Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced the first Build-to-Order (BTO) project to be launched in the upcoming Mount Pleasant residential estate in his Committee of Supply (COS) speech on March 5. The project will be launched as part of the October 2025 BTO exercise.
The first of six public housing projects planned for the new estate, the announced project will comprise about 1,500 new units of two- to four-room flats. These flats form part of the 50,000 BTO flats expected to be launched from 2025 to 2027.
The Mount Pleasant estate will be built on the site of the Old Police Academy. The closest residential area to Mount Pleasant is Toa Payoh, located less than 1km away. The estate is bound by Mount Pleasant Avenue to the north, Old Police Academy Road to the west, the Pan Island Expressway to the south and Thomson Road to the East.
Spanning 33ha, the estate is expected to yield about 5,000 new homes when fully completed.
Location of the upcoming Mount Pleasant housing estate (Image: HDB)
According to a press release by the Ministry of National Development (MND), the estate will house residential blocks exceeding 40 storeys along with facilities such as an eating house, supermarket and retail shops. The area will be served by the upcoming Mount Pleasant MRT Station along the Thomson-East Coast Line. It is expected to begin operations in tandem with the completion of the housing projects.
The design of the new housing blocks will incorporate the site’s history. According to a heritage study conducted by the URA, the Old Police Academy was the first permanent institution used to train and professionalise Singapore’s police force. It served its role from the 1920s until its closure in 2005. The study also identified six buildings for conservation.
“The centrally located Mount Pleasant enclave will be well-received by Singaporeans and could help to alleviate some of the housing demand in Toa Payoh,” says Wong Shanting, VP of research and market intelligence at ERA Singapore
Taking into account its location within the Core Central Region (CCR), Wong predicts that the flats may fall within the Plus or Prime categories, both of which will be subjected to 10-year mandatory occupancy periods and resale restrictions.
Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, points out that the new HDB flats in Mount Pleasant will be the first-ever public housing to be launched for sale in an area that mainly features private landed housing.
Considering the limited stock of public housing stock within the CCR and nearby Novena Planning Area, Gafoor foresees a pent-up demand from applicants who wish to live near their parents who are residing in Toa Payoh, or in private homes in the vicinity.
Artist’s impression of a new building at Mount Pleasant estate (Image: MND)
Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group, believes that Mount Pleasant could be touted as the “next” Toa Payoh or Bishan. “Many buyers may perceive the future resale value of homes in the new estate to rival that of Bishan, Bidadari or Toa Payoh, where many new flats in these estates have been sold at high resale prices.”
The last BTO launch in Toa Payoh was in May 2022, when Kim Keat Heights offered 385 units of two-room flexi to four-room flats. The application rate for four-room flats was 10.9, while the application rate for three-room flats was 4.2. “We anticipate that the application rate for the new BTO flats in Mount Pleasant will also be robust, given the area’s favourable location and surrounding attributes,” says Sun.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, projects that the price of a four-room flat could start from $525,000. “With blocks exceeding 40 storeys, flats on the top floors may potentially have unblocked views towards the city and be priced above $700,000.”
The estate is within walking distance of the Toa Payoh Town Centre as well as the adjacent upcoming Toa Payoh integrated development. When completed, the new integrated development will offer a range of amenities such as sports facilities, a polyclinic, a library, and a town park. Several primary schools are also located within 1km of the estate including CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh) along Lorong 1 Toa Payoh and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (Primary) along Dunearn Road.
