Ang Mo Kio site identified for SERS offers 'significant' redevelopment potential: Analysts

SINGAPORE: The site in Ang Mo Kio that has been identified for the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) offers significant potential for redevelopment, said analysts, citing factors such as its location and proximity to a future MRT station.

This is the first SERS announcement in four years, with four HDB blocks in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 picked for the scheme. More than 600 households will be affected by the move, HDB said on Thursday (Apr 7).

The land parcel is "well-located" beside the CTE and it is within walking distance to the upcoming Tavistock MRT station on the Cross Island Line, noted OrangeTee & Tie's senior vice president of research and analytics Christine Sun.

"It is also situated near the landed properties at Serangoon Gardens. Therefore any new high rise buildings will enjoy good views due to the low rise landed housing," she said.

Ms Sun added that the site could have been selected to facilitate the construction of the underground MRT station.

"More space may be needed for construction. The deep excavation and construction works of the MRT station could also impact the structural soundness of surrounding buildings especially the safety of residents living in older buildings," she said. 

Huttons Asia's senior director for research Lee Sze Teck said that the site may have been chosen also because of the availability of a site to build replacement homes "not too far from the current location".

"With this site freed up, it is possible to have more flats nearby to undergo SERS. This site could be used to build replacement flats for SERS," he said.

Dr Lee Nai Jia, Deputy Director at the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS), said there is potential to build taller blocks.

"I think 36 storeys is the maximum. So I think there's still a lot of room for it to be redeveloped into either newer developments, newer public housing developments or private housing developments," he added.

Sharing the sentiment, Ms Sun said: "Currently, the old housing blocks are around 13 storeys whereas the land can be built up to around 36 storeys. Therefore, the land may be acquired via SERs to be redeveloped to optimise the land usage.

"I think that piece of land could be redeveloped into a few tall blocks, which may even be an integrated development comprising some retail or commercial components linked to the Tavistock MRT station."

PropNex Realty's head of research and content Wong Siew Ying noted that the plot of land is not far from several schools and many amenities such as the Chong Boon Market and Food Centre, AMK Hub and Ang Mo Kio bus interchange and MRT station. 

"As for site attributes, it is a regular-shaped site that appears to be quite large and presents significant redevelopment potential in the future. As the four blocks are sitting on a relatively huge plot and are fairly spaced out, the site can offer intensification of land use and an increase in density for future housing developments," she added.

SERS, introduced in 1995, is part of the Government's efforts to renew older housing estates. 

Ms Sun noted that past SERS projects were carried out about every two years between 2014 and 2018.

Most of the SERS projects comprise about four to fewer than 10 blocks of flats, excluding the one at Tanglin Halt, which involved many blocks.

"Therefore, the general SERS exercises, based on past records, do not usually involve many flats and are not done on a regular basis, unless the authorities decide to relook and change their SERS policy," she added.