|
THE Urban Redevelopment Authority is
hoping the publicity over an international design competition for
Singapore's first 50-storey public flats at Tanjong Pagar will rub
off on the private sector.
Developers have not been entirely
sold on such high-density housing in the inner city - as was
apparent from the poor response to the Enggor Street tender that
closed late last year amid weakening economic sentiment.
The 133,306 sq ft Enggor Street site
has a plot ratio of 8.4 and can be built up to 50 storeys.
'Hopefully, there'll also be interest
in the Enggor Street site when it is relaunched,' said URA's head of
urban planning, Andrew Fassam. 'The government is setting the tone
for such high density housing and is leading the charge.'
The Enggor Street site has been
placed on the reserve list for URA's land sales for the second half
of the year.
The international design competition
for high-rise flats at Duxton Plain, which opens today, is a first
in Singapore's public-housing history. The 270,850 sq ft site in
Cantonment Road has a gross plot ratio of 8.4 and can be built up to
50 storeys.
The site can house three to four
blocks with a total of 1,500-1,800 units. URA said the estimated
construction cost of the project is $247 million and not more than
$125 per sq ft of net floor area.
The Housing and Development Board
flats will be the island's tallest when completed in 2007,
overtaking 40-storey blocks due to be completed at Toa Payoh in
2004.
Short-listed firms in the second
stage of the competition will receive an honorarium of $50,000,
while the winner will get $300,000, which forms part of the
professional fee of 2.5 per cent of the total construction.
Singapore Institute of Architects
president Edward Wong, who is also one of the jurors, called the
towering public flats a 'bold project' that will be the 'inspiration
and influence' of future high density homes in the central area.
Under the Concept Plan 2001, the
government plans to increase the number of homes in the city from
the current 30,000 to 120,000.
|