SINGAPORE - Five new housing projects are set to spring up in the Dawson estate in Queenstown by 2020.
In a blog post on Friday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced that the Housing Board will be building replacement flats for residents at the Tanglin Halt estate, under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS).
This is part of the HDB's "Housing-in-a-Park" vision for Dawson, which will feature more greenery such as sky gardens and landscaped sky terraces.
"With every new HDB town becoming more modern and better designed, there is a need to ensure that the older towns do not end up too far behind," said Mr Khaw, adding that many of the flats in the area are around 50 years old. The new flats will provide new homes for Tanglin Halt residents, many of whom have been living there for more than 50 years, said Mr Khaw.
"They will get a new modern flat with a fresh 99-year lease, with greenery at their doorstep, and panoramic views of the city and surrounding areas. I am sure they will find this attractive and exciting," he said.
The HDB said that about 3,700 new 2- to 5-room flats, 30 shops, four eateries, a supermarket and a hawker centre will be built under this project. They will be located at five different sites along Margaret Drive, Dawson Road and Strathmore Avenue.
Under SERS, 3,480 households in 31 blocks along Tanglin Halt Road and Commonwealth Drive will be given the choice of relocating to the new housing projects, where they will be guaranteed a flat. Residents will be compensated for their existing flats based on market value.
The project will also require 157 market and hawker stalls and 54 shops and eating houses to relocate for the area's redevelopment. Some shop tenants will receive a $60,000 ex-gratia payment or relocation assistance from HDB.
Market and hawker stallholders will be allocated a new stall at the replacement market and hawker centre, or receive an ex-gratia of up to $23,000 from the National Environment Agency should they wish to exit the trade.
Since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the Remaking Our Heartland initiative at the National Day Rally in 2007, the Dawson estate has embarked on a series of redevelopment, including two new Build-To-Order housing projects that were launched in Dec 2009.
