Super IG-Worthy HDB in Toa Payoh to be Completed By 2022

In Toa Payoh, a new housing estate with 10000 Housing Board units is coming.

Unless you’re currently in the market for a new home, you’re probably wondering why this is noteworthy at all.

Well, there are a few special features within the estate.

For a start…

Singapore’s First Underground Service Reservoir

In case you didn’t know, service reservoirs stores treated water to regulate supply to homes and buffer the fluctuations in demand.

An underground service reservoir is that, underground, so that it optimises land use and saves surface space.

Excited yet?

Probably not.

But now that the first underground service reservoir is out, future service reservoir will probably be following suit. In fact, it’s a wonder we didn’t do this earlier.

The service reservoir in this new estate will store equivalent to three Olympic-sized pools. underneath the Bidadari Park. Enough stalling, this is what we are here to discuss today.

Bidadari Park

With a lake, a heritage walk, experiential trails and a play area, this is one of the bigger parks in Singapore.

Truly a nature lovers paradise, a lot of work was planned out to conserve the natural biodiversity of the place.

Such as the preservation of a century-old tembusu tree among other flora. “Bird studios” were also retained in the areas where birds were frequently spotted in order to keep the status that Bidadari has had as a migratory stop for birds.

Not just birds, Bidadari was also a natural sanctuary for wildlife due to its connection to five nature ways.

To keep it that way, an eco-link will connect Bidadari Park to Hillock Park to form a safe passage across Bidadari Park Drive.

The park was inspired by Hundred Acre Wood from Winnie-the-Pooh, which probably contributed to its rustic vibe.

Here’s a comparison of the 2 maps.

…As you can see, they look nothing alike.

But we get how inspiration works.

Still, the latter image really maps out the different aspects of Bidadari Park that we’ve talked about and are about to talk about. For a better picture, click here.

Now, on to the specific features you can look forward to.

First stop, the new Alkaff Lake, which has what they call a Rain Tree Island (basically a plot of land with a single rain tree) in the middle of it.

Here’s the artist’s impression (a disclaimer so you don’t go hunting for this lake + island).

Next, the heritage walk through the park links Woodleigh MRT station to a new Memorial Garden, which will have storyboards to display Bidadari’s past.

And the artist’s impression:

The experiential trails bring you past grasslands, a bird sanctuary, a Ficus-Calophyllum Grove and even wet and marshlands that were introduced to increase the diversity of habitats and wildlife in the park.

The path was carefully placed on areas with the least vegetation, as part of the plan mentioned to minimise the disturbance to the existing biodiversity.

And finally, there’s a playground in the park called Adventure Playwoods built around a Banyan tree, featuring a treehouse with slides and climbing nets. Artist’s impression below.

The Future is Green

Many of the new projects in Singapore seem to have integration with nature as a key focus.

The Jewel that we all know recently opened is teeming with trees in the Shiseido Forest Valley.

But even other places that aren’t built for tourists have also shown themselves capable of such lush beauty, like the new housing estate in Tengah.

(Artist’s impression)

The narrative got more and more extreme over the years, from a more modest “Singapore is a Garden City” slogan to “Singapore is a City in a Garden”, which effectively says we are nearly more garden than a city.

Back to Bidadari Park, it is scheduled to complete in 2022, but batches of BTO flats in the Bidadari estate have already been released. So for those looking for a dwelling, here’s a great option!