3.6ha site in Toa Payoh East to be set aside for new homes

Area that housed former golf driving range can yield over 1,000 HDB flats, say analysts

- Ng Keng Gene

More than a thousand new homes are expected to be built in Toa Payoh East on a site that had housed the first golf driving range to be built in a Housing Board estate.

On Jan 24, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) published a proposed amendment to the Master Plan 2019, in which a site measuring about 3.6ha - equivalent in size to about five football fields - was set aside for housing use and given a plot ratio of 4.1.

The site is at the intersection of Kim Keat Avenue and Toa Payoh East. Most of it is now zoned for housing with a plot ratio of 3.0, while a segment of it is zoned for place of worship use.

"The proposed residential development will support the demand for housing in the area and allow future residents to tap on the site's proximity to existing amenities within Toa Payoh Town," said the agency on its website.

The nearby amenities include Toa Payoh Polyclinic, Kim Keat Palm Market and Food Centre, as well as St Andrew's secondary school and junior college.

Analysts said that the site can yield between 1,100 and 1,300 HDB flats, or about 1,650 to 1,800 condominium units.

Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group, said that site will likely be used for public housing, as it is surrounded by HDB flats such as the recently completed Kim Keat Ripples Build-To-Order (BTO) project.