Eileen Poh Channel NewsAsia 9 Sep 14;
SINGAPORE: The first housing projects at Bidadari and Tampines North will yield more than 2,500 units, and residents can look forward to more greenery, open spaces and seamless connectivity to transportation networks, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced on Tuesday (Sep 9).
Development plans for the two areas were first announced last year. The first public housing project for Bidadari, a former cemetery, will be launched next year. It will be located in the Alkaff neighbourhood, which is adjacent to Upper Serangoon Road.
Residents can expect roof gardens, community terraces, and garden courtyards. There will also be an underpass to connect residents to the Alkaff Lake and Bidadari Park.
At Tampines North, the first project to be launched will be located in Park West District, located along Tampines Avenue 9. This will yield about 1,500 HDB flats.
There will be a park and landscaped decks at Tampines North. The carparks both here and in Bidadari will be hidden under walkways and gardens. It is not just a green feature - it also enhances connectivity and safety for pedestrians when commuting from one end of the precinct to another.
Said Mr Fong Chun Wah, Group Director of Development and Procurement at HDB: “We have put a lot of effort into the landscaping to make landscape decks and also the ground greenery, so that it is a conducive environment for the residents. We have also looked at how we can create more overhead pedestrian links, so that it is a safe environment for residents, especially now that we have more elderly and children in the estates. This will create very safe pedestrian paths."
The two districts will also boast smart features such as a pneumatic waste conveyance system that has sensors to monitor disposal patterns.
Mr Steven Tan, Managing Director of real estate agency OrangeTee, expects Bidadari to be the most popular among home-buyers due to its location: "For HDB estates in centralised locations, the demand is usually much higher."
Those interested in applying for Bidadari will have to wait till next year, while applications for Tampines North will open in November.
On Tuesday, HDB also detailed plans for a seafront district at Punggol Northshore, which will be a testbed for smart technologies.
- CNA/xy
Punggol Northshore to test smart technologies, directly connect to LRT station
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 9 Sep 14;
SINGAPORE — Punggol Northshore, one of the seven new waterfront housing districts in Punggol, will be the first public housing district to be directly connected to a Light Rail Transit station, through which residents can have sheltered access to the waterfront.
It will also be the first district to test-bed smart technologies in public housing, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said today (Sept 9) as it unveiled plans for three housing projects. The district will feature an intelligent parking demand monitoring system, that will automatically increase the number of lots for visitors during non-peak hours. Lights in common areas will be equipped with sensors, and the district’s waste conveyance system will be fitted with sensors to monitor waste disposal patterns.
Punggol Northshore
Punggol Northshore
Smart waste management will feature in the other two housing projects in Bidadari and Tampines North. Tampines North will have what HDB called a comprehensive network of green spaces, including “community living rooms” located on the ground level of each block adorned with lush greenery and landscaping.
Bidadari’s six neighbourhoods will have two malls and a sheltered walkway along Upper Serangoon Road running along the housing development, providing space for recreational and community events.
Punggol district first to trial smart technologies
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 10 Sep 14;
SINGAPORE — From car parks to waste management, one of the seven new waterfront housing districts in Punggol will be the first public housing district here to test smart technologies.
Punggol Northshore will be the next district to be developed in the town, after plans for Matilda district were announced last year. It will have about 6,000 flats, with the first project to be launched next year, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said yesterday when it unveiled plans for three housing projects around the island.
Solar panels will sit atop Punggol Northshore blocks. They will also be directly connected to a Light Rail Transit station, with sheltered access to the waterfront.
Smart technologies will enhance the planning and maintenance of HDB estates for a more liveable and efficient environment, the agency said.
Besides lights equipped with sensors in common areas, the car parks in Punggol Northshore will have an intelligent parking demand monitoring system that automatically increases available lots for visitors during non-peak hours and decreases them in the evening when residents with season parking return home.
A pneumatic waste conveyance system — automated waste collection that uses a vacuum-type underground pipe network to collect household waste — will come with sensors to monitor waste disposal patterns. The data to be collected have yet to be decided on, but the aim is to optimise the deployment of waste-collection resources.
The smart waste management system will also be deployed in the first housing precincts of Bidadari and Tampines North, said the HDB.
The Bidadari project, to be launched next year, will be in Alkaff neighbourhood. It will feature two malls, one with an underpass linking residents to Alkaff Lake and Bidadari Park. Roof gardens and community terraces will be built on top of multi-storey car parks and selected residential blocks, with views of the lake and park.
Over in Tampines North, envisioned as a “green shoot” of Tampines town, its first public housing project comprising 1,500 flats will be launched in November. The project’s blocks will have undulating facades resembling a canyon’s rock walls and its low-rise two-storey car parks will have landscaped rooftops to provide “doorstep greenery” to residents. “Community living rooms” with lush greenery and landscaping will be located at the ground level of each block, with seats for residents to get together and mingle, said the HDB.
The projects — which follow broad master plans for Bidadari and Tampines North announced last year and that for the next phase of Punggol’s development announced in 2012 — aimed for distinctive districts and neighbourhoods, as well as seamless connectivity to transportation networks, the HDB said.
