Bishan town centre to get new office space, polyclinic, hawker centre

Straits Times

11 hours ago

SINGAPORE - The Bishan town centre will be developed into a sub-regional centre with new workplaces and amenities, in line with the Government's move to shift employment and commercial activities outside the city centre.
National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said the Government is studying adding new office space that can match the scale of that in Paya Lebar Central, along with a new polyclinic, hawker centre and revamped bus interchange with air-conditioned waiting areas.
Sub-regional centres are business nodes such as Paya Lebar and Serangoon that bring jobs closer to homes. They are smaller than the regional centres in Woodlands, Jurong East and Tampines.
Also under study is whether Bishan Place – the road behind Junction 8 mall – can be transformed into a landscaped pedestrian mall.
A variety of public spaces and skyrise greenery will be integrated with future developments, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on June 25 as it unveiled its 2025 draft masterplan.
A few government agencies are exploring the feasibility of relocating their offices to Bishan town centre to jumpstart the development of this business district, URA added.
Asked which agencies are looking to relocate their offices there, URA said more details will be shared when ready.
The draft masterplan 2025 includes plans to continue driving Singapore's economic growth by strengthening its economic gateways and business districts, rejuvenating key precincts, and supporting innovation.
Beyond the city centre, Singapore is strengthening its three economic gateways in the north, east and west, which will be supported by a network of regional and sub-regional centres bringing jobs and amenities closer to homes, Mr Chee said at the launch of the draft masterplan exhibition.
In the north, the Woodlands regional centre will capitalise on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, which is slated to be ready by end-2026.
URA said a future multi-modal transport hub is being planned, to link MRT and bus services with the cross-border RTS.
The transport hub will feature an arrival plaza with public spaces, and will be part of a larger integrated development to provide flexible spaces for businesses as well as retail and leisure opportunities.
This 7ha business-white development - which will offer a mix of industrial and non-industrial uses - will be built by JTC and is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s.
Most of the gross floor area will be planned for advanced manufacturing use, with the rest for commercial such as retail, eateries , offices and a new bus interchange.
In the east, the Changi region will be anchored by the upcoming Changi Airport Terminal 5, which will be ready in the mid-2030s and reinforce Singapore's position as a global aviation hub, Mr Chee said.
A new 138ha industrial estate will be developed in Seletar East, to bring jobs closer to homes in the north-east region . This new estate – situated between Punggol Town and Seletar Aerospace Park – will house high value-added industries such as a wafer fab park.
'We will also proceed with the development of Jurong Lake District as Singapore's largest mixed-use business district outside the city centre,' Mr Chee added.
URA is also reviewing its industrial land use zone guidelines to give businesses with more flexibility in allowable uses on industrial zoned land. This is to better respond to business needs in an evolving economic landscape, URA said.
In addition, more business-white sites will be rolled out around key transport nodes in the Jurong and Tuas industrial estates, in addition to existing sites in Woodlands, URA said.
'These sites will support the growth of new business models, provide greater flexibility for businesses, better optimise and intensify land use, and inject amenities such as retail and F&B options to serve workers and nearby residents,' it added.
Meanwhile, the revitalization of older developments in strategic areas across Singapore - such as in Orchard Road , along the Singapore River and in the CBD - will continue under two urban rejuvenation schemes.
The Central Business District Incentive (CBDI) aims to encourage the conversion of older and predominantly office developments in the CBD into mixed-use buildings.
The Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme aims to encourage owners of existing commercial buildings in strategic areas such as Orchard Road and Marina Centre, to team up with their neighbours to undertake redevelopment that would transform the street or precinct.
Both schemes were extended for another five years from Feb 7 , 2025.
Since the launch of both schemes in November 2019, 21 proposals have received in-principle approvals.
Under the CBDI, URA has given in-principle approval for 14 applications, of which four including The Skywaters in Shenton Way, Newport Plaza in Anson Road, 15 Hoe Chiang Road and 51 Anson Road are under development.
Seven applications received in-principal approval under the SDI, including the redevelopment of Faber House in Orchard Road and Union Square on the sites of Central Mall and Central Square.
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