Geylang Lorongs 4-22 may be re-zoned for commercial use

[princess_morbucks]

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...commercial-use

SINGAPORE — Plans to re-zone Lorongs 4-22 Geylang from a “residential/institution” to a “commercial/institution” zone are in the works, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a press release this afternoon (Jan 13).

The area being proposed for re-zoning is bounded by Geylang Road, Lorong 22 Geylang, Guillemard Road and Lorong 4 Geylang, save for the parcels of land-zoned roads, the lots fronting Geylang Road and the sports field bounded by Talma Road and Lorong 12 Geylang. The re-zoning will not affect new residential developments that have received the green light and construction for these developments will go ahead, said the URA.

URA group director of physical planning, Hwang Yu-Ning, writing on behalf of the authority’s chief planner, said that with the growth of new residential developments in the area, “there has been an increasing spillover of disamenities and friction on the ground”.

“In our assessment, the growth of new residential community in the area of Lorongs 4-22 Geylang needs to be re-balanced and moderated,” she said.

Ms Hwang added that the re-zoning will allow issues in the area to be managed more effectively and prevent the spillover of disamenities to surrounding areas.

The public may provide their feedback, objection or representation to the URA’s proposal by writing to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of National Development by Feb 11 at the following address: 5 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069110.

[litechaser]

so whats the implications ?

[Kelonguni]

so whats the implications ?

Means that residential developments will be limited there. Reserved mainly for commercial purposes. What kind of commercial activities, that's my question.

[Cooleo]

Means that residential developments will be limited there. Reserved mainly for commercial purposes. What kind of commercial activities, that's my question.

Too many complain from residents about the commercial activities in that area, instead of removing the prostitute, they remove the residents. smart move.

perhaps they have plan to modernized the red light district to make it a tourist attraction.

[Kelonguni]

Too many complain from residents about the commercial activities in that area, instead of removing the prostitute, they remove the residents. smart move.

perhaps they have plan to modernized the red light district to make it a tourist attraction.

I think it's the main outlet area for SG to protect the bulk of residential areas in SG. There has been too many negative reports of pimps setting up shop in HDBs or condos. Many are not caught yet.

At least people who bought into Geylang knew what they were buying into. No issue about fine prints.

You are right. Perhaps its an expansion of the commercial attractions there.

[meow123]

so if one buys a residential unit, say Treasures @ G20 or #1 Suites,

the development is not even OTP yet...

let alone TOP...

what will happen ???

Does it mean a land value increase or decrease ?

Cannot enbloc, right? cause no developers can come in to buy and redevelop as residential pty anymore...

so what will happen ?

would the residential pty owners be chased out, and given nominal compensation, and the land is returned to gov, so that they sell to developers as commercial land ?

In short, is this a good news or bad news for residential property owners who have a unit in that region ???

[Kelonguni]

No worries, prior and sold units are not affected by this. The main message is that it will not be fully residential.

so if one buys a residential unit, say Treasures @ G20 or #1 Suites,

the development is not even OTP yet...

let alone TOP...

what will happen ???

Does it mean a land value increase or decrease ?

Cannot enbloc, right? cause no developers can come in to buy and redevelop as residential pty anymore...

so what will happen ?

would the residential pty owners be chased out, and given nominal compensation, and the land is returned to gov, so that they sell to developers as commercial land ?

In short, is this a good news or bad news for residential property owners who have a unit in that region ???

[Arcachon]

[meow123]

but will it be fully commercial ?

I don't mind staying there for the long term, actually.

it's somewhat fringe of town fringe...

[princess_morbucks]

The re-zoning will not affect new residential developments that have received the green light and construction for these developments will go ahead, said the URA.

So the upcoming condos will not be affected.
The condos which just TOP also should not be affected.

But the landed there may be affected?
Maybe have to return to govt?

Jalan Suka is at Lor 24....that won't be affected (since it up to Lor 22)?

I think they just don't want the brothels to be next to residents' house.

From what I know, the legitimate brothels are renting from the home owners.

Eg : see this ad from propertyguru :

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/listi...light-district

By commercialising it, it means that it is no longer residential.
Prostitution may still continue in that area, though.

[princess_morbucks]

but will it be fully commercial ?

I don't mind staying there for the long term, actually.

it's somewhat fringe of town fringe...

Fully commercial, can still have brothels as it is a business.

[bigbear]

actually if rezone for cheekon, it doesnt make any difference. illegal streetwalkers still still walk out of the boundary and u have cheekons in HDB as usual.
'
URA needs to be more specific. dont be like the sk west columbarium case again.

[meow123]

looks like there's alot of naysayers...

but plainly, geylang will go the direction of keong saik road, ( ks )

though there may be one or two operating brothels at ks, it has been transformed into a relatively high-end boutique hotel and restaurant, commercial zone.

those vested in the traditional brothel zone, from lor 4 to lor 22, should be able to see a similar transformation, in many years' time, say 30 years.

but, that's how the gov works, they give the vested / public time to adjust to the direction that they move forward towards, and after a long time, geylang ought to experience a similar effect.

[bigbear]

if KS Street, Bugis Street can be cleaned up, i dont see why a prime district like Geylang cannot be.

[Kelonguni]

if KS Street, Bugis Street can be cleaned up, i dont see why a prime district like Geylang cannot be.

My thinking is that it is because all those areas were cleaned that there must be at least one outlet left.

Else, some of these activities spill over to the major residential areas.

It's not naysaying. Because of these commercial activities including eateries and other forms of businesses, the area will definitely flourish in terms of rental demand (expatriate and local singles etc). The decision might also have been made to protect those residential apartments located within the area, as in brothels must not be allowed to operate within the development, although they can be a street away. The rental demand for businesses and other tenants will continue to be superb, just that it will not be the ideal place to bring up families.

In my assessment, this place, just like JLD, will have very strong rental demand and pricing from various strata of society, but will continue not to be that ideal for families, due to the inherent psychological or real effects of the locality.

[meow123]

yes,

the interesting thing is that URA has taken the step to rezone Geylang traditional red-light district to a total commercial zone.

but usually, when the land has it's land use changed, they do not attract publicity.

if we examine this rezoning, the press has been taking an active interest,

1. papers,
2. TV news

so, i think the gov wants to send the message to the

1. illegal brothels, your days are numbered
2. illegal cigarette operators / gambling tables, your days are numbered
3. illegal drug-houses that sells 3.1. cough mixture, 3.2. pills, 3.3 heroin, your days are numbered

so yes, we have to bear in mind that a city is organic, as we have continual prosperity, that has caused our "downtown" to expand from city hall, to geylang region...

geylang, technically speaking, was the ulu area, in the v early days, where people ( chinese ) who were late-comers to the singapore scene, were priced out from city hall, chinatown region, and they went further, to live near the malay community...

of course, today's chinatown is truly geylang, not chinatown, as geylang is flooded w china people who are transient workers, etc.

[silver023]

Interesting what the re-zoning will mean for the existing old condos... any good investment value there?

[princess_morbucks]

More here :

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...riction?page=1

[meow123]

if u missed the era of 2002-2009, or specifically, 2002-2006, i don't think you are in time for any sort of significant capital appreciation in sg pty.

the days of capital appreciation is long passe...

and if u were not vested in geylang red light district before this... i think... the prices will adjust itself accordingly to be priced in with this current release of news.

we probably need to wait till 2030 when we have 6.9m to see the next wave of upward price movement.

but these 2 years would be crazy, as those without the holding power, will be killed by the SIBOR rates...

our gov would increase the interest rates faster than FEDs... cause I forgot, we have always been proactive and prudent.

guess u could pick up ptys which people who are over-leveraged let go...

2015, 2016 are the bumper crop for residential units...

this is where the slide begins...

[Arcachon]

Don't need interest rate hike, just no increase in property price High end start to show color.

http://business.asiaone.com/news/uob...act-developers

[newbie11]

This is a fraud leh. . Anyway ask yourself why the rich PRC prefer to default and not sell in open market or continue paying instalments? Are they really poor now or ??

[meow123]

a pretty silly comment,

obviously, a default is an unfavourable situation to the buyer, still... having paid a 20% - 50% and up downpayment, buyer's stamp duty and all that.

plus, why do we have people that discuss off-topic issues...

are singaporeans really so dumb, or do they have zero etiquette to stick to the topic of the thread started?

[Strata]

Im afraid the red light businesses will be shifted to another estate or likely more rape cases will happen...

[irisng]

But there are still hotels within Lor 4 to Lor 22 right? Vice can still make use of the place leh.

Why didn't they extend the rezone to Lor 24 (Jalan Molek & Jalan Suka)?

[bigbear]

rezone or not, u think vices care to stay within boundary?

unless rezone is to rejuvenate the zone with other businesses. we really dunno.

[Kelonguni]

rezone or not, u think vices care to stay within boundary?

unless rezone is to rejuvenate the zone with other businesses. we really dunno.

I can just imagine this conversation between the vice-leaders that operate illegally out of the defined zones when they are caught, citing lack of business space for these activities.

A bit like smoking. So much tax to be gained and the smokers just want to smoke, so draw yellow boxes for them to smoke lor. As long as they don't affect non-smokers too much.

Similarly, people who choose to stay in that area know what they are buying into, and generally they do not mind these businesses beside them, maybe due to the good, central location or the relatively affordable units they obtained.

[meow123]

generally, and fortunately,

we are a v clean city.

the vice biz operators know their days are numbered...

though they have clashes with the gov, in terms of URA, etc...

but this rezoning means that they would not be able to hide the viet runners ( triad boys ) to sell the unpaid duty cigarettes and operate the gambling tables in the evening.

already, the situation has drastically improved.

what used to be laneful of PRC whores have vanished from Lor 14, and the carpark opposite Le Regal.

The gambling tables operated by the triads who import the viet boys, behind lor 16 and 18, has also vanished into thin air.

in short, illegal biz is like building a castle in the air, it's based on a foundation of cards... un-scalable in the context of sg...

perhaps if they operate out of say Myanmar, like Lo Hsing Han, then it's dramatically different.

Our governance and biz climate does not allow such vices to strive...

so yes, we are v blessed to be on this dot, in the midst of a radical and corrupted neighbourhood...

[Kelonguni]

Vices like gambling, smoking and prostitution are legalised businesses. Clean yes, but no population will be totally free of vices. Demand perenially present and pragmatic government. The purpose is to regulate not clean. If really want to clean totally just designate whole area as residential or mixed development. Cannot see does not mean vanish also.

generally, and fortunately,

we are a v clean city.

the vice biz operators know their days are numbered...

though they have clashes with the gov, in terms of URA, etc...

but this rezoning means that they would not be able to hide the viet runners ( triad boys ) to sell the unpaid duty cigarettes and operate the gambling tables in the evening.

already, the situation has drastically improved.

what used to be laneful of PRC whores have vanished from Lor 14, and the carpark opposite Le Regal.

The gambling tables operated by the triads who import the viet boys, behind lor 16 and 18, has also vanished into thin air.

in short, illegal biz is like building a castle in the air, it's based on a foundation of cards... un-scalable in the context of sg...

perhaps if they operate out of say Myanmar, like Lo Hsing Han, then it's dramatically different.

Our governance and biz climate does not allow such vices to strive...

so yes, we are v blessed to be on this dot, in the midst of a radical and corrupted neighbourhood...

[fafalulu]

Many of the apartments there are freehold, if developer go enbloc now does it mean to get a FH commercial land?

[reporter2]

http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...zoned-20150114

Parts of Geylang to be rezoned

Aim to halt building of more homes, to rebalance mix of developments

Published on Jan 14, 2015 1:09 AM

By Cheryl Ong


SOME parts of the infamous red-light district in Geylang may be rezoned to halt the development of more homes.

The area is now a hodgepodge of shophouses, eateries, freehold properties and even brothels - a diverse mix that could cause "issues arising from conflicting uses", said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday.

Ms Hwang Yu-Ning, group director of physical planning at URA, said: "With more new residential developments in the area, there has been increasing... friction on the ground.

"In our assessment, the growth of new residential communities in the area of Lorongs 4-22 Geylang needs to be rebalanced and moderated."

The URA wants to reclassify areas bounded by Geylang Road, Lorong 22 Geylang, Guillemard Road and Lorong 4 Geylang from "residential/institution" to a new "commercial/institution" zoning once it consults the police and "other agencies".

The rezoned areas could then be used for offices, shops, entertainment outifts such as karaoke joints, or a community club, instead of new residential units.

The affected areas exclude roads, a sports field bounded by Talma Road and Lorong 12 Geylang as well as properties fronting Geylang Road.

The proposed changes would not affect existing or new residential projects that have already been given the green light.

Developments such as Le Regal and Treasures@G6 are now being built in the affected area. However, if they were to be sold in a collective sale, for instance, the new developments could not be residential buildings under the new zoning.

Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of research and advisory at Colliers International, estimated that there will be almost 300 new homes completed in the area over the next few years - adding more residents who might not appreciate the sleazy activity going on under their noses.

Ms Christine Li, research head at OrangeTee, said a change in land use should bode well for existing residents as values of commercial properties are typically higher. This could stir up interest from developers keen to amalgamate the residential clusters for a sizeable commercial complex, said Mr Desmond Sim, research head at CBRE, South-east Asia.

But the challenge lies in negotiating with the numerous individual owners in the area. Redeveloping the land could be costly as well as development charges are higher for commercial land.

Development charges for a 1,500 sq m commercial plot would be $12.9 million as compared to $3.5 million for a similar residential parcel, noted Ms Li.

Members of the public can submit their feedback in writing to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Development, by Feb 11.

[email protected]