1,600 HDB flats and sports centre to be built in Farrer Park

Around 1,600 new Housing Board flats will be built on a 10ha site in Farrer Park and, in keeping with the area's sporting heritage, they will be integrated with recreational facilities including a new sports centre.

The Build-To-Order (BTO) projects will be launched for sale within three years, announced HDB, Sport Singapore and the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday.

The site - about the size of 19 football fields - is located near Little India and Farrer Park MRT stations, as well as Tekka Market and KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

In a nod to the area's rich sporting heritage, about 20 per cent of the site will comprise open spaces for sports and recreational uses, including a 1.2ha central green space comprising a field and a park.

The agencies said the former boxing gym building - once a training ground for the Singapore Amateur Boxing Association - will be retained and converted into a multi-purpose community sporting space. It will be integrated with one of the housing developments.

Key features of the building will be retained and works on it will capture its architectural character, the agencies added.

The estate's multi-storey carpark will be designed so that its ground floor can be set aside for sporting facilities. Other facilities include fitness corners and playgrounds. A jogging track will connect the various facilities in the estate.

There will also be amenities such as shops and a childcare centre.

However, the Farrer Park Swimming Complex will not be retained despite earlier plans to keep the facility. Instead, a new sports centre with swimming pools and other facilities will be built there.

The agencies said it was not feasible to retain the swimming complex. The existing pool shows signs of sinking in, and the pool filtration and underground piping system need a complete overhaul.

The development plans took in suggestions on retaining the area's sporting identity from the Friends of Farrer Park group, the heritage and sports communities, and residents in the area, the agencies said.

Redeveloping brownfield sites such as Farrer Park will enable Singapore to meet the evolving needs of its people, while optimising the country's limited land, they added.

Farrer Park became Singapore's unofficial sports hub from the 1940s to the 1980s. Facilities there included the Farrer Park Athletics Centre and the swimming complex. Numerous national athletes trained there, including former national swimmer Ang Peng Siong who runs APS Swim School at the swimming complex.

Housing analysts said a four-room BTO flat at the Farrer Park site could range from $500,000 to $700,000, while five-room flats may not be offered as prices could be too high.

OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun said the HDB flats offered may fall under the prime location public housing (PLH) model - which is subject to stricter buying and selling conditions - due to its proximity to the city centre and integrated sports facilities.

But Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at Huttons Asia, said the possibility of the flats falling under the PLH model is low. "Prices in the area have not reached the million-dollar mark," he said, noting that four-and five-room resale flats in Farrer Park Road are transacting at $700,000 or more.

Mr Douglas Ng, 31, who runs noodle stall Fishball Story in Circuit Road, takes his three-year-old son to the Farrer Park field about three times a week.

"I'm glad the new estate will have open spaces so my son and I can continue to play soccer. I hope many sports activities will be held here so the community can come together and build close bonds."