Mohd Sultan site up for sale
05:55 AM Feb 10, 2010
SINGAPORE - The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) offered a transitional office site at Mohamed Sultan Road for sale by public tender yesterday.
The 15-year-leasehold site has an area of about 0.62 hectares and a maximum permissible gross floor area of about 9,200 square metres. The minimum price for the site is $9.33 million.
Since Oct 2008, the land parcel was made available for sale through the Reserve List System. Two weeks ago, URA said it accepted an application from a developer to put up the site for sale. In Oct 2008, URA rejected a sole bid for the Mohamed Sultan site as the price offered was deemed to be too low.
The current tender for the site will close on March 18.
Friday, February 12, 2010
CNA : Tampines residents unhappy over planned rental flats
Tampines residents unhappy over planned rental flats
By Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 February 2010 2337 hrs
SINGAPORE: MP Sin Boon Ann has assured some Tampines residents, who were unhappy that HDB rental flats will be built right in front of their block, that the quality of their estate will not be hurt nor the peace be disturbed.
The MP for Tampines GRC will work with the HDB and residents to debunk the perception that rental flats are old, dirty and bad for image of the estate.
A block of rental flats will soon be built in front of Blk 885, Tampines St 83.
Bernard Fernando, a resident living in one of the units in that block, met HDB officials and MP Sin recently to express his unhappiness over the development.
"They shouldn't build a towering block of 14 stories right beside our 12-storey block. It doesn't really make sense. It will cut off the light and cut off the ventilation. If there is a need to build, we don't object to it, but build a lower block," said Mr Fernando.
Other residents are equally upset. "Most of the rental flats, normally, problem families will stay (there). Once got problem, anything will happen," said a resident.
"You will lose everything. You block the air, the wind and everything," said another.
Mr Sin said it is important to have the rental flats near amenities, and that the government has the final say over where the rental flats are sited. He said efforts will be taken to make things smooth for residents.
He said: "We'll be working very closely with the contractors, HDB and town councils. We'll be forming a committee, which also will comprise residents, to (find ways to) mitigate the effects of the noise pollution (during the construction of the flats).
"The new flats will be of the new-generation type, which will blend very nicely within the community itself, such that I don't think one can visibly pick out these flats as rental flats."
Some residents are concerned that the value of their homes will go down once the rental flats are up. However, property agents said this is highly unlikely.
Eugene Lim, associate director of ERA Asia Pacific, said: "For example, in Bukit Merah, you see resale flats that are next to rental flats still fetching very high resale prices."
Some observers said public housing may be one issue debated at the next General Election.
By Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 February 2010 2337 hrs
SINGAPORE: MP Sin Boon Ann has assured some Tampines residents, who were unhappy that HDB rental flats will be built right in front of their block, that the quality of their estate will not be hurt nor the peace be disturbed.
The MP for Tampines GRC will work with the HDB and residents to debunk the perception that rental flats are old, dirty and bad for image of the estate.
A block of rental flats will soon be built in front of Blk 885, Tampines St 83.
Bernard Fernando, a resident living in one of the units in that block, met HDB officials and MP Sin recently to express his unhappiness over the development.
"They shouldn't build a towering block of 14 stories right beside our 12-storey block. It doesn't really make sense. It will cut off the light and cut off the ventilation. If there is a need to build, we don't object to it, but build a lower block," said Mr Fernando.
Other residents are equally upset. "Most of the rental flats, normally, problem families will stay (there). Once got problem, anything will happen," said a resident.
"You will lose everything. You block the air, the wind and everything," said another.
Mr Sin said it is important to have the rental flats near amenities, and that the government has the final say over where the rental flats are sited. He said efforts will be taken to make things smooth for residents.
He said: "We'll be working very closely with the contractors, HDB and town councils. We'll be forming a committee, which also will comprise residents, to (find ways to) mitigate the effects of the noise pollution (during the construction of the flats).
"The new flats will be of the new-generation type, which will blend very nicely within the community itself, such that I don't think one can visibly pick out these flats as rental flats."
Some residents are concerned that the value of their homes will go down once the rental flats are up. However, property agents said this is highly unlikely.
Eugene Lim, associate director of ERA Asia Pacific, said: "For example, in Bukit Merah, you see resale flats that are next to rental flats still fetching very high resale prices."
Some observers said public housing may be one issue debated at the next General Election.
CNA : CMT buys Clarke Quay from CapitaMalls Asia for S$268m
CMT buys Clarke Quay from CapitaMalls Asia for S$268m
By Jonathan Peeris, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 February 2010 2024 hrs
SINGAPORE: CapitaMall Trust (CMT) has acquired riverfront development Clarke Quay from sister company CapitaMalls Asia for S$268 million.
CMT said it has sufficient financial flexibility and capacity to fund the transaction, which is targeted for completion by July 2010.
Assuming the transaction is fully funded by debt, CMT's gearing would be 33.1 per cent - still within its target range of 30 to 35 per cent.
CMT chairman James Koh said the acquisition will allow CMT's unitholders to capitalise on the growing lifestyle and entertainment demand in Singapore.
It will increase CMT's asset size from S$7.4 billion as at December last year to S$7.6 billion.
As CapitaMalls Asia is a controlling unitholder of CMT, the acquisition is considered to be an interested party transaction (IPT) under SGX regulations.
As the IPT exceeds 5 per cent of CMT's latest audited net tangible assets, the acquisition is subject to the approval of CMT's unitholders at an extraordinary general meeting, which will be held at an appropriate time.
Two independent valuations of the property have been obtained from property consultancies CB Richard Ellis and Knight Frank, in line with the rules. - CNA/ms
By Jonathan Peeris, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 February 2010 2024 hrs
SINGAPORE: CapitaMall Trust (CMT) has acquired riverfront development Clarke Quay from sister company CapitaMalls Asia for S$268 million.
CMT said it has sufficient financial flexibility and capacity to fund the transaction, which is targeted for completion by July 2010.
Assuming the transaction is fully funded by debt, CMT's gearing would be 33.1 per cent - still within its target range of 30 to 35 per cent.
CMT chairman James Koh said the acquisition will allow CMT's unitholders to capitalise on the growing lifestyle and entertainment demand in Singapore.
It will increase CMT's asset size from S$7.4 billion as at December last year to S$7.6 billion.
As CapitaMalls Asia is a controlling unitholder of CMT, the acquisition is considered to be an interested party transaction (IPT) under SGX regulations.
As the IPT exceeds 5 per cent of CMT's latest audited net tangible assets, the acquisition is subject to the approval of CMT's unitholders at an extraordinary general meeting, which will be held at an appropriate time.
Two independent valuations of the property have been obtained from property consultancies CB Richard Ellis and Knight Frank, in line with the rules. - CNA/ms
ST Forum : Buybacks from owners who go private?
Feb 9, 2010
Buybacks from owners who go private?
I REFER to yesterday's letters, 'Costly choices' by Mr Mervyn Song, and 'Room for pragmatism' by Mr Ng Kwong Yee.
The HDB flat ownership scheme has been tweaked several times to meet the demands of the population, without sacrificing the primary objective of the HDB as the government provider of affordable housing.
For example, in the 1970s, HDB compulsorily acquired flats of owners who had another property, but the rule was later amended to allow private property owners who lived in their HDB flat for more than five years to keep the flat and lease out their private property for investment.
The relaxation of rules should be commensurate with the circumstances in the supply and demand of affordable housing.
Where supply of new flats is abundant and resale flat prices affordable, HDB flat owners can live in them while investing in another property. Resale flats, like private property, are subject to the fierce forces of the open market, and prices come down only if supply exceeds demand. However, in the past two decades, demand has always exceeded supply, so we can expect prices of flats sold in the open market to go up.
Thus HDB remains the only provider of affordable housing amidst rising costs of building materials and land.
Mr Ng is right to mention that HDB lacks the teeth to weed out illegal letting of flats. Perhaps the National Registration Office can match registered addresses with HDB's records to see how many mismatches there are.
Next, it may help if HDB buys back (not compulsorily acquires) from HDB flat owners who own private property and resells these flats to those who need a roof over their head at subsidised prices.
Patrick Sio
Buybacks from owners who go private?
I REFER to yesterday's letters, 'Costly choices' by Mr Mervyn Song, and 'Room for pragmatism' by Mr Ng Kwong Yee.
The HDB flat ownership scheme has been tweaked several times to meet the demands of the population, without sacrificing the primary objective of the HDB as the government provider of affordable housing.
For example, in the 1970s, HDB compulsorily acquired flats of owners who had another property, but the rule was later amended to allow private property owners who lived in their HDB flat for more than five years to keep the flat and lease out their private property for investment.
The relaxation of rules should be commensurate with the circumstances in the supply and demand of affordable housing.
Where supply of new flats is abundant and resale flat prices affordable, HDB flat owners can live in them while investing in another property. Resale flats, like private property, are subject to the fierce forces of the open market, and prices come down only if supply exceeds demand. However, in the past two decades, demand has always exceeded supply, so we can expect prices of flats sold in the open market to go up.
Thus HDB remains the only provider of affordable housing amidst rising costs of building materials and land.
Mr Ng is right to mention that HDB lacks the teeth to weed out illegal letting of flats. Perhaps the National Registration Office can match registered addresses with HDB's records to see how many mismatches there are.
Next, it may help if HDB buys back (not compulsorily acquires) from HDB flat owners who own private property and resells these flats to those who need a roof over their head at subsidised prices.
Patrick Sio
ST Forum : Rent not the reason for price spikes
Feb 9, 2010
Rent not the reason for price spikes
I REFER to yesterday's letter from Mr Ng Kwong Yee ('Room for pragmatism').
I agree with most of his comments on appreciating values and preferences of flats in various locations, but not with his comments on rental.
The reason for ever rising valuation and cash-over-valuation of flats is clear - buying and selling.
Some buy to have a roof over their heads, whereas some sell and then buy again to upgrade. Then there are those who buy now to save money as it is cheaper than waiting until prices go up again. No matter how you look at it, when you buy or sell, the price is never the same.
From the main context of previous discussions, it is buying and selling that causes movement in the value of HDB flats - not rental. When one buys and then rents out, it actually relieves market tension by reducing the number of people who would otherwise be in the buying market. When more people rent, fewer people buy and prices are not driven higher. And when the landlords decide to keep their flats for rental, the speculative part of rental property also disappears.
Yeo Shuan Chee
Rent not the reason for price spikes
I REFER to yesterday's letter from Mr Ng Kwong Yee ('Room for pragmatism').
I agree with most of his comments on appreciating values and preferences of flats in various locations, but not with his comments on rental.
The reason for ever rising valuation and cash-over-valuation of flats is clear - buying and selling.
Some buy to have a roof over their heads, whereas some sell and then buy again to upgrade. Then there are those who buy now to save money as it is cheaper than waiting until prices go up again. No matter how you look at it, when you buy or sell, the price is never the same.
From the main context of previous discussions, it is buying and selling that causes movement in the value of HDB flats - not rental. When one buys and then rents out, it actually relieves market tension by reducing the number of people who would otherwise be in the buying market. When more people rent, fewer people buy and prices are not driven higher. And when the landlords decide to keep their flats for rental, the speculative part of rental property also disappears.
Yeo Shuan Chee
ST : Singapore as world-in-one
Feb 9, 2010
Singapore as world-in-one
PLANNERS here obsess ceaselessly about making Singapore a city of commercial and cultural distinction, on a scale that is global. Benchmarks often cited are the multi-ethnic and multi-talented vitality of New York and Europe's financial and cultural centres. They also want the city to be 'liveable', such that Singaporeans are proud of their model home and it also acts as a magnet for real talent (not talent defined generously). It's all there in the newest development brief on Singapore as a global city, put out by the Economic Strategies Committee.
Can it be both? Is it even necessary to have dual strengths to achieve the status being sought? The position Singapore aspires to is as a world city that draws smart people - and also lures back Singaporean emigres - to create wealth and vibrancy, and is also fun and safe to live in. This can be accomplished through either route. Quality of life indices usually are dominated by cities in Scandinavia, Canada, the Oceania and Europe's alpine region. Beauty of landscape, a pristine environment and access to such natural recreations as beaches, forests and the hills are common attributes. London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore are self-evidently not among the top-ranking if liveability is defined as a lifestyle devotion. Crowdedness is a prime disadvantage. But these cities score heavily as business and financial centres, with their attendant attractions.
In the blue-riband stakes Singapore is playing for, it is its appeal to talent and risk-takers in diverse fields (corporates and start-ups, research, artistic types, chefs, show promoters, legal and medical enterprise) that has been its starting point. The Government is on to a good thing in focusing on this strength. If Singapore continues to attract Fortune 500 companies, niche learning and research institutes, artistic incubators and what the committee calls 'thought and practice leaders' in services and urban solutions, its liveability will improve on free enterprise.
But planners, being planners, do not leave matters to chance. Hence, the investment in leisure nodes (the quays, casino resorts), performance and display spaces (concert halls, galleries), urban design (Marina Bay, with Tanjong Pagar waterfront city next) and events (Formula One, with a Chelsea-like flower show next). What cannot be created by committee is a vibrant street life after dark. This will complement a city's unforgettable charm. With so little to work with, the Singapore package has been no little wonder. The committee reports that many business and leisure visitors discover an appeal that bears no resemblance to unflattering international perceptions of the city. Now, to build on that.
Singapore as world-in-one
PLANNERS here obsess ceaselessly about making Singapore a city of commercial and cultural distinction, on a scale that is global. Benchmarks often cited are the multi-ethnic and multi-talented vitality of New York and Europe's financial and cultural centres. They also want the city to be 'liveable', such that Singaporeans are proud of their model home and it also acts as a magnet for real talent (not talent defined generously). It's all there in the newest development brief on Singapore as a global city, put out by the Economic Strategies Committee.
Can it be both? Is it even necessary to have dual strengths to achieve the status being sought? The position Singapore aspires to is as a world city that draws smart people - and also lures back Singaporean emigres - to create wealth and vibrancy, and is also fun and safe to live in. This can be accomplished through either route. Quality of life indices usually are dominated by cities in Scandinavia, Canada, the Oceania and Europe's alpine region. Beauty of landscape, a pristine environment and access to such natural recreations as beaches, forests and the hills are common attributes. London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore are self-evidently not among the top-ranking if liveability is defined as a lifestyle devotion. Crowdedness is a prime disadvantage. But these cities score heavily as business and financial centres, with their attendant attractions.
In the blue-riband stakes Singapore is playing for, it is its appeal to talent and risk-takers in diverse fields (corporates and start-ups, research, artistic types, chefs, show promoters, legal and medical enterprise) that has been its starting point. The Government is on to a good thing in focusing on this strength. If Singapore continues to attract Fortune 500 companies, niche learning and research institutes, artistic incubators and what the committee calls 'thought and practice leaders' in services and urban solutions, its liveability will improve on free enterprise.
But planners, being planners, do not leave matters to chance. Hence, the investment in leisure nodes (the quays, casino resorts), performance and display spaces (concert halls, galleries), urban design (Marina Bay, with Tanjong Pagar waterfront city next) and events (Formula One, with a Chelsea-like flower show next). What cannot be created by committee is a vibrant street life after dark. This will complement a city's unforgettable charm. With so little to work with, the Singapore package has been no little wonder. The committee reports that many business and leisure visitors discover an appeal that bears no resemblance to unflattering international perceptions of the city. Now, to build on that.
ST : MapletreeLog files bankruptcy petition over lease default
Feb 9, 2010
MapletreeLog files bankruptcy petition over lease default
THE manager of Mapletree Logistics Trust (MapletreeLog) has filed a bankruptcy petition against Mr Ang Chee Seng for defaulting on a lease agreement.
Mr Ang is the guarantor and company director of Elchemi Assets, which used to occupy the industrial property at 9 Tampines Street 92.
A MapletreeLog Management statement yesterday said that it has repossessed the property - a two-storey warehouse with an ancillary office - and is marketing it for lease.
It has a net lettable area of 11,089 sq m and accounts for only about 0.5 per cent of the total net lettable area of MapletreeLog's portfolio as at Dec 31 last year.
The bankruptcy petition will be heard on March 4, the manager of the logistics real estate investment trust said.
Elchemi apparently started its lease in end-2008 and has not paid rent for a few months.
MapletreeLog Management said it has obtained summary judgment against the former tenant and Mr Ang, and that the matter is under appeal to be heard on Thursday.
It bought the property, which has a 30-year lease from 1993 with an option to extend, for $11 million in early 2007.
Elchemi Assets is part of the Singapore-headquartered Elchemi Group, a private global investment firm established in 2008, according to the group's website.
The company develops high-tech value-added facilities for lease to corporate customers, said the website.
MapletreeLog files bankruptcy petition over lease default
THE manager of Mapletree Logistics Trust (MapletreeLog) has filed a bankruptcy petition against Mr Ang Chee Seng for defaulting on a lease agreement.
Mr Ang is the guarantor and company director of Elchemi Assets, which used to occupy the industrial property at 9 Tampines Street 92.
A MapletreeLog Management statement yesterday said that it has repossessed the property - a two-storey warehouse with an ancillary office - and is marketing it for lease.
It has a net lettable area of 11,089 sq m and accounts for only about 0.5 per cent of the total net lettable area of MapletreeLog's portfolio as at Dec 31 last year.
The bankruptcy petition will be heard on March 4, the manager of the logistics real estate investment trust said.
Elchemi apparently started its lease in end-2008 and has not paid rent for a few months.
MapletreeLog Management said it has obtained summary judgment against the former tenant and Mr Ang, and that the matter is under appeal to be heard on Thursday.
It bought the property, which has a 30-year lease from 1993 with an option to extend, for $11 million in early 2007.
Elchemi Assets is part of the Singapore-headquartered Elchemi Group, a private global investment firm established in 2008, according to the group's website.
The company develops high-tech value-added facilities for lease to corporate customers, said the website.
ST : Uproar over new rental flats going up
Feb 9, 2010
Uproar over new rental flats going up
Pasir Ris, Tampines residents upset over lack of consultation and effect on property values
By Melissa Kok & Ang Yiying
Rental flats are slated to be built at Pasir Ris Drive 6 (above) on a field between Blocks 475 and 476. Mr Dennis Kennedy, a 55-year-old resident of Block 473, which overlooks the field, said he will miss the view and breeze if the flats go up. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
IN THE space of a week, residents in two housing estates - dismayed to learn that new rental blocks were being built near their homes - have gone up against the Housing Board.
They have met Members of Parliament and HDB officials over the issue.
Some of the more than 20 residents who spoke to The Straits Times were concerned that the rental flats would lower the quality of the neighbourhood and the value of their homes. Others were vocal about not having been consulted.
The residents in the vicinity of Block 885 in Tampines Street 83 form one group, while those around Blocks 475 and 476 in Pasir Ris Drive 6 form the other.
The Tampines residents found out about the HDB's plan to build a 14-storey block of rental flats last month. In Pasir Ris, a notice went up about 10 days ago in the lift lobbies of the blocks next to the earmarked plot, informing residents that work would start this month.
Pasir Ris residents said that with the rental block so near theirs, their new neighbours would be able to look into their living rooms and bedrooms.
Asked about this, the HDB replied that it would follow prevailing building guidelines on the amount of space between new and existing housing blocks.
Over in Tampines, Ms Agatha Tee, 50, said she was concerned that the new block would rob her home of a view and the breeze.
Pasir Ris residents sounded a concern over safety. Some said they feared the flats would house foreign workers or be sublet illegally.
A 50-year-old financial consultant who identified herself as Mrs Choo said: 'Smokers and drinkers may gather at the void deck. Many families here have young children and teenagers. We don't want them led astray.'
The HDB, responding to questions from The Straits Times, said it was building 8,000 rental flats for the poor and needy, to be spread across the island 'to achieve a balanced social mix'.
It added that the two sites had been zoned as residential sites and 'would not have remained as vacant land'.
It also disclosed that new rental flats are going up in Choa Chu Kang, Woodlands and Punggol, and that rental blocks in Sembawang and Yishun had blended well with existing blocks and had not 'created disamenities' for residents there.
The island has 42,000 rental flats.
The Tampines and Pasir Ris residents, upset at not being told earlier about the building plans, said they would have suggested alternative sites for the rental flats. Tampines residents said they would have suggested that the rental block stand eight storeys high instead of 14.
More than 70 Tampines residents met HDB representatives and their MP Sin Boon Ann last Saturday over the matter.
Mr Bernard Fernando, 61, said: 'What we wanted was to be included in the consultation. Mr Sin should have had the decency to consult his constituents, but he conveniently bypassed us.'
Asked to comment on residents' charge that they had not been consulted, Mr Sin replied that this was HDB's project, some details of which were confidential. He said that consulting the residents about the rental flats would have also led to the premature release of price-sensitive information affecting people's decision to buy or sell flats in the area.
Emotions ran no less high when Pasir Ris residents met their MP and HDB representatives last Thursday. Asked to comment on residents' gripes, the HDB responded: 'HDB as well as the local advisers have been in touch with the residents on their feedback and concerns.'
When contacted, National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan said: 'This is a particularly tough issue because it has to do with housing, and we can understand that housing concerns, or anything concerning neighbourhoods, draw a lot of sentiment...most Singaporeans have put their life savings into home ownership, and they worry how their investment is affected.'
Uproar over new rental flats going up
Pasir Ris, Tampines residents upset over lack of consultation and effect on property values
By Melissa Kok & Ang Yiying
Rental flats are slated to be built at Pasir Ris Drive 6 (above) on a field between Blocks 475 and 476. Mr Dennis Kennedy, a 55-year-old resident of Block 473, which overlooks the field, said he will miss the view and breeze if the flats go up. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
IN THE space of a week, residents in two housing estates - dismayed to learn that new rental blocks were being built near their homes - have gone up against the Housing Board.
They have met Members of Parliament and HDB officials over the issue.
Some of the more than 20 residents who spoke to The Straits Times were concerned that the rental flats would lower the quality of the neighbourhood and the value of their homes. Others were vocal about not having been consulted.
The residents in the vicinity of Block 885 in Tampines Street 83 form one group, while those around Blocks 475 and 476 in Pasir Ris Drive 6 form the other.
The Tampines residents found out about the HDB's plan to build a 14-storey block of rental flats last month. In Pasir Ris, a notice went up about 10 days ago in the lift lobbies of the blocks next to the earmarked plot, informing residents that work would start this month.
Pasir Ris residents said that with the rental block so near theirs, their new neighbours would be able to look into their living rooms and bedrooms.
Asked about this, the HDB replied that it would follow prevailing building guidelines on the amount of space between new and existing housing blocks.
Over in Tampines, Ms Agatha Tee, 50, said she was concerned that the new block would rob her home of a view and the breeze.
Pasir Ris residents sounded a concern over safety. Some said they feared the flats would house foreign workers or be sublet illegally.
A 50-year-old financial consultant who identified herself as Mrs Choo said: 'Smokers and drinkers may gather at the void deck. Many families here have young children and teenagers. We don't want them led astray.'
The HDB, responding to questions from The Straits Times, said it was building 8,000 rental flats for the poor and needy, to be spread across the island 'to achieve a balanced social mix'.
It added that the two sites had been zoned as residential sites and 'would not have remained as vacant land'.
It also disclosed that new rental flats are going up in Choa Chu Kang, Woodlands and Punggol, and that rental blocks in Sembawang and Yishun had blended well with existing blocks and had not 'created disamenities' for residents there.
The island has 42,000 rental flats.
The Tampines and Pasir Ris residents, upset at not being told earlier about the building plans, said they would have suggested alternative sites for the rental flats. Tampines residents said they would have suggested that the rental block stand eight storeys high instead of 14.
More than 70 Tampines residents met HDB representatives and their MP Sin Boon Ann last Saturday over the matter.
Mr Bernard Fernando, 61, said: 'What we wanted was to be included in the consultation. Mr Sin should have had the decency to consult his constituents, but he conveniently bypassed us.'
Asked to comment on residents' charge that they had not been consulted, Mr Sin replied that this was HDB's project, some details of which were confidential. He said that consulting the residents about the rental flats would have also led to the premature release of price-sensitive information affecting people's decision to buy or sell flats in the area.
Emotions ran no less high when Pasir Ris residents met their MP and HDB representatives last Thursday. Asked to comment on residents' gripes, the HDB responded: 'HDB as well as the local advisers have been in touch with the residents on their feedback and concerns.'
When contacted, National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan said: 'This is a particularly tough issue because it has to do with housing, and we can understand that housing concerns, or anything concerning neighbourhoods, draw a lot of sentiment...most Singaporeans have put their life savings into home ownership, and they worry how their investment is affected.'
ST : Eunos residents working with HDB
Feb 9, 2010
Eunos residents working with HDB
FOLLOWING feedback from some Eunos residents about external lift shafts blocking their flats, the Housing Board (HDB) has formed a working group comprising some of them, as well as representatives from the residents' committee, town council and the board.
Formed this year, the group was seen by some residents as a positive step forward. Others remain sceptical that the problem will be resolved.
The issue at Blocks 411, 415 and 417 at Eunos Road 5 came about in 2006, when affected residents found out that the new shafts would be sited in front of their units, which they say blocks off some light and air.
Over the years, the residents have had numerous meetings with their precinct's Member of Parliament and the HDB.
But an HDB bid to solve the problem was dismissed last November by affected residents, who said the designs still did not address their concerns.
Affected resident Chew Keng Woh, a 64-year-old retiree in Block 415, is one of those who has volunteered to be part of the committee.
Commenting on his new role, he said: 'If they can give us 60 per cent (of what we want), let them finish the work.'
It is understood that the feedback process is still under way.
Eunos residents working with HDB
FOLLOWING feedback from some Eunos residents about external lift shafts blocking their flats, the Housing Board (HDB) has formed a working group comprising some of them, as well as representatives from the residents' committee, town council and the board.
Formed this year, the group was seen by some residents as a positive step forward. Others remain sceptical that the problem will be resolved.
The issue at Blocks 411, 415 and 417 at Eunos Road 5 came about in 2006, when affected residents found out that the new shafts would be sited in front of their units, which they say blocks off some light and air.
Over the years, the residents have had numerous meetings with their precinct's Member of Parliament and the HDB.
But an HDB bid to solve the problem was dismissed last November by affected residents, who said the designs still did not address their concerns.
Affected resident Chew Keng Woh, a 64-year-old retiree in Block 415, is one of those who has volunteered to be part of the committee.
Commenting on his new role, he said: 'If they can give us 60 per cent (of what we want), let them finish the work.'
It is understood that the feedback process is still under way.
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