-lavender-station
