Hard to say goodbye: Tanglin Halt residents to move out as 31 blocks slated to be torn down under SERS

SINGAPORE - A total of 31 blocks in Tanglin Halt are slated to be torn down from the end of this year under the Housing Board's Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS). Here is more about the project and the options for affected residents:

• Two markets and food centres and seven commercial blocks are to be demolished as well.
• One of the last to be cleared will be the Tanglin Halt Market, which will be demolished by 2024.
• It is the biggest SERS project since 1999 and involves 3,480 sold flats.
• Eligible flat owners were offered rehousing benefits, such as compensation for the existing flat based on market value.
• They will also receive a SERS grant of $15,000 for singles or $30,000 for joint singles and families, for the purchase of the replacement flats.
• Residents can choose new homes from five replacement sites in Dawson, an estate near Queenstown MRT station.
• They can also choose new homes from other HDB developments and are entitled to the same rehousing benefits.
• They can also sell their SERS flats or transfer them to other owners, with rehousing benefits.
• The estimated subsidised price range for the new flats at the replacement sites before the SERS grant is $205,000 to $255,000 for two-room units, and $284,000 to $386,000 for three-room units.
• Larger flats have a price range of $434,000 to $562,000 for four-room units (80 sq m), $461,000 to $590,000 for four-room units (85 sq m), and $601,000 to $748,000 for five-room units.

Remnants from past

Historical significance

Former KTM Railways

The railway tracks are a remnant of the now-defunct Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) Railway line which ran between Malaysia and Tanjong Pagar.

The name "Tanglin Halt" came from the fact that the trains used to "halt" at the former KTM station.

The railway service ceased operations in 2011.

The land has since been redeveloped as part of the Rail Corridor project.

Former Tanglin Halt Industrial Estate

One of Singapore's first industrial estates, it used to be home to factories including the Van Houten chocolate factory, Diethelm aluminium factory, Unitex garment factory and Singapore Electronics (Setron), which made Singapore's first black-and-white television set in 1964.

Unique features

Flats designed by SIT

Blocks 57, 61, 67 to 73 Commonwealth Drive are the remaining flats in Queenstown designed by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), the predecessor to the Housing Board.

Completed between 1961 and 1964, these low-rise blocks were conceived by SIT to reduce uniformity in public housing.

Tanglin Halt Community Plaza

Located next to the Commonwealth Drive Food Centre, a raised wooden platform functions as a huge event space for special occasions like National Day.

Once, residents gathered for two nights to catch the homecoming gig of The Quests, an iconic 1960s Singapore band.

ALSO READ: Hitting the SERS jackpot: How this Singaporean timed his HDB flat purchase just right

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.