Tanglin Halt to have 5,500 HDB flats, integrated development with hawker centre and polyclinic
Up to 5,500 Housing Board flats will be built as part of redevelopment plans for Tanglin Halt, one of Singapore’s oldest housing estates within Queenstown.
An integrated development – where HDB flats will be connected to shops and a hawker centre and market – will be a key feature of the estate, the Housing Board said on Thursday. The Queenstown Polyclinic in Stirling Road will be relocated to the complex.
The development will be built on the site of the former Tanglin Halt Neighbourhood Centre, which houses the existing Tanglin Halt Market and the former Commonwealth Drive Food Centre.
Senior Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How on Thursday said the estate’s redevelopment will provide more housing opportunities for future generations, including for young families who wish to live near their parents.
“With more young residents moving into the estate, the Tanglin Halt community will also become more vibrant over time,” he said at HDB’s professional engagement and knowledge-sharing forum at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.
The estate, comprising 3,480 households, was identified for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) in 2014. The majority of its former residents have since moved to replacement homes in Dawson, and the old buildings are being demolished.
Construction works for the integrated development will be split in two phases, starting with the site of the former Commonwealth Drive Food Centre in the second half of 2024.
When the first phase is completed, stallholders at the adjacent Tanglin Halt Market will move to the new development, and the second phase of construction will begin at the vacated market. This is to minimise disruption to stallholders, HDB added.
HDB said the integrated development’s design will incorporate elements of the food centre’s iconic hexagonal shape and the barrel vault shape of Tanglin Halt Market. It will also have courtyard spaces like the former neighbourhood centre.
New flats forming part of the integrated development will be launched for sale in 2024.
The first Build-To-Order project in the estate, Tanglin Halt Cascadia, was launched in the October sales exercise under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model. The 973-unit project had a first-timer application rate of less than one, meaning all first-time home seekers will likely get a chance to select a unit.
HDB told The Straits Times that the rest of Tanglin Halt estate will be redeveloped in the next 10 to 15 years.
Mr Tan said the authorities will carry out redevelopment plans sensitively, and preserve as much of the estate’s history and heritage as possible.
“As we introduce new features to refresh the estate, we will also ensure that we retain the estate’s rich heritage and mature greenery,” he added.
For example, blocks 69 and 70 in Commonwealth Drive, which were built by the now-defunct Singapore Improvement Trust, could be repurposed as community spaces as part of a park, HDB said.
To pay homage to the old chap lau chu, or “10-storey house” in Hokkien, new blocks near the Rail Corridor will be kept at 10 storeys, it added. These have been offered as part of Tanglin Halt Cascadia.
Landscaping and recreational facilities will be introduced for the stretch of the Rail Corridor that runs along the edge of Tanglin Halt, and there will be a new park to serve as a community space and pit stop for residents.
In addition, a linear park will be built to connect Commonwealth MRT station and the Rail Corridor, while Commonwealth Drive will be turned into a pedestrian-friendly zone with cycling and pedestrian footpaths.
Property analysts said the flats to be launched in Tanglin Halt will likely be PLH units – which will be known as Prime flats from the second half of 2024 – following in the footsteps of Tanglin Halt Cascadia.
In particular, flats in the integrated development are likely to be launched under the Prime model as it is located near Commonwealth MRT station and offers a host of facilities, said PropNex Realty head of research and content Wong Siew Ying.
Huttons Asia senior director of data analytics Lee Sze Teck said the complex could yield between 700 and 800 flats and may exceed 40 storeys. He added that there could be more interest in adjacent flats in Commonwealth View, which do not have resale restrictions, unlike the Tanglin Halt Cascadia project. Commonwealth View’s resale flat prices could exceed $1 million, he added.
HDB said the plans for Tanglin Halt complement broader rejuvenation plans for Queenstown.
Since September, HDB has been announcing rejuvenation plans for the fourth batch of towns under the Remaking Our Heartland programme – Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang and Queenstown.
Queenstown is set to undergo a facelift, with new parks, exercise trails, cycling paths and therapeutic gardens to be rolled out from 2025.
About 79,000 residents in Queenstown and Farrer Road estate will benefit from the improvements.
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