Property Herald: The potential developments of new proposed roads between Orchard Boulevard and Grange Road

Introduction

New roads and property redevelopment is coming to a sleepy corner of Orchard Boulevard. Ticked away at the junction of Orchard Boulevard and Paterson Road is a cluster of low-rise buildings that are overlooked and forgotten by shoppers and diners at the Orchard Road shopping belt.

The government, through the URA, has put up a tender for the construction of new roads in the area bounded by Paterson Road, Orchard Boulevard and Grange Road. (Please refer to Map 1)

Map 1: Two new proposed roads between Orchard Boulevard and Grange Road

Source: URA

Impact of the new road on the residents and the new housing area in Paterson

The proposed roads, named Paterson Rise and Paterson Street, will divide up the existing plot of land with the low-rise buildings into four smaller land parcels.

The new roads are just a means to an end. The more interesting development is the rezoning of the newly divided up land parcels and what could be built on these plots of land. (Please refer to Map 2 below.)

The land parcel on the upper left corner of the Map 2 consists of the underground station of Orchard MRT station of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). It is designated as a “white site”, meaning there could be two or more types of space, such as commercial, residential, serviced apartments and possibly hotel premises in the future development on this site,

The two land parcels on the bottom left and bottom right is zoned for “residential with commercial space on the first storey”. (Reddish pink in colour in the Map 2)

The government could sell these three plots of land, including the “white site”, separately through the Government Land Sale programme in the future. Together, the land parcels could yield a few hundred apartment units. The exact number would only be known after the government provides more details.

Map 2: Master Plan 2025 of Paterson Rise and Paterson Street

Source: URA MasterPlan 2025

The land on the upper right-hand corner and is shown in yellow in the Master Plan is zoned as “Reserve”. The government will probably keep it in the current state and decide in the future on what to do with it.

It will be challenging to build high-rise buildings on this Reserve site as there are two MRT tunnels under the plot of land. Piling and subterrane construction work which is essential for the development of high-rise buildings would be expensive and complicated.

Bringing more convenience of residents

The commercial space in the two future developments on the sites that are zoned “residential with commercial space on the first storey” will likely be used for shops, F&B outlets, and possibly a supermarket. When they are operational, these retail outlets will bring conveniences to the residents in this area.

The development of these plots of land will increase the population density in this area. Hence, it is necessary to provide more retail amenities and accessibility to public transport to the residents.

It could also result in exciting new retail concepts in this area. It is rare for new retail space to be built so near to the Orchard Road area.

New infrastructure developments, such as new drainage facilities, taxi stand, bus stop

The new drainage is part of the necessary infrastructure for safety and sanitation purposes. It is also to prevent flooding in that area. It is likely to be underground, so it will hardly be noticeable to the future residents.

The new taxi stand and new bus stop will increase public transport accessibility for the residents and would largely be welcomed by those who rely on public transport.

So, on the whole, the developments of new drainage facilities, new taxi stand and new bus stop will be positive for the residents in that area.

Buildings to be demolished to make way for the new roads

The buildings in shown in pale yellow in Map 1 are part of Number 25 Paterson Road. They have a long history and have served several prominent educational and administrative roles over the past 70 years.

According to records from the National Library Board (NLB) and official reports, its previous uses include:

Teachers’ Training College (TTC) / Institute of Education (1955–1981): The site was originally the home of the Teachers' Training College, which relocated there in December 1955. In 1973, it merged with other entities to form the Institute of Education (IE), a precursor to the current National Institute of Education (NIE).

Raffles Junior College (1982–1983): After the IE moved to Bukit Timah, the campus served as the first location for Raffles Junior College before it moved to its Mt Sinai campus.

Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Headquarters (1984–1992): The building then became the headquarters for the MRT Corporation during the early development years of Singapore's rail network.

Overseas Family School (Until 2015): Most recently, the site was occupied by the Overseas Family School (OFS). The school returned the plot to the government when it relocated to Pasir Ris in 2015