SINGAPORE 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 knowledgesharing forum at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.

The estate, comprising 3,480 households, was identified for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme 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 into 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 the 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 BuildToOrder project in the estate, Tanglin Halt Cascadia, was launched in the October sales exercise under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model. The 973unit project had a firsttimer application rate of less than one, meaning all firsttime 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.”

For example, blocks 69 and 70 in Commonwealth Drive, which were built by the nowdefunct 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 “10storey 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 pedestrianfriendly zone with cycling and pedestrian footpaths.

When asked if Tanglin Halt will have rental flats, Mr Tan said it is something the authorities are looking at. He added that having a good social mix is one of the objectives they have in mind for the neighbourhood.

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.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...

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