Yishun estate is set for a major makeover, with proposals to turn its town centre into the hub of the north over the next few years. Land has been set aside in Yishun for medical specialty centres or a university.
Yishun residents are also among the first to pilot HDB's new upgrading schemes that are aimed at middle-aged estates which are over 20 years old.
Tampines is another area that is designated for these schemes.
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Medical cluster among proposals to transform Yishun estate
The pilot – called the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) and Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) – will allow homeowners to choose from a menu of optional improvements that cater to their needs.
Seventy three percent of some 47,000 households in Yishun are currently eligible for HIP, which covers only improvements within the flats.
New toilets and door grilles are among the choices offered to homeowners.
An estimated 300,000 flats across the island, built in or before 1986, come under the HIP programme.
Residents could also decide on common facilities such as barbeque pits and street soccer courts under the NRP.
Around 200,000 flats in Singapore, built in or before 1989, are eligible for the scheme.
In Yishun, some 46 percent of households are eligible for NRP.
Three-quarters of the total number of households in the area have to give the go-ahead before HIP or NRP will be carried out.
HDB said upgrading would be rolled out in Yishun over a 20-year period.
One of the residents said: "My unit is getting very old already, so this programme comes at the right time."
"While the cost may be alright for some, for others I hope the government could subsidise them more on a case-by-case basis," another resident said.
Residents pay between 5 and 12.5 percent of the total bill on home improvements, depending on the size of their flats.
The government pays for the rest and will also foot the bill for new facilities in the neighbourhood.
One of the plans for Yishun is a new shopping complex that will include integrated private apartments.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who is also the MP for Sembawang GRC, said land that has been set aside could be used for a medical cluster around the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, complete with specialty centres and hotels.
He said: "Eventually when the north's population grows, the healthcare needs will certainly expand. The possibility of a cluster is highly feasible. Let's reserve the land to form a land bank, so that when market needs are expressed, we have the land to support it."
Mr Khaw also did not rule out the possibility of using the land for a future university. - CNA/so
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