Artist’s Impression of the first BTO project in Chencharu. (Source: HDB)
The government has shared the development plans for a new 70-hectare HDB housing estate in Chencharu within Yishun town. Development of this new area will inject about 10,000 new homes by 2040 and 80% of this new housing stock will consist of public housing.
The area is bounded by Yishun Avenue 1, Yishun Avenue 2 and Sembawang Road. According to HDB, the area has been earmarked for residential use since Master Plan 2019. The area currently features a variety of horticulture companies, hydroponic farms and exporters of ornamental freshwater fish.
Chencharu will yield more than 10,000 new homes, most of which would be public housing. (Image: HDB)
According to a press release from HDB on June 12, the design plans for the new Chencharu area will capitalise on the area’s history and heritage, as well as existing proximity to transportation nodes.
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The development of the area into the new Chencharu housing estate will integrate existing amenities and facilities, such as HomeTeamNS Khatib, Khatib Central Neighbourhood Centre and Khatib MRT station on the North-South Line.
HDB says that there are plans for a new educational institution and nursing home in the future.
Aerial perspective of the area in Chencharu that will be first developed. (Image: HDB)
The first Build-to-Order (BTO) project in Chencharu will be launched as part of this month’s BTO sales exercise. The 1,270-unit project will comprise a mix of two-room Flexi to five-room flats.
“The launch of Chencharu offers a fresh opportunity for those seeking to purchase a flat in a newly established community within the existing BTO framework. As the first launch is set for June, it precedes the new classification system taking effect in October,” says Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI.
The new classification model categorises new BTO flats into Standard, Plus and Prime – with Plus and Prime flats requiring an extended MOP period of 10 years before owners can sell. This initial batch of flats at Chencharu “will likely” not be subjected to the new rules during the June launch, notes Sandrasegeran.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, predicts that possible prices of four-room flats in Chencharu may start from $300,000, with five-room flats possibly priced from $400,000.
The most recent BTO project to launch in Yishun was back in 2022 and the project attracted significant demand, he adds. “Over 1,400 applicants competed for 917 four-room flats and another 1,400 applicants vied for 795 five-room flats in the BTO projects Vanda Breeze @ Yishun, Miltonia Breeze @ Yishun and Aranda Breeze @ Yishun”.
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“Given this high level of interest in previous launches, we can anticipate a positive response to the new BTO project in Chencharu that is set to launch this month,” says Sandrasegeran.
Yishun’s heritage and history on display
The design of the first BTO project in Chencharu will incorporate elements of a 100-year-old two-storey colonial-era bungalow along Bah Soon Pah Road.
For instance, the project will include a black outline around the first few floors, reflecting the bungalow's height, while the planned red, black and white façade mirrors its colours. Additionally, wayfinding motifs and icons like pineapples and mackerel will reference Yishun's agricultural history. The bungalow itself, originally a plantation house built in the early 1910s by the Bukit Sembawang Rubber Company, will be adapted for community use within a new park that will feature a heritage trail.
Anchoring the new Chencharu housing area will be a new east-west thoroughfare connecting the new park to the existing neighbourhood park near Khatib MRT Station. There will be a mixed-use integrated development along this avenue, which will comprise a new bus interchange, hawker centre and shops.
Further infrastructure improvements will include a new bus-only corridor called Chencharu Link, which will run north-south through the centre of Chencharu.
According to Eugene Lim, the key executive office of ERA Singapore, nearly 84% of the existing flats along Yishun Ring Road were built before 2000. “This upcoming enclave will rejuvenate the HDB enclave in Khatib, and this new and sizable supply of homes will cater to the housing needs of those who wish to stay near their families in the Yishun estate,"
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Lim expects Chencharu to develop into a sustainable and car-lite estate, similar to Tengah. “The area will benefit from future infrastructure works, such as the North-South corridor, making it an attractive option for those looking for housing outside the traditional OCR."