What do the latest amendments to the 2019 Master Plan entail?

The HDB proposed changes on six sites.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) proposed new changes to the Master Plan 2019.

On 9 June, HDB said it wants to rezone Orchard Road / Cuscaden Road, Upper Thomson Road, Exeter Road, Bukit Batok Street 23, 21 Cuscaden Road, and Alexandra Road / Prince Charles Crescent.

Of these proposed changes, the rezoning of Orchard Road / Cuscaden Road, 21 Cuscaden Road, and Alexandra Road / Prince Charles Crescent will likely have the most impact.

According to Huttons, the rezoning of one site at Orchard Road/Cuscaden Road from hotel to commercial will allow the owner to “inject new retail space into Orchard and unlock value for the assets.”

“Hotel Properties Limited own this parcel of land, the adjoining Forum the Shopping Mall and HPL House which is behind Forum. It is probable that the three sites may be redeveloped together,” Huttons commented.
 
Apart from Hotel Properties Limited’s land, HDB has also proposed to rezone Ming Arcade at 21 Cuscaden Road from commercial to hotel.

“Redeveloping Ming Arcade into a hotel allows the owner to capture the strong recovery in the tourism industry,” said Huttons. Ming Arcade is owned by the Royal Group of Companies whose assets include SO Sofitel and Raffles Hotel in Sentosa.
On the residential side, HDB proposed that land parcels along Alexandra Rd/ Prince Charles Crescent be rezoned from “Residential at GPR 3.5” to “Residential at GPR 5.3”.

Huttons said the move will increase the number of HDB flats that can be built on the site up to 2,000 from the previous 1,500.

“As this is a prime location near the city centre and Redhill MRT station, it is highly likely to be a PLH BTO project,” Huttons added.