.jpg?tb9VRk1npHPKD0VQsD2f1OHknnl8wxr.&itok=Z05pvbAX "The government is studying plans to introduce public housing at the sites of the Kallang Basin Swimming Complex and St Wilfred Sports Centre, which will cease operations in 2H2025 (File photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge SIngapore)")
The Kallang Basin ActiveSG Swimming Complex and the St Wilfred ActiveSG Sports Centre will cease operations permanently in the second half of 2025. On June 13, URA, HDB and Sport Singapore jointly announced the closure of the facilities upon their lease expiries. The Kallang Basin complex, located on Geylang Bahru Lane, will close on Sept 1, and the St Wilfred centre on St Wilfred Road will close on Oct 1.
Residents will have access to a new Sport-in-Precinct facility in nearby Kolam Ayer, which is set to open at the end of the year. Meanwhile, plans to introduce public housing at the two sites are currently being studied, according to the agencies.
The plans to close the Kallang Basin and St Wilfred sports facilities for redevelopment are timely, given that both sites are considerably older compared to other sports complexes, observes Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore. “It makes sense for the sites to pave the way for better land use, especially given that they are located quite near to the city centre,” he adds.
Lim believes that future Build-to-Order (BTO) projects at the site could be designated as Plus flats due to their proximity to town and amenities. Plus flats have tighter resale restrictions compared to Standard category flats, including a longer minimum occupation period of 10 years and restrictions on renting out the flat.
The Kallang Basin Swimming Complex site is within walking distance of Geylang Bahru MRT Station and the Geylang Bahru Market and Food Centre. Lim notes that most of the public housing blocks in the Geylang Bahru area were built in the 1970s, indicating a need for new developments that will rejuvenate the area.
He predicts the future BTO project at the site could feature a mix of two- to four-room flats. “The nearby sites have a plot ratio of 2.8, and assuming a similar plot ratio, we may see some high-rise BTO flats, potentially up to 36 storeys,” he adds.
Meanwhile, the St Wilfred Sport Centre is a 10-minute walk from Boon Keng MRT Station. It is located close to St George’s Road, where many of the existing HDB flats date back to the 1980s, according to Lim.
