Four sites in Balestier, Toa Payoh, Bedok and Jurong East will be cleared to make way for residential projects, according to tender documents put out by the Housing Board and seen by The Straits Times.
The sites – 51 Jalan Rajah, 1 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, 58 Bedok North Street 3 and 571 Jurong East Street 24 – are zoned residential in the Urban Redevelopment Authority masterplan, which guides development in the next 10 to 15 years. This means either HDB flats or private homes can be built on the land.
HDB did not specify if the sites are earmarked for public or private housing, but said more details will be announced eventually.
These plots would likely be sold to developers via the biannual Government Land Sales process, if the sites are to be used for private housing.
The Global Indian International School Balestier campus used to be at 51 Jalan Rajah, which sits beside the Kallang River and Pan-Island Expressway and across from Toa Payoh Stadium.
The Jurong East site housed the now-defunct Yuqun Primary School, which was merged with Yuhua Primary School in 2002.
The Muhammadiyah Welfare Home for children occupies the Bedok site, but will move to a new space in Pasir Ris in June. The land is near Bedok Reservoir MRT station, on the Downtown line. Documents state that the estimated site area is 16,500 sq m. Demolition work is expected to take place between July and May next year.
The Toa Payoh site, estimated to be around 5,500 sq m, is next to Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah and Pei Chun Public School. Demolition is expected to be completed by November.
The land area and demolition timeline for the Balestier and Jurong East sites were not specified in the tender documents.
HDB called for a tender in January and last month to engage arborists to assess the health of trees on the four sites. It will seek approval to remove unhealthy trees that are in danger of dying or falling.
“The healthy trees and other greenery on these sites will be retained or incorporated in the development of the sites, where feasible,” HDB said.
Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, noted that the four sites are within mature estates, with the Balestier and Toa Payoh plots being the most attractive given their central locations.
However, she said it is unlikely HDB will launch new flats or put up the plots for sale any time soon as it takes time to clear and prepare the land. “HDB will likely also have quite a bit of backlog of sites to launch, as Covid-19 probably delayed some plans, so these new sites may not take priority yet.”
source: The Straits Times
