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5 Things To Know About HDB’s Residential Development At The Keppel Club Site In The Greater Southern Waterfront

Waterfront living and public housing benefits


Ever since its first announcement in 2013, the Greater Southern Waterfront has been of great interest to property pundits and future homebuyers. After all, the idea of waterfront living in the centre/ south of the island near to the existing CBD is highly attractive to many would-be property owners.

The Greater Southern Waterfront extends from Pasir Panjang to Marina East and covers about 2,000 hectares of land. This is six times the size of Marina Bay and in our terms, double the size of Punggol.

Finally, after years of anticipation as the existing ports gradually move over to Tuas, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and HDB has announced the residential developments for the Greater Southern Waterfront on the site of the existing Keppel Club.

Here are the 5 things to know about this new development in the Greater Southern Waterfront.

#1 The Keppel Club Site Will Have About 9,000 Homes Of Which 6,000 Will be HDB Flats

As outlined in the URA Master Plan for the Greater Southern Waterfront, the site of the existing Keppel Club will be returned to the government and turned into a housing precinct. This will include both public and private housing.

The site of Keppel Club sits on around 48 hectares of land. The first land parcel (the entire Bukit Chermin site) will end its lease (including extensions) on 30 June 2022 while the second land parcel (the clubhouse and access road) will end on 31 March 2023.

Source: Keppel Club

Keppel Club started in 1904 and is the oldest golf club still in its original location (though this will change with the development of the Greater Southern Waterfront). For some property speculators, the development of Keppel Club into a residential precinct, especially for public housing, may be unexpected but it is not far from the government’s vision to make public housing inclusive.

About 6,000 HDB flats will be built on the Keppel Site. The first of these sites will be launched in 3 years’ time or in 2025. This means that the remaining 3,000 homes will be allocated for private housing in the area.

For reference, the upcoming Mount Pleasant development sits on 33 hectares and will house about 5,000 HDB flats. The first of these flats will launch in 2026.

Read Also: 6 Things To Know About Singapore’s Newest HDB Town In Mount Pleasant

#2 The Flats At Keppel Club Site Will Offer Unique Waterfront Living

Future residents of the Keppel Club development will enjoy unique waterfront living while being close to nature.

The estate will be kept car-lite with its central location and 2 nearby MRT stations (Telok Blangah and Labrador Park) serving the estate’s accessibility needs. Residents will be able to get around easily by walking (along the walking trails that connect the MRT stations, parks and open spaces) or cycling.

The house developments will also echo the emphasis on nature and feature skyrise greenery and landscaped terraces to allow residents to live in an eco-friendly environment.

#3 Near To The Upcoming Pasir Panjang Power Station District

There are also plans to transform the nearby former Pasir Panjang Power Station buildings into a distinctive and vibrant mixed-use district, characterised by its unique industrial heritage and waterfront.

Source: URA

Built in the 1950s and 60s, the two former power station buildings, along with the surrounding disused industrial structures that form the core of the Pasir Panjang Power District. In 2019, a call for public ideas was made under “Power-Up Pasir Panjang”, to envision future possibilities for this unique site and to celebrate its distinctive heritage.

Given the transformation of St James Power Station to its current use as a modern office building (and Dyson headquarters), we can expect that the Pasir Panjang Power Station buildings will be equally modernised while retaining their heritage significance.

#4 Green Connectivity Including Labrador Nature Park Network

The Keppel Club site is also connected to the new Labrador Nature Park Network, which will comprise more than 200 hectares of green spaces. This will add close to 30 km of new nature trails, park connectors and Nature Ways for residents and visitors. This will provide a total of 40 km of such spaces for Singaporeans to explore in that area.

While the Keppel Club site is a brownfield site, it is close to several important nature areas, such as the Labrador Nature Reserve, Southern Ridges, and Berlayer Creek – which is an important coastal habitat. An Environmental Impact Study (EIS) had been conducted to ensure that the development plans are sensitive to the surrounding terrestrial and coastal environments.

According to the finding, the Keppel Club site serves as an important ecological connection between the mature secondary forests along the Southern Ridges and Labrador Nature Reserve. To enhance this ecological connectivity, MND will set aside close to 10 hectares of green spaces as parks and open land, within the Keppel Club site. This amounts to about 20% of the site area, or over 18 football fields.

These green spaces will form four green spaces throughout the estate and serve both as habitats and connecting pathways for flora and fauna to surrounding nature areas, and as recreational spaces for residents as well. This includes the Central Corridor – a central green park running through the development, stretching from Telok Blangah Road in the north to Berlayer Creek in the south. Berlayer Corridor, which is a 30m wide extension along Berlayer Creek to protect the existing mangrove habitat, that is part of a new Berlayer Creek Nature Park. Henderson Corridor, which is a linear park along the new road at the eastern boundary of the Keppel Club site. And the Northern Corridor, which is a landscaped linear green along West Coast Highway and Telok Blangah Road to connect the three Corridors.

#5 Will These HDB Flats In The Keppel Club Site Be Under The Prime Location Housing Model?

Given the attractiveness of the location and proposed development, the million-dollar question would be whether these HDB flats will fall under the Prime Location Housing (PLH) Model.

In fact, the discussion about PLH was spurred partly by the rise of $1 million-dollar flats in Pinnacle@Duxton, a centrally located BTO launch and the upcoming developments of the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW). Earlier mentions about public housing in the GSW also brought up the inclusion of rental flats in this prime public housing area. Thus, it is highly likely that the Keppel Club site BTO launches would fall under PLH.

Given the trend for centrally located and mature estate BTO launches to only offer up to 4-room flat sizes, we can also expect that most of these flats will be 3-room and 4-room flats with no 5-room flats offered.

As a reference, future potential homebuyers can take note of the recent launch of Telok Blangah Beacon, in the nearby Telok Blangah area. The 3-room flats launched at a price of $419,000 to $504,000 while 4-room flats launched at $602,000 to $710,000, and these were not PLH flats.

The first PLH BTO flats at Rocher (River Peaks I & II) were priced at $409,000 to $474,000 for 3-room flats and $582,000 to $688,000 for 4-room flats, while the PLH BTO flats at Kallang/Whampoa (King George’s Heights) were priced at $353,000 to $462,000 for 3-room flats and $488,000 to $675,000 for 4-room flats.

Past BTO launches 3-room 4-room
Telok Blangah Beacon $419,000 to $504,000 $602,000 to $710,000
River Peaks I & II (PLH) $409,000 to $474,000 $582,000 to $688,000
King George’s Heights (PLH) $353,000 to $462,000 $488,000 to $675,000

 

Read Also: Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) Model: 8 Things To Know About The Regulations For New HDB Flats Built In Prime Location

Cover image: URA

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