The transformation of the former fire station will establish the site as “a key gateway for heritage and nature landmarks and trails in the area, including Bukit Batok Nature Park, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and the Rail Corridor.
The former Bukit Timah Fire Station will be transformed into a community node, featuring an environmentally sustainable lifestyle hub that integrates urban farming, wellness and nature-based activities.
The site will also feature “generous community spaces amidst lush greenery and rich heritage”.
“Visitors will have opportunities to connect with nature via workshops, nature-based programmes and allotment gardens in shared open spaces designed to capitalise on the surrounding greenery,” said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore Land Authority (SLA), National Parks Board (NParks) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in a joint news release on Thursday (16 September).
They noted that the transformation of the former fire station will establish the site as “a key gateway for heritage and nature landmarks in the area”, including Bukit Batok Memorial, the former Ford Factory, Bukit Batok Nature Park, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve as well as island-wide recreational routes – the 36km-long Coast-to-Coast Central Trail and the 24km-long Rail Corridor.
The authorities revealed that restoration works for the site are slated to commence around the end of this year. They added that the community node is tentatively set to open to the public by the second quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, the tender for the project will be awarded to Homestead Holland after it won the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group’s ‘Reinventing Cities’ competition, which was organised in collaboration with URA, SLA, NParks and BCA.
The competition is aimed at implementing carbon neutral and sustainable urban features in underutilised sites across the world.
Themed ‘Good Food, Good Life’, Homestead Holland’s winning proposal featured community event spaces as well as allotment gardens “to experiment with sustainable food production and food waste management”.
“It will also bring together a vibrant mix of uses such as food and beverage offerings including farm-to-table experiences, health and wellness activities, and nature-related workshops,” said the authorities.
Environmentally sustainable features like sustainable construction, enhanced waste management strategy and low carbon mobility initiatives such as the provision of shuttle buses and electric vehicle charging stations will also be implemented.
The development targets to attain Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy certification under Green Mark 2021.
Homestead Holland’s three-year tenancy will commence in Q4 2021, and is renewable for another three-plus-three years.
“The former Bukit Timah Fire Station will be added as a recreational node along the Rail Corridor to serve as a base for visitors to explore the surrounding nature areas and heritage attractions,” said Minister for National Development Desmond Lee.
“We will be implementing sustainable solutions with creative adaptive reuse of the site, in line with our Singapore Green Plan 2030 ambitions to push for greener buildings and to build a more climate resilient nation.”
The former Station Master’s residence, for instance, will be re-purposed into a Visitor Centre to showcase the nature parks of Singapore.
He revealed that NParks will also “explore plans to connect the former Bukit Timah Fire Station to the Rail Corridor trail and other green spaces such as Bukit Batok Nature Park”.
“Visitors can look forward to the former Bukit Timah Fire Station being transformed into a thriving community node, and this will provide another convenient access point into the Rail Corridor,” he added.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email: victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
