Tag Archives: build-to-order

HDB launches sale of site for new integrated development in Yishun

Posted on 28 Jun 2013 | Comments Off on HDB launches sale of site for new integrated development in Yishun

Yishun will soon have a new integrated development. It will boast an air-conditioned bus interchange, residences, commercial retail spaces and the first community club in a mall.

This is part of the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) Remaking Our Heartland Programme for the town.

The site has been put up for tender by the HDB.

Resident Nicky Singh said: “I’ve been staying here for so many years, and now it’s upgrading here. I feel very proud of it.”

The plan was announced by Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, who is also MP for Nee Soon GRC, at the launch of the “Transforming Yishun: Rejuvenating the Town Centre” exhibition on Friday.

Mr Shanmugam said: ” As I said, it will make facilities more accessible, new eateries, new places for people to go to, new facilities. And I think people will also work out, it is going to increase the value of their own properties.”

This is the fourth integrated development with a bus interchange by HDB, and it will also be the largest.

HDB said the tender will close in September, and the project is expected to be completed the latest by 2020.

Ang Hak Seng, chief executive director of the People’s Association, said: “Our cost fee (for the new community club) will remain the same and will remain affordable for residents. We are able to achieve the cost-effective cost fee because of the volume and also because of the synergy with commercial space.”

Proposals to rejuvenate Yishun began in 2007. Several projects have been completed or are underway.

Projects include a 15.5-kilometre cycling path, of which the first phase spanning 1.7 kilometres was completed in March 2011.

The second phase links up the remaining part of Yishun and is slated for completion in 2015.

Source – CNA –  28 Jun 2013

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Balance flats a hit with those under priority scheme

Posted on 14 Jun 2013 | Comments Off on Balance flats a hit with those under priority scheme

Completed new flats proved popular with married couples who are expecting a child or have one aged under 16 in the most recent sales exercise.

Applications under the Parenthood Priority Scheme (PPS) formed about 119 per cent of the completed units on offer, according to Housing and Development Board (HDB) figures. This meant that there were more than two applicants per unit.

The latest exercise was the first to feature the enhanced scheme, which reserves half of balance flats on offer for these married couples. Nearly half of the 8,000 units offered comprised balance flats, with units available in Toa Payoh, Queenstown and Pinnacle@Duxton.

In contrast, PPS applications formed about 14 per cent of those for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats. This means that almost all PPS applicants who applied under the BTO exercise can select a flat, if they choose to, said the HDB.

With one in five PPS applicants comprising married couples who are expecting a child, analysts felt it reflected the group’s urgent housing needs. When asked if completed units should be released more promptly to meet the needs of some, Mr Chris Koh of Chris International felt the current strategy was adequate as it allowed for more choice. “If the units were released at every exercise, the numbers would not be significant. As Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises have been more popular than BTOs, it would ensure that figures won’t be skewed to the SBF units and BTOs would still enjoy some demand,” he said.

The Studio Apartment Priority Scheme, which made its debut in the latest exercise, also witnessed high demand for completed units. Applications under the scheme comprised 150 per cent of the studio apartments offered under SBF, while those for BTOs made up 17 per cent. The scheme is meant for seniors who want to move to a studio apartment that is close to their current home or near their children.

Source – Today – 14 June 2013

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