10,000 new homes to be built in Yishun; Gillman Barracks site may be used for residential development

SINGAPORE: To meet the demand for homes, the government will launch a new housing area in Yishun and may develop a new residential neighbourhood at Gillman Barracks.

This was announced by National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Tuesday (Mar 5), as he laid out his ministry’s spending plans for the year.

About 10,000 homes will be built in the new Yishun estate of Chencharu, situated near Khatib MRT station.

At least 80 per cent will be public housing, with the first Build-to-Order (BTO) project – comprising 1,200 units of two-room Flexi to five-room flats – to be launched in June, said the Ministry of National Development and the Housing and Development Board in a press release.

Other projects in the area will be progressively launched in the coming years.

Chencharu was first identified as a new housing area by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in June 2022. Two tenants in that area, including the Orto leisure park which housed prawning and longkang fishing ponds, vacated their premises last June to make way for redevelopment.

The site will provide “a sizeable supply of new homes", particularly for those who wish to live near their parents in the area, Mr Lee said.

Future residents in Chencharu will be served by Khatib MRT and other connectivity initiatives.

New recreational, community and commercial facilities will also be built to complement existing facilities at Khatib Central and HomeTeam NS Khatib.

Property firm PropNex said there could be pent-up demand for BTO flats in Chencharu as many of the existing HDB blocks around Khatib MRT station were built in the 1980s.

POTENTIAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN GILLMAN BARRACKS

Over the longer term, the government is studying the possibility of introducing a new residential neighbourhood at Gillman Barracks, which is currently an arts and lifestyle enclave.  

The potential project will have a mix of private and public housing, as well as public spaces and amenities.

Environmental and heritage studies will start in the second quarter of this year. These are estimated to be completed around the first half of 2026.

The Gillman Barracks, which is located a short distance from the city centre and adjacent to the future Greater Southern Waterfront district, is predominantly zoned as a “reserve site” in URA’s Master Plan 2019.

The Master Plan is a statutory land use plan that guides Singapore’s development in the medium term and is typically reviewed every five years. A reserve site means the specific land use has not been determined.

“Besides providing more opportunities for Singaporeans to live closer to the city centre, the new residential neighbourhood can build on the character and charm of the former colonial buildings,” Mr Lee said.

“Residents will also have easy access to green and recreational spaces, such as the Southern Ridges and Labrador Nature Park Network.”

Gillman Barracks is occupied by various tenants, such as offices, creative lifestyle, arts, and food and beverage outlets, with tenancies that would progressively expire by 2030.

The authorities said findings from the environmental and heritage studies “will inform the detailed plans for the site and guide agencies in developing the site sensitively”.

They added they will also engage relevant stakeholders, including existing tenants at Gillman Barracks.
 
“Existing tenants can continue to stay on site till the end of their tenancies. More details will be shared when ready,” the agencies said.

Analysts said any potential public flats in Gillman Barracks may come under the prime location housing model.

"Looking at the existing flats in Telok Blangah, the flats could go as high as 40 storeys. Some flats facing Henderson could have unblocked views," said Huttons' senior director of data analytics Lee Sze Teck.

"The development model could follow the old police academy in Mount Pleasant where some parts of heritage are retained and conserved."

Should the Gillman Barracks area be transformed into a residential neighbourhood, the housing demand for both private and public housing will likely be robust, PropNex added.

HOUSING MARKET TO CONTINUE TO STABILISE IN 2024

Mr Lee also provided an update on the housing market, which he said is expected to continue to stabilise this year.

As of February this year, more than 67,000 flats, or two-thirds of the authorities’ commitment to launch 100,000 new flats by 2025, have been launched, he told the House.

The commitment was made in 2021 to address an imbalance in housing supply and demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Supply of private housing has been ramped up as well. Nearly 9,250 units were launched under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme last year, the highest annual supply in the last 10 years.

For the first half of 2024, sites that can yield a total of about 5,450 private homes on the GLS’ confirmed list have been released. This is the highest supply on the confirmed list in a single GLS programme in over 10 years, Mr Lee said.

“We are watching the market carefully, and are prepared to inject even more housing supply if necessary to meet demand,” the minister told the House.

At the same time, a significant number of new public and private homes have been completed. Around 43,000 homes were completed last year, marking the largest number in a single year since 2018, he said.

Noting that the property market is stabilising, Mr Lee said that HDB resale prices rose 4.9 per cent last year, less than half of the 10.4 per cent increase in 2022.

Price growth in the private residential market also moderated from 8.6 per cent in 2022 to 6.8 per cent last year.

BTO application rates have come down as well – from a high of 5.8 applications per flat in 2020 to 2.9 applications per flat last year.

Meanwhile, transaction volume in the private property market last year fell by 13 per cent from 2022, and is at its lowest since 2016.

In a sign that rents are stabilising, Mr Lee pointed to how the quarterly increase in public housing rents have moderated to 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, down from 1.9 per cent in the third quarter.

Private housing rents fell by 2.1 per cent quarter-over-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2023. This was the first quarterly decline in over three years, the minister said.

"We expect the housing market to continue to stabilise this year. We will continue to launch a steady supply of new homes in various locations, so that there is a home for every budget and need," said Mr Lee.

"Amidst persisting economic uncertainties, geopolitical tensions and higher interest rates, we encourage buyers to be prudent in their home purchases to avoid over extending themselves."