The government’s move not to renew the leases of Marina Bay Golf Course and Keppel Club is not down to land scarcity, but is about freeing up land in the prime and central areas.
“In my opinion, land is not that scarce yet as Singapore still has a decent amount of land available especially in the northern regions. Hence, my feeling is not so much inadequate land resources as a whole but more of freeing up land in the prime and central areas,” said Evan Chung, Vice President, Resale Division at DTZ.
While losing the vast expanse of greenery would be a pity, it is worth noting that the 2013 Draft Master Plan offers “provisions for more nature areas, ecological corridors, parks, gardens and waterways”, he noted.
Moreover, “the planners can always plan and make provisions for green lungs and recreational amenities on the sites taken back”, said Elaine Chow, Executive Director of Research at Chesterton Singapore.
She reckons that the government could incorporate conditions in the land tender exercise to cater for greenery and recreational space in the upcoming developments.
“Personally, I feel that it would be very interesting and exciting to see what the planners and the concerned public come up with collectively to enhance the greenery and recreational aspects of these plots,” added Chow.
Notably, around 16,000 new homes could be built on the land freed up by the expiry of leases of Marina Bay Golf Course, Keppel Club and Orchid Country Club.
“Aside from private housing, I believe that there would be public housing in those areas too but could likely be skewed towards the feel of more iconic developments like the Pinnacle @ Duxton and SkyTerrace @ Dawson,” said Chung.
With the resident population set to grow in those areas, commercial amenities will have to increase considering the new opportunities.
“Looking at the plans laid out for the Southern Waterfront District, I would expect these areas to be an extension of that, with more exciting mixed developments where living spaces are integrated with commercial and green spaces. The look and feel of these could be similar to the recently launched DUO Residences and the upcoming Marina One,” Chung said.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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