‘White flats’ to be offered at first Mount Pleasant BTO project up for sale in October

SINGAPORE: The first Build-to-Order (BTO) project in the future Mount Pleasant housing estate will offer home seekers the option of “white flats”, a new type of Housing Board flat without partitions and beams.

It will be the second BTO project to offer such an open-concept layout, after Crawford Heights which was launched last October. About four in 10 buyers there opted for a “white flat”, said the HDB on Tuesday (Sep 2).

Mount Pleasant Crest, as the upcoming project is called, will have about 1,350 two-room flexi, three-room and four-room flats, as well as 270 public rental flats. 

Altogether there will be slightly more than 1,600 flats on offer, more than the 1,500 announced in March.

More flats are also being planned for the entire Mount Pleasant area – about 6,000 across four projects, up from the previously announced 5,000 units across six projects. 

In response to CNA's queries, HDB said the earlier figures were estimates based on conceptual development plans for Mount Pleasant.

The increased supply for the 33 ha site – about the size of 46 football fields – came after “further detailed planning studies”, it noted, adding that this will help meet strong housing demand.

In a separate statement, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said the new estate will “provide more housing options for Singaporeans and better support young families who wish to live near their parents for mutual care and support”.

More details on Mount Pleasant’s first BTO project, including its classification, will be announced in October’s sales exercise.

In a press release unveiling its masterplan for the new neighbourhood, HDB added it will progressively launch the rest of the projects “in the coming years”.

PRESERVATION OF HISTORY

The new Mount Pleasant housing estate, first announced in November 2021, will be built on an area that was home to the Old Police Academy from 1929 to 2005.

Given the site’s historical significance as Singapore’s first police academy, a multi-agency heritage study was done, alongside an environmental impact assessment. 

Authorities have said that heritage elements will be “sensitively integrated” into the new housing estate.

For example, a part of the former parade square will be retained as a public space for community use, alongside the conservation of six buildings.

These include four blocks built between 1926 and 1930, which will be repurposed for alternative uses such as a neighbourhood police post and a Singapore Police Force heritage gallery.

A block built in 1931 will remain as a senior police officers' mess.

Another block, which began construction in 1928 as a clinic and hospital ward, will be integrated into future developments.

There are plans for a sheltered pedestrian thoroughfare connecting the estate’s various precincts, which will draw inspiration from the colonial-styled buildings in the old academy.

The “urban verandah” will be designed with a clay-coloured roof, white-painted columns, louvred ventilation details and latticed panels and archways, HDB said.

Future residents of Mount Pleasant Crest, the first project, will also find “significant physical structures” from the Old Police Academy in their midst, such as starter blocks from the academy’s swimming pool repurposed as seats at a drop-off porch.

Trusses and columns from the academy’s old drill shed, which was designed as an outdoor training space, will be reused in a new pavilion.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGNS

Sustainability was another consideration when developing the Mount Pleasant housing estate, HDB said.

Blocks will be oriented in the north-south direction to improve natural ventilation and minimise solar heat gain where feasible. Environmental studies on factors such as wind flow and temperature will also be done to inform the blocks’ design where applicable.

In addition, homes will be designed with “smart and sustainable features” to promote green living, the authority added. 

These include dedicated bicycle racks and electric vehicle charging points in all car parks, and provisions within each flat to support smart home solutions.

Residents can look forward to green spaces within the estate, such as a new north-south pedestrian path lined with greenery, between Mount Pleasant Avenue and the new Mount Pleasant MRT station along Old Police Academy Road.

The future Mount Pleasant housing estate is envisioned as a “car-lite” town, with “transit priority corridors” or roads with dedicated bus lanes, wider footpaths and cycling paths.