Post by 9 on Dec 19, 2006 14:31:41 GMT 8
Seen in the Electric New Paper
But can it overcome its morbid past?
By Dominique Mosbergen
December 19, 2006
IMAGINE a plot of land the size of the Botanic Gardens, a 10-minute drive from town and right next to an MRT station.
-- CHONG JUN LIANG, THE STRAITS TIMES
Okay, the station isn't open yet, but wouldn't property developers and speculators be drooling at what the place offers?
Well, they will have to wait a while.
Right now it's ready only for those who want to enjoy a breezy expanse of lush grass dotted with lovely trees.
To little fanfare, the boards that had been put up around the former Bidadari cemetery have come down.
The land, at the junction of Upper Aljunied Road and Upper Serangoon Road, is now open for anyone to stroll in.
The remains of many of those buried at the old Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Sinhalese cemeteries have been exhumed and moved to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery. Others were cremated, with the ashes moved to columbariums.
The cemeteries, which were almost a century old, held the remains of more than 120,000 people.
The exhumation, which started in 2001, ended earlier this year and the area is now open to the public for recreational and leisure use.
HOME FOR 40,000 SOON
But that is not all that it is meant for.
The 57-ha park will eventually be transformed into a residential area with over 12,000 new high-rise homes for about 40,000 residents, HDB said in 2001.
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-- CHONG JUN LIANG, THE STRAITS TIMES
Which means it will be just slightly smaller than the Punggol HDB estate.
An HDB spokesman told The New Paper: 'In the Singapore Master Plan 2003, this cemetery land is zoned residential (subject to detailed planning) and park. The development plan for the estate has not been firmed up yet.'
Bidadari won't be the first cemetery to be turned into a residential area.
Over the past two decades, land constraints have made it necessary to exhume more than 36 cemeteries, said a 2001 report in The Straits Times.
Even major housing estates like Bishan and Tiong Bahru were once cemeteries.
Ngee Ann City and other buildings situated along Orchard Road, like Cathay Cineleisure, sit on what were once burial grounds.
The Novena MRT station is also located on a former Jewish cemetery.
So, property watchers feel Bidadari's eerie past won't affect its future value.
Knight Frank research director Nicholas Mak cited the example of Bishan, where people don't seem to be bothered by the thought that the land under their feet once held many graves.
He said: 'During the mid-1990s property boom, Bishan recorded one of the highest prices for HDB flats.
'Even Sentosa, which was once a pirate hide-out, used to have unmarked graves dotted around the island. Now, it's one of Singapore's hottest properties.'
BISHAN WAS CEMETERY TOO
Bishan, which used to be covered by a large Cantonese cemetery, is now a bustling town with over 19,000 HDB flats.
With a large park, many good schools, an MRT station and the busy Junction 8, Bishan has become a much sought-after and expensive estate, with prices of five-room HDB flats at an average of about $400,000, said Mr Mak.
When Bishan was set up as a residential estate in the 1980s, there were fears that it would face low occupancy due to its past, said industry watchers.
However, within a few years, Bishan became one of the most popular housing areas.
Retired teacher Yolanda See, 62, has been living in a three-room flat there since 1989.
She said: 'When I first considered moving to Bishan, I was a bit wary because of its history. Superstitious family members told me not to move.
'But then, due to its good location and the good price I got for my flat, I decided to move anyway.
'And I don't regret it. Bishan is now so popular and convenient and the memory of it being a graveyard has already been flushed out of my mind.'
Asked about Bidadari and its appeal for future residents, Mr Mak said: 'Over time, people will forget. And as long as the bodies are properly exhumed and the remains are shown due respect, even those who remember will feel that the spirits have not been disturbed and will have no problems with the place.'
Assistant Professor Muhammad Faishal of the NUS Department of Real Estate said: 'Initially, you can probably expect that there will be some reaction. However, like other residential estates of the same nature, if the location is good and the development concept is attractive, then I don't think people would mind in the long-run.
'The real challenge now is to ensure that the real estate product is marketed in a way that makes the place... attractive'
Bidadari has a lot of potential for urban development and could one day be a very popular housing estate, said Mr Mak.
'It's relatively close to the city. For any Singaporean suburb, access to an MRT station is a definite plus-point,' he said.
'It's one huge open area for planners so there is a lot of potential for different types of developments. In the future, the area is likely to have a mix of HDB flats, private housing and neighbourhood retail centres.'
This future housing estate is next to the Woodleigh station, the only one on the North-East Line that is still not operational.
The station is likely to be opened once the Bidadari area is developed.
SBS Transit corporate communications director Tammy Tan said: 'The opening of Woodleigh Station is dependent on the number of residential dwellings in the surrounding area. Until things change, there are no plans to open it.'
But can it overcome its morbid past?
By Dominique Mosbergen
December 19, 2006
IMAGINE a plot of land the size of the Botanic Gardens, a 10-minute drive from town and right next to an MRT station.
-- CHONG JUN LIANG, THE STRAITS TIMES
Okay, the station isn't open yet, but wouldn't property developers and speculators be drooling at what the place offers?
Well, they will have to wait a while.
Right now it's ready only for those who want to enjoy a breezy expanse of lush grass dotted with lovely trees.
To little fanfare, the boards that had been put up around the former Bidadari cemetery have come down.
The land, at the junction of Upper Aljunied Road and Upper Serangoon Road, is now open for anyone to stroll in.
The remains of many of those buried at the old Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Sinhalese cemeteries have been exhumed and moved to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery. Others were cremated, with the ashes moved to columbariums.
The cemeteries, which were almost a century old, held the remains of more than 120,000 people.
The exhumation, which started in 2001, ended earlier this year and the area is now open to the public for recreational and leisure use.
HOME FOR 40,000 SOON
But that is not all that it is meant for.
The 57-ha park will eventually be transformed into a residential area with over 12,000 new high-rise homes for about 40,000 residents, HDB said in 2001.
-- CHONG JUN LIANG, THE STRAITS TIMES
Which means it will be just slightly smaller than the Punggol HDB estate.
An HDB spokesman told The New Paper: 'In the Singapore Master Plan 2003, this cemetery land is zoned residential (subject to detailed planning) and park. The development plan for the estate has not been firmed up yet.'
Bidadari won't be the first cemetery to be turned into a residential area.
Over the past two decades, land constraints have made it necessary to exhume more than 36 cemeteries, said a 2001 report in The Straits Times.
Even major housing estates like Bishan and Tiong Bahru were once cemeteries.
Ngee Ann City and other buildings situated along Orchard Road, like Cathay Cineleisure, sit on what were once burial grounds.
The Novena MRT station is also located on a former Jewish cemetery.
So, property watchers feel Bidadari's eerie past won't affect its future value.
Knight Frank research director Nicholas Mak cited the example of Bishan, where people don't seem to be bothered by the thought that the land under their feet once held many graves.
He said: 'During the mid-1990s property boom, Bishan recorded one of the highest prices for HDB flats.
'Even Sentosa, which was once a pirate hide-out, used to have unmarked graves dotted around the island. Now, it's one of Singapore's hottest properties.'
BISHAN WAS CEMETERY TOO
Bishan, which used to be covered by a large Cantonese cemetery, is now a bustling town with over 19,000 HDB flats.
With a large park, many good schools, an MRT station and the busy Junction 8, Bishan has become a much sought-after and expensive estate, with prices of five-room HDB flats at an average of about $400,000, said Mr Mak.
When Bishan was set up as a residential estate in the 1980s, there were fears that it would face low occupancy due to its past, said industry watchers.
However, within a few years, Bishan became one of the most popular housing areas.
Retired teacher Yolanda See, 62, has been living in a three-room flat there since 1989.
She said: 'When I first considered moving to Bishan, I was a bit wary because of its history. Superstitious family members told me not to move.
'But then, due to its good location and the good price I got for my flat, I decided to move anyway.
'And I don't regret it. Bishan is now so popular and convenient and the memory of it being a graveyard has already been flushed out of my mind.'
Asked about Bidadari and its appeal for future residents, Mr Mak said: 'Over time, people will forget. And as long as the bodies are properly exhumed and the remains are shown due respect, even those who remember will feel that the spirits have not been disturbed and will have no problems with the place.'
Assistant Professor Muhammad Faishal of the NUS Department of Real Estate said: 'Initially, you can probably expect that there will be some reaction. However, like other residential estates of the same nature, if the location is good and the development concept is attractive, then I don't think people would mind in the long-run.
'The real challenge now is to ensure that the real estate product is marketed in a way that makes the place... attractive'
Bidadari has a lot of potential for urban development and could one day be a very popular housing estate, said Mr Mak.
'It's relatively close to the city. For any Singaporean suburb, access to an MRT station is a definite plus-point,' he said.
'It's one huge open area for planners so there is a lot of potential for different types of developments. In the future, the area is likely to have a mix of HDB flats, private housing and neighbourhood retail centres.'
This future housing estate is next to the Woodleigh station, the only one on the North-East Line that is still not operational.
The station is likely to be opened once the Bidadari area is developed.
SBS Transit corporate communications director Tammy Tan said: 'The opening of Woodleigh Station is dependent on the number of residential dwellings in the surrounding area. Until things change, there are no plans to open it.'
