URA Draft Master Plan 2019: More housing planned for CBD, Marina Bay area

Fann Sim Channel NewsAsia 27 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: More homes will be built in the central business district (CBD) and Marina Bay area, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Wednesday (Mar 27).

Under its Draft Master Plan 2019, which includes plans to rejuvenate the central area, URA said it will increase housing in sites such as Downtown, Marina South and Rochor so that more people can live closer to their workplaces and other amenities.

The plan for a larger live-in population in the office-dominated CBD and Marina Bay area is part of a move by URA to bring more life to the area after office hours.

"We are looking to bring in new housing options in the CBD. We want to make our CBD more vibrant, a 24/7 precinct, and housing is one of the ways where we want to bring in more people that will be living within the CBD areas," said Ms Hwang Yu-Ning, URA’s chief planner.

The central area also includes retail and entertainment clusters at Orchard and the Singapore River, as well as arts, cultural and heritage areas such as the Civic District, Bras Basah and Bugis.

Further south, the site currently occupied by Keppel Club will also be redeveloped for waterfront housing after the current lease expires in 2021, URA said.

The site - which is close to Telok Blangah and Labrador MRT stations - is part of the expansive 2,000-hectare Greater Southern Waterfront project stretching from Pasir Panjang to Marina East.

Some of the development in the Greater Southern Waterfront will begin within the next five to 10 years.

MORE HOUSING IN MATURE ESTATES

Besides the central area, housing and amenities will be also added to the new Bayshore precinct in the Upper East Coast area, and the mature towns of Dakota Crescent and Farrer Park.

A park will be built along the old sea walls, which are characteristic of East Coast Park, as a reminder of its heritage.

When completed, the new Bayshore precinct will have two MRT stations, Bayshore and Bedok South MRT stations. It will also be a car-lite precinct, prioritising walking and cycling with a public transit street lined with shops, food outlets and amenities.

URA said that going forward, future residential precincts will continue to be sustainable, green, community-centric and car-lite, with easy access to a range of public spaces and amenities. Amenities will also be located in one-stop centres similar to Our Tampines Hub to make it easier for residents to shop, dine and engage in family-bonding activities under one roof.

For an existing mature town such as Farrer Park, new housing will open up choices for those seeking to live near the city, URA said. Familiar landmarks such as the Farrer Park Swimming Pool and former Boxing Gym will be retained, while a sports field and park that will be integrated with future housing will allow residents to bond over sports and recreational activities, said URA.

Dakota Crescent can expect to see more public housing, which will be planned to take into consideration the six retained Singapore Improvement Trust blocks nearby, while the iconic Dove Playground will be retained for its heritage value.

BRINGING JOBS CLOSER TO HOMES WITH THREE "GATEWAYS"

Aside from housing, three major economic gateways in the west, north and east are being planned with each anchored in a few key growth sectors. They will serve as major employment hubs.

The eastern gateway is centred in the Changi region to tap on the expansion of Changi Airport and its connectivity. The region comprises Changi Aviation Park and the future Changi East Industrial Zone, and will cater to aviation-related businesses.

Also part of the region is Changi City, which is slated to become an innovative lifestyle business cluster including Changi Business Park, Singapore University of Technology and Design, as well as the future Changi East Urban District located at the doorstep at Terminal 5.

The northern gateway stretches from Woodlands to Punggol and will focus on the agri-tech and food sectors, digital tech and cybersecurity sectors.

In Sungei Kadut, the new Agri-Food Innovation Park will be built as a pilot cluster to catalyse innovation in the agri-tech industry. The park, which is located near to farms in Lim Chu Kang and businesses in the Senoko Food Zone, forms part of a larger Northern Agri-Tech and Food Corridor.

In Woodlands, a new regional centre is on track to become the largest economic hub in the north over the next 15 years with spaces for business, industry, research and development, and learning and innovation.

New community links such as the WoodsVista Gallery and North Coast Vista will link up precincts within Woodlands and bring in more public spaces, and pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to the area.

To the east, the Punggol Digital District – Singapore’s first enterprise district – an integrated business park and the Singapore Institute of Technology university cluster will help foster closer collaboration between industry and academia.

Tapping on Tuas Terminal’s maritime connectivity, the western gateway will be moored alongside the Jurong Lake District and Jurong Innovation District.

As part of the Government’s decentralisation strategy, Jurong Lake District will be the biggest business district outside the CBD while Jurong Innovation District will become a next-generation industrial district covering Nanyang Technological University, CleanTech Park, Bulim, Bahar and Tengah.

URA’s Master Plan is reviewed every five years and charts out the Government’s plans for land use over the next 10 to 15 years.

“In this master plan, we hope to have inclusive, sustainable and green neighbourhoods that will make our city more resilient in the longer term. We are also working on plans to help rejuvenate existing familiar places to make sure we bring in new vibrancy and energy to these areas,” said Ms Hwang.

Source: CNA/na


Familiar places made new, greener under URA’s Draft Master Plan
Fann Sim Channel NewsAsia 27 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: Places that Singaporeans find familiar like Orchard Road, mature towns and major recreational corridors will be rejuvenated, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday (Mar 27).

The areas to be rejuvenated include mature towns like Farrer Park and Dakota Crescent, and recreational corridors like the Civic District and the Rail Corridor, according to URA's Draft Master Plan 2019.

It is a blueprint which charts the Government’s development of statutory land over the next 10 to 15 years.

URA said that even as these places undergo rejuvenation, they will retain parts of their unique heritage "sensitively".

For example, the six former Singapore Improvement Trust blocks built in the 1950s and the iconic Dove Playground in Dakota Crescent will be kept and integrated as a community space.

Around Farrer Park, familiar landmarks such as the Farrer Park Swimming Pool and former Boxing Gym will be also be retained to celebrate the sporting heritage of the area. A sports field and park will be integrated with future housing.

In the Downtown area, comprising the Central Business District (CBD) and Marina Bay, there will be a continued push towards a car-lite neighbourhood with the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line MRT stations - Maxwell and Shenton Way - and Circle Line MRT stations - Prince Edward Road and Cantonment.

By 2021, all buildings in Downtown will be within a 10-minute walk to an MRT station.

For those who prefer to cycle, the existing 22km cycling network will be expanded by more than 5km in the Central area.

URA said that the agencies are also studying the possibility of transforming Robinson Road into a corridor that prioritises public transport and "active mobility" modes of commuting. Along such a corridor, more space can be allocated for buses, cycling paths and pedestrian walkways.

In addition, URA said that it is planning to introduce more homes in the CBD and Marina Bay to increase the vibrancy of the office-dominated Downtown.

More mixed-used urban neighbourhoods that combine amenities, residential and commercial buildings will be brought in to liven up the neighbourhood, similar to what has been done in Tanjong Pagar.

Another way of injecting life to familiar places could be through letting vacant state properties or land for short-term uses, such as around Marina Bay, said URA. This will create opportunities to try out new lifestyle offerings.

"The adaptive reuse of existing buildings is about creating opportunities for new users to go in to some of these old buildings there are not yet ready for rejuvenation or redevelopment. So some of these adaptive reuse could add new interests to different precincts and bring in new life to the places," said Ms Hwang Yu-Ning, URA’s chief planner.

Singapore’s main shopping belt Orchard Road will undergo a facelift as well.

"Differentiated experiences" are planned for each sub-precinct, namely Tanglin, Orchard, Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut. They will be linked by a green corridor between two parks, Singapore Botanic Gardens in Tanglin and Fort Canning Park in Dhoby Ghaut, that flank the shopping street.

MORE PLAY SPACES IN NATURE

The 24km Rail Corridor which runs from Woodlands in the north to Tanjong Pagar in the south will be fully linked up by 2021.

Some areas around the railway will be conserved for its heritage value such as the Bukit Timah Railway Station and Station Master’s Quarters. Both buildings will be refurbished and re-purposed with suitable amenities.

Nearby, the former Bukit Timah Fire Station and Beauty World will be transformed into gateways for the surrounding nature and heritage attractions such as the Coast-to-Coast trail, Rifle Range Nature Park and the Rail Corridor.

The former fire station building will be conserved and turned into a visitor centre and a central point for the network of attractions in the area.

Likewise, street-level activities and landscaping will be added to improve the walking experience and access from Beauty World to the Rail Corridor.

To the north, a 50km belt of parks, beaches and nature attractions will line the northern coast.

Called the Rustic Coast, it will run from Changi to Lim Chu Kang. Visitors will get to see places of military and industrial heritage such as the area formerly occupied by the RAF Seletar, and nature reserves teeming with biodiversity like the Kranji Marshes and Mandai Mangrove and Mudflats.

URA is also exploring recreational options in Kranji, specifically at the Singapore Racecourse, and assessing if it can be turned into a family-friendly and communal spot.

INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE SPOTS

The former Pasir Panjang Power District will be rejuvenated as a new lifestyle and heritage spot highlighting its industrial heritage.

URA said that it is exploring different ways to realise this, including the adaptive reuse of the former power station buildings and opening up the grounds for public access.

It added that it will be sensitive to the adjacent Labrador Nature Reserve as it explore new uses of the spot.

As part of the Greater Southern Waterfront, URA and the Singapore Land Authority will be launching a competition in April for members of public to contribute ideas on how the precinct can be transformed.

"The idea competition is targeted at not just the so-called design professionals or the real estate professionals but it's really for the community to get on board and give us ideas on how they see the different areas and what potential they see in the different buildings and locations," said Ms Hwang.

Similarly, the URA will be holding an ideas competition later this year to seek the public's views for the transformation of Paya Lebar Air Base.

URA said that some of the preliminary ideas include repurposing the former airport buildings and part of the runway into community spaces to retain the area's rich aviation heritage, building a network of parks and open spaces, as well as building a mixed-used neighbourhood for future residents.

The public can look through the Draft Master Plan 2019 at an exhibition at the URA Centre Atrium from Mar 27 to May 24. Members of the public can also provide feedback and proposals to the URA and Ministry of National Development.


Source: CNA/nc


Going underground to free up space on the surface: URA Draft Master Plan
Fann Sim Channel NewsAsia 27 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is using special 3D technology to study the underground as a strategic resource, it said on Wednesday (Mar 27) at the launch of its Draft Master Plan 2019.

The Master Plan is a blueprint that guides Singapore's development over the next 10 to 15 years and is reviewed every five years.

URA said it has rolled out 3D underground maps for Marina Bay, Jurong Innovation District and Punggol Digital District, and plans to expand the pilot to include more areas.

Called the Special and Detailed Control Plan (SCDP), the map shows planned underground uses for each district in 3D, which can help protect planning intention.

"The underground plan is part of our strategy to create spaces for the future and create capacity for growth. Providing the plans for the underground provides transparency to the developers. This is more for the shallow underground, but we are also looking at plans for the deeper caverns. That's for deeper utilities and structures that will go underground," said Ms Hwang Yu-Ning, chief planner at URA.

The authority is studying the possibility of freeing up surface land for people-centric uses and relocating utilities, transport, storage and industrial facilities to the underground.

An example of this, she said, is the new substation in the Labrador, Pasir Panjang area, which has the capacity to power more than two public housing towns. Building the substation underground frees up three hectares of land.

"The 230kV substation will go underground and that frees up ... about 3ha of land on top for a future office development. It will also free up the space for other people to enjoy rather than look at utilities above ground," Ms Hwang added.

Depending on the depth, the purposes for underground spaces may vary. In shallower depths, underground connections and MRT stations can be built. Deeper spots such as the Jurong Rock Caverns can store liquid hydrocarbons like gas oil and crude oil.

There are two existing caverns, and JTC and PUB are conducting cavern studies. Cavern areas currently under study are Kent Ridge Hill, Tanjong Kling, Jurong West and Gali Batu.

A 3D Underground Space Plan will come out later this year.

Source: CNA/nc(mn)


Singapore to have 1,000ha more parks and park connectors
Rachel Au-Yong Straits Times 28 Mar 19;

In 15 years' time, nine in 10 Singaporeans will be just a 10-minute walk away from a park.

This enhanced City in a Garden vision was unveiled yesterday in the Draft Master Plan, which shows 1,000ha more parks and park connectors across the island. The expansion is an almost 13 per cent increase over the existing 7,800ha.

This is part of a "conscious and deliberate effort" to protect natural spaces and increase ecological resilience, said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong at the launch of the Draft Master Plan.

"From time to time, we hear concerns that Singapore is developing too rapidly, that we are losing greenery and heritage spaces," he said.

"We have to change and reinvent our city. But Singapore is also our home, and we want it to be a home that's beautiful and green, with familiar spaces that we can connect and identify with."

Recently, nature groups have clashed with the authorities over several developments, the latest of which was over the Housing Board's findings of an environmental study on the clearance of secondary forests for public housing in Tengah.

Last month, the authorities said they intend to make public such findings unless there are specific reasons, like security considerations, to keep them confidential.

Mr Wong yesterday elaborated on the nature of the planned green spaces, saying the goal is to have more than 400km of park connectors in the next 15 years, up from about 300km now.

There will also be major green recreational corridors, including the 36km Coast to Coast trail linking Jurong Lake Gardens in the west to Coney Island Park in the north-east. The trail will be officially launched on Saturday.

Another major green stretch is the 24km Rail Corridor running from Woodlands to Tanjong Pagar. About one million people will live within 1km of it.

Work to enhance a central 4km stretch between Hillview Avenue and Bukit Timah Railway Station is ongoing. The authorities hope that when the entire corridor is fully linked by 2021, it will rejuvenate nearby neighbourhoods.

Some areas in the vicinity of the railway will be conserved for their heritage, such as Bukit Timah Railway Station and the Station Master's Quarters. Both buildings will be refurbished with suitable amenities.

Nearby, the former Bukit Timah Fire Station and Beauty World will be transformed into gateways for the surrounding nature and heritage attractions. The fire station building will have a visitor centre and become a central point for the network of attractions in the area.

At Beauty World, there will be street-level activities and landscaping to improve the walking experience from the shopping mall to the Rail Corridor. An upcoming Bukit Timah Community Centre, with a market and hawker centre, will add to the buzz.

Another major recreational corridor is the Round Island Route, a 150km ring-like park connector that will be progressively completed by 2035.

Part of the route comprises the Greater Rustic Coast, a 50km belt of parks, beaches and nature attractions that stretches from Lim Chu Kang to Changi.

Some of the impending projects there include Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat, which will be enhanced as a nature park in mid-2022, and the development of a new park in Hampstead Gardens.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is also exploring recreational options in Kranji, such as whether Singapore Racecourse can be turned into a family-friendly and communal spot.