Public housing flats will be built on Pearl’s Hill in Chinatown for the first time in more than 40 years, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Oct. 3.

Build-to-Order (BTO) and rental flats will make up some of the 6,000 public and private homes to be progressively developed on the hill over the next decade, alongside condominiums and serviced apartments.

URA added that Pearl's Hill will be a car-lite district with a network of cycling and walking paths.

The homes there will provide a mix of housing options in central locations, it added.

Pearl’s Hill houses the former police commander’s bungalow and police barracks built in the 1920s and 1930s, which have been conserved due to their historical significance.

The barracks could be reused for lifestyle purposes.

Open spaces in the area could be transformed into a community node along Eu Tong Sen Street.

Pearl’s Hill City Park, transport nodes, Robertson Quay and Fort Canning Park will be linked via street-level and elevated connections to be built in the area.

A mixed-use development connected to Outram Park MRT station has also been proposed.

The "My City, My Home" exhibition about the new estates in Pearl’s Hill and Marina South is now at the URA Centre in Maxwell Road until Feb. 2, 2024.

It will also feature conceptual plans for the central region of Bukit Timah Turf City, Mount Pleasant and the Greater Southern Waterfront, which holds the former site of the Keppel golf course.

The public can offer their views on the plans for the new neighbourhoods.

Turf City

Turf City has been earmarked for residential development since 1998, and selected clusters of former racecourse buildings and structures will be retained and repurposed.

Areas with ecological value will also be retained.

The upcoming Turf City stop on the Cross Island MRT line is expected to be ready by 2032.

The car-lite neighbourhood is located near the Sixth Avenue station along the Downtown MRT line.

Mount Pleasant

Six BTO projects comprising 5,000 homes will be developed over the next decade in a 33ha estate at Mount Pleasant near the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

The area is equivalent to 46 football fields.

The first project is expected to be launched in 2025.

Greater Southern Waterfront

The Keppel area is part of the Greater Southern Waterfront at Singapore's southern coastline from Pasir Panjang to Marina East.

About 9,000 new homes are set to be built on the former golf course, of which around 6,000 will be HDB flats.

The first housing parcel on the 48ha site at Bukit Chermin will be launched in the next five years.

The new Marina South neighbourhood overlooking Gardens by the Bay will yield more than 10,000 homes, featuring a mix of residential, retail, office and hotel developments.

The 45ha precinct the size of 63 football fields is expected to be car-lite, with a cycling network.

Elevated routes will link Marina South to Gardens by the Bay and the waterfront.

Two land parcels in Marina Gardens Lane and Marina Gardens Crescent have been launched and can yield more than 1,500 private homes.

Plans for these new neighbourhoods fall under the Draft Masterplan 2025, which sets out development and land-use plans for Singapore over the next 10 to 15 years.

Top photo via Google Maps