Life’s a park for residents in Tengah’s newest district

Rainforest-themed playgrounds, a green lung called Central Park and a 1.5km-long rainforest walk that connects various housing projects.

These are some of the green features that future residents living in Tengah's new Park district can look forward to.

It is the third of five districts planned for Singapore's newest housing estate, which is located in the west.

Public housing in two of the districts - Plantation and Garden - was launched earlier. The other two districts in Tengah are Brickland and Forest Hill.

This month, 1,044 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be offered for sale in the Parc Residences @ Tengah project.

It was originally slated to launch in May, but the extension of the Covid-19 circuit breaker forced a deferment.

The Parc Residences @ Tengah is the first BTO housing parcel to be launched in the new Park district, which will hold an estimated 7,200 new flats when completed, the Housing Board announced yesterday.

HDB has launched more than 7,000 new flats across six BTO projects in the town since 2018.

Tengah, which is about the size of Bishan and billed as Singapore's "forest town", will dedicate about 20 per cent of its 700ha to green spaces.

When fully developed, the town will have about 42,000 new homes, with the first residents expected to start moving in from 2022.

In line with its name, Park will have a multitude of green spaces to provide its residents with a park-like environment, while being connected to its town centre.

All five districts will incorporate biophilic designs to connect residents to nature, to "increase their overall well-being, promote better health and a greater sense of place", added HDB.

The 104ha Park district is where the "car-free" town centre is sited. Tengah's green centrepiece, Central Park, will feature a "forest stream", which is an existing canal that will be naturalised and landscaped.

CONNECTIVITY

HDB is working with the National Parks Board to develop parks and green spaces to facilitate ecological connectivity.

A 1.5km rainforest walk will weave through various housing projects so residents can easily access Central Park and the 15m- to 20m-wide forest fringe that will run around the town.

Within the rainforest walk, there will be nature-themed children's playgrounds, fitness stations, open green spaces and seating areas.

The planting along the walk will be layered to mimic the emergent, canopy and understorey layers found in a tropical rainforest, and include features such as vegetated swales and rain gardens.

A 100m-wide, 5km-long forest corridor running parallel to the rainforest walk will link Tengah to the surrounding green network between the western and central catchment areas.

Also in the works are Plantation and Garden farmways, which will extend from two other districts in Tengah - Plantation and Garden respectively.

These farmways, which traverse Park district, are about 600m long and 40m wide on average.

Within the Park district, some 3,000 sq m of green space - the equivalent of about 33 four-room flats - will be set aside for community gardening and farming within the farmways. This is in addition to the community gardens within individual public housing projects.

These activities will offer residents the opportunity to "experience a different lifestyle, connect with one another and relive the kampung spirit", HDB said.

The multi-storey carpark within the BTO project will feature a rooftop garden.

Its ground level will be kept car-free to house amenities such as a childcare centre, fitness stations and a playground.

Tengah is the first HDB town to be planned with smart technologies town-wide from the outset. For instance, it will use smart lighting and an urban water harvesting system to collect and store rainwater for non-potable uses.

A pneumatic waste conveyance system will make waste collection and estate maintenance more efficient.

Home owners in some BTO projects in the Plantation, Garden and Park districts will also have the option of subscribing to a centralised cooling system offered by SP Group, which is more energy-efficient.

Besides Tengah, HDB will later this month offer about 7,800 BTO flats in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Choa Chu Kang, Geylang, Pasir Ris, Tampines and Woodlands.

A further 5,700 flats in Bishan, Sembawang, Tampines, Tengah and Toa Payoh will be launched in November.

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