You may not have noticed this in the last few months because of the coronavirus, but Singapore is tiny.
With such a small land area and a large population, space is precious and needs to be allocated wisely.
So, when you have to build a new residential estate and a neighbourhood centre in the same area, what can you do to save space?
Build all the roads underground, of course.
Everything About The New Tengah BTO, Where All Roads Will be Underground
The first batch of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats in Tengah’s Park District will be up for sale in August, according to the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
The residential estate, called Parc Residences @ Tengah, will be the third district launched in Tengah.
According to CNA, the estate comprises 12 residential blocks with 1,044 units of two-room flexi, three-room, four-room, and five-room flats.
The most exciting thing about this estate is that it’ll be a completely car-free town.
Roads will run beneath the town centre, HDB said, freeing up space at the ground level for retail and recreational use.
This means that you can dash from your house to the nearest bubble tea store if you’re having a boba emergency without worrying about being demolished by a speeding car.
“Separated from roads and traffic, the heart of the town centre will be safe and friendly for residents to walk and cycle”, HDB said.
Comes With Neighbourhood Centre
Residents will also have access to a sports centre, eateries, and a polyclinic at the neighbourhood centre, which will be completed in 2025.
The centre will have a polyclinic, supermarket, and childcare centre as well, reported CNA.
There will also be a new MRT station on the Jurong Region Line.
Green Spaces
If you’re a nature lover, you’ll probably love this new estate.
In an effort to encourage a healthier lifestyle, Parc Residences @ Tengah will also be surrounded by a variety of green community spaces, such as the Forest Corridor and Forest Fringe.
Residents will even have access to community gardening and farming, HDB said.
“Within Park District, the farmways are about 600 metres long and 40 metres wide on average. HDB will partner (the National Parks Board) to provide some 3,000 square metres of space, equivalent to the size of 33 four-room flats, for community gardening and farming within the farmways”.
In addition, a 1.5km-long Rainforest Walk will run through the housing projects, giving residents a path to take pleasant walks while surrounded by lush greenery.
Playgrounds & Jogging Track on Car Park Rooftop
This estate can’t possibly get any cooler right?
The rooftop at most HDB multi-storey car parks is used to, well, house parked cars. But on this rooftop, there’ll be playgrounds, fitness corners, and a jogging track.
The rooftop will be covered in green features as well, of course.
According to CNA, the new estate will provide 42,000 homes when it is fully developed, in a total of five districts.
Including the 1,044 Tengah flats, HDB will offer around 7,800 BTO flats in its August sales exercise.
So, will this be your new home?