Potential BTO at Kallang Basin Swimming Complex, St Wilfred Sport Centre sites likely to be Plus flats: ERA Singapore
The Kallang Basin Swimming Complex site is inside walking proximity of Geylang Bahru MRT Station and the Geylang Bahru Market and Food Centre. Lim indicates that a lot of the public real estate blocks in the Geylang Bahru area were built in the 1970s, showing a wish for new developments that will rejuvenate the location.
He anticipates the future BTO task at the site could include a mix of 2- to four-room flats. “The nearby sites have a plot ratio of 2.8, and assuming a quite similar plot ratio, we might see some high-rise BTO flats, possibly approximately 36 floors,” he includes.
The Kallang Basin ActiveSG Swimming Facility and the St Wilfred ActiveSG Sports Centre will cease operations permanently in the 2nd half of 2025. On June 13, URA, HDB and Sport Singapore mutually publicized the closure of the centers upon their rent expirations. The Kallang Basin facility, established on Geylang Bahru Lane, will shut on Sept 1, and the St Wilfred center on St Wilfred Road is going to close on Oct 1.
Locals will definitely have connection to a brand-new Sport-in-Precinct establishment in neighboring Kolam Ayer, which is placed to start at the end of the year. Meanwhile, plans to introduce housing project at the two sites are currently being researched, according to the firms.
Lim thinks that future Build-to-Order (BTO) projects at the area could be assigned as Plus flats due to their closeness to town and facilities. Plus apartments have tighter resale restrictions compared to Standard group apartments, consisting of a longer minimal occupation period of one decade and restrictions on renting out the flat.
On the other hand, the St Wilfred Sport Center is a 10-minute stroll from Boon Keng MRT Stop. It is located near St George’s Road, where most of the remaining HDB flats date back to the 1980s, according to Lim.
The plans to close the Kallang Basin and St Wilfred sports centers for redevelopment are reasonable, given that both sites are substantially older compared to some other sports complexes, observes Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore. “It makes good sense for the sites to lead the way for far better land use, specifically given that they are situated rather near to the city center,” he includes.
