7 surprising finds in Singapore's URA Master Plan: Unexpected spots that are actually residential

Even in a country as strict as Singapore, it's hard to rigidly apply urban planning. Somehow or other, buildings still end up in the wrong zones; perhaps due to timing issues (the zoning rules changed while they were still there), or due to special permissions granted for long-forgotten reasons.

Whatever the case, we found some distinctly non-residential buildings sitting on definitely residential plots in the current Master Plan.

Some of these are rather obscure, so much so that residents there may not even know that these are actually residential plots. While we don't know when these will be redeveloped, it's still good to know to keep an eye out for!

1. Delta House

Headquarters of the world-famous (soon to be) Stacked, Delta House is a true oddity. It's a single industrial building, smack in the middle of a residential area.

For reasons we don't know, Delta House is sitting within a residential zone; right between an HDB enclave, and two schools. 

If the current prices weren't so high for developers, we'd expect that someone saw the potential for this plot by now.

It could make a great family-oriented condo, being so close to schools; and it may even appeal to investors, as it's on the city fringe and is minutes' drive from the hipster enclave of Tiong Bahru. 

2. Lam Soon Industrial Building

Ah, the Dairy Farm neighbourhood. Even the name evokes pastoral scenes and greenery; and we don't think any place in Singapore sounds more country-like than Hillview in Dairy Farm… but wait, is that a lone industrial building right at the foot of the greenery? 

That would be Lam Soon Industrial Building, which may have one of the oddest locations for an industrial (mainly warehousing) building ever. Hillview is zoned for residential, and you can see our urban planners have taken great pains to make it a haven for nature lovers.

To its credit though, Lam Soon is a slick and contemporary-looking building; and you may not think it's industrial at first glance. If it ever does get redeveloped, any condo here will be within walking distance of HillV2 mall; and even Hillview MRT (DTL) is just a few minutes' walking distance. 

As a reminder, a similar case has happened nearby with the previous Tan Chong Industrial Park — which is now the site of The Myst condo. It's a site that not many knew that was always zoned as residential, going back to the 2003 Master Plan.

3. Autobacs

Park Natura condo: surrounded by greenery, with a fantastic view of Bukit Batok Nature Park. For some units, a view complemented with, uh… Autobacs industrial building. Just like Lam Soon, this industrial building is sitting at the very foot of the greenery. We don't know why this keeps happening in Dairy Farm. 

Here's the thing though: Park Natura owners are probably lucky it's not a condo sitting on the Autobacs plot yet. A higher-rise development, such as another condo, would be more likely to impede their view of Bukit Batok Nature Park!

In any case, the current forested area next door is a reserve site, so there could yet be bigger changes here planned in the future.

4. The Rail Mall

We don't think anyone really minds this, as The Rail Corridor — sort of the Singaporean answer to New York City's High Line — is a huge amenity for residents. The old train track makes for a great park; but like everything Singaporean, we don't think it's complete unless food and shopping are involved. 

Hence The Rail Mall, which is also a vital amenity for the residential properties in Dairy Farm. It is nicely incorporated into the park/residential space though, so it doesn't have a negative impact on the view. 

While The Rail Mall is technically on land zoned for residential, the surrounding homes would probably be disappointed if it was taken away.

We'd expect it to stay there for some time still. Besides, quite a chunk of the land of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is a reserve site, so there's still land here that could serve other purposes in the future.

5. International School Singapore (ISS) and some surrounding preschool facilities

ISS is located along Paterson Road, and is right behind Orchard MRT station. Considering luxury homes like The Marq on Paterson Hill and Grange 1866 are nearby, the value of this land plot is certainly high; and any condo built on this parcel would definitely be in the luxury category. 

This is a good location for ISS, given the large number of well-heeled expats and other foreigners living in the Orchard area. It's also a great place to go to school: who wouldn't want their school to be in Orchard, where you can hang out along the shopping belt the moment the bell rings? 

Technically though, ISS and some of the nearby preschool/childcare facilities are on residential land. We suppose it's a fair exception, as the Orchard area tends to be quite far from other educational institutes. 

6. Some government embassies 

The High Commission of India and the Japanese Embassy are both in residential zones, but we've been told it gets much more complicated where government embassies are involved. It's something about how the embassy grounds may count as the soil of that given country. 

In any case, some of these embassies are in the ritziest part of Singapore, close to Nassim and the Orchard belt (it's important for the respectability of their governments).

7. The Pearl's Hill Care Home 

Residential space is precious in Chinatown, as it's heavily built up, gives over a lot to commercial, and is often expensive. One Pearl Bank, for instance, averages $2,770 psf as of 2023; and this is just a 99-year leasehold condo.

So it's nice that facilities like care homes are still given space, despite the land value. It's a good thing too, as the stretch from Outram to Chinatown is home to many old residences, with ageing seniors. Pearl's Hill Care Home doesn't just let them stay in a familiar neighbourhood, it's also highly accessible, being within walking distance of Chinatown MRT; so it's a poor excuse for children not to visit. 

But with many Chinatown buildings ageing (even nearby People's Park Complex is on its third en-bloc attempt), we expect the neighbourhood will see big changes in the coming decade. Even though Pearl's Hill Care Home is technically on residential land, we hope they get to retain that location, rather than making all the residents move.

As mean as it sounds, there are investors and homeowners who will gripe to their MP — or anyone who will listen — about how eldercare facilities nearby "hurts" property values. 

That said, given it has a plot ratio of 8.4, it'll probably be hard to not look at the current low building and see that it is not utilised to its maximum.

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This article was first published in Stackedhomes.