Hundreds of Commonwealth Drive households to get new flats

August 9, 2008
Hundreds of Commonwealth Drive households to get new flats
By Michelle Tay

HUNDREDS of households in Commonwealth Drive will be offered new
flats as part of the Housing Board's latest redevelopment exercise.

The 669 households in the 44-year-old precinct near Tanglin Halt can
opt to move to a new site across the road when their current homes
are 'developed for residential use' next year, the HDB announced
yesterday.

Mr Baey Yam Keng, the adviser to Tanjong Pagar's grassroots
organisations, told residents of the plans during the Queenstown
National Day celebration dinner last night.

Blocks 74 to 80 in Commonwealth Drive will be vacated, and about 730
two- to five-room replacement flats will be built on the other side
of the road under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers).

The old blocks have 10 floors. The new ones will go as high as 40
floors.

Eligible flat owners can register for their replacement flats in
about a year.

Construction will start at the end of next year and be completed by
late 2012 or early 2013.

Sers involves redeveloping selected old blocks of flats, with
residents rehoused in new and better units nearby.

Owners are compensated for their homes at the prevailing market rate.
They get a 20 per cent discount on their new flats. They are also
assured of flats at the new site, so they can continue living with
the same neighbours.

If a resident opts to move elsewhere, he can sell the rehousing
benefits to an eligible buyer and use the proceeds to buy a resale
flat in his preferred location.

This Sers plan will also involve 24 rental shops and two rental
eating houses at the affected blocks.

Eligible shop and eating house tenants will get an ex-gratia payment
of $60,000 per tenancy and a 10 per cent discount on their successful
bids for other HDB rental commercial properties.