2025 Draft Master Plan: New CCR Precincts on the Horizon – What’s in Store?

In recent years, we have seen rapid urban development and the creation of new housing precincts and estates all around Singapore. This falls under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Master Plan, which outlines Singapore’s land use and development over the medium term.

Over the years, we have seen the development of residential towns such as Punggol, Bidadari, and Tengah – and in the case of the most recent 2019 URA Master Plan, new residential precincts like Bayshore and Marina South.

Earlier this year, the URA announced its Draft Master Plan for 2025 unveiling Singapore’s next phase of growth, where we will see new neighbourhoods being introduced as part of a greater push towards a more liveable, decentralised Singapore.

Among the changes proposed are new mixed-use neighbourhoods in the Core Central Region (CCR), particularly in Pearl’s Hill (Outram), Newton, and Paterson (Orchard), aiming to diversify these lifestyle and retail belts into mixed-use urban villages.

Pearl’s Hill – “Hillside Living in the City”

Lying within the Outram planning area, a dense, central planning zone hosting key public services, Pearl’s Hill is an area that holds great significance in Singapore’s history. The modest hill, which stands at 45 metres tall is one of the few, rare surviving elevated spots in Singapore’s city centre.

Fun fact - the original height of the hill was reduced to its current level by the British; this was done to preserve the elevation advantage of their main military encampment in Singapore at Fort Canning Hill.

Today, Pearl’s Hill is home to an 8.5 to 9-hectare city park surrounding an old water reservoir, its lush greenery view set against the backdrop of Singapore’s CBD skyline.

Notable Landmarks

As one of Singapore’s older heritage areas, there are many landmarks surrounding Pearl’s Hill that encapsulates the lore of Singapore’s history.

One might remember the 38-storey Pearl Hill Bank apartments, which housed 272 split-level private apartments that dominated the skyline as the tallest and densest apartment building in the area when it was completed in 1976. The building, famous for its brutalist architecture has now been redeveloped into One Pearl Bank in 2020 which pays homage to its predecessor through its iconic cylindrical architectural style.

People’s Park Complex, which sits at the foot of Pearl’s Hill is another key landmark of the area. The shopping centre cum apartment complex was the largest shopping complex in Asia in its year of completion in 1973. Through Singapore’s developing years, it established itself as a hub for both locals and tourists, providing various services such as travel agencies, shopping, tailoring, jewellery, and traditional Chinese goods.

Today, its famous yellow and green façade inspired by brutalist megastructure architecture still stands, and is still frequented by Singaporeans and foreigners alike, particularly from mainland China.

What Changes Can We Expect?

Given its unique and advantageous location within walking distance of both Chinatown and Outram Park MRT stations – interchanges that offer three different MRT service lines in the CBD, Pearl’s Hill is a prime location with high development potential.

The URA Draft Master Plan 2025 has laid out a few proposed ideas to give Pearl’s Hill a new lease of life and to fulfil the potential it has as an urban village.

A new residential neighbourhood is planned at the foothill or Pearl’s Hill City Park and will provide around 6,000 new housing units. Dubbed “hillside homes”, we can expect both public and private housing to be constructed in the area. Furthermore, we could potentially see the introduction of short-term housing options like serviced apartments, as well as rental flats.

The planned area is gazetted as a car-lite district. The new neighbourhood will feature connectivity to Outram Park MRT station at the foot of the hill, as well as a future integrated mixed-use development, with a pedestrian mall. Additionally, the new precinct will feature seamless walking access to nearby urban precincts, such as Chinatown, Robertson Quay, and Fort Canning. These walking paths will be further enhanced by lush and green public spaces, further amplifying the live-work-play concept.

Despite the enhancements to the area, the rich history and heritage of the area will be preserved, such as the reuse of the Lower Police Barracks area, as well as People’s Park Complex along Eu Tong Sen Street.

Newton: A New Generation Mixed-Use “Urban Village”

Newton is an interesting town in Singapore, which blends urban living with commercial spaces and heritage preservation.

Despite its small footprint, one can consider Newton at the heart of Central Singapore, where many of Singapore’s most iconic road names, such as Bukit Timah Road, Dunearn Road, Scotts Road, and Clemenceau Avenue – among others, converge at the iconic circular carriageway that is Newton Circus.

Landmarks

Landmarks in the planning area of Newton include The Istana (the official residence and office of the President of Singapore), Newton Food Centre – one of Singapore’s most famous and busiest hawker centres, as well as various famous hotels such as Goodwood Park Hotel, and Sheraton Towers.

While Newton is not a major commercial/office hub, it plays a supportive role to its neighbours, being the retail-dominated district of Orchard Road, as well as Novena, which is a health and medical hub.

Mid-sized offices and malls can be found in Newton, such as Goldbell Towers, which contains offices and automotive showrooms, and other smaller developments like Newton 200 and Balmoral Plaza.

What Changes Can We Expect?

As part of the 2025 Draft Master plan, we can expect around 5,000 new private homes in three developmental clusters, namely around Newton Circus, Scotts Road, and Monk’s Hill.

These areas will be developed into “urban villages” and will see new high-density residential units integrated with commercial and community amenities, as well as green spaces. Future developments in the area will be “introduced sensitively”, following urban design guidelines that complement and retain the area’s existing character.

One such example will be in Monk’s Hill, a quiet private residential estate known for its older condominiums and mature roadside trees. As part of the Draft Master Plan, we will see these elements incorporated into ‘Monk’s Hill Linear Park’, which will see Monk’s Hill Road transformed into a lush linear park. The existing mature trees and heritage buildings will form a green corridor that will connect Newton MRT to Emerald Hill, another heritage area known for its Peranakan-style shophouses.

We will also see a new, central “Village Square” at Newton Circus (next to Newton MRT), which will incorporate the existing Newton Food Centre, and serve as a key public amenity for daily and community activities.

The development of new homes and amenities in Newton will serve to transform it into a walkable mixed-use housing and retail precinct, while preserving select State-owned heritage properties. As a distinct node in the Inner Ring Identity Corridor, these heritage buildings and sites will be thoughtfully integrated into the new developments to maintain a sense of place and historical identity.

Furthermore, these future developments in Newton will be supported by other infrastructure upgrades across Singapore, such as the North-South Corridor expressway.

Paterson - a New Mixed Use Precinct in the Heart of Orchard

The upcoming Paterson neighbourhood happens to be adjacent to Orchard Road, Singapore’s prime shopping, dining, and entertainment belt, and is one of the most walkable and accessible parts of the city.

There is little to be said about Orchard Road and its various mega-malls that isn’t already known – where despite decentralisation, Singaporeans and tourists of all ages frequent Orchard Road for their shopping needs.

While the main street is flanked by shopping centres and office buildings, Orchard is also home to an eclectic mix of private residences, which include luxury condos, landed homes, and serviced apartments, often on the outskirts, where there is less foot traffic. These coveted district 9 homes can be found at street addresses such as Tanglin, Grange Road, Cuscaden Road, Leonie Hill, and Orchard Boulevard.

While most of the land surrounding Orchard has already been used, there is still empty land to be found behind ION Orchard and Ngee Ann City, along Paterson Road and Orchard Boulevard – which was announced as part of the 2025 URA Draft Master Plan.

What can we expect?

Firstly, we can expect a brand new, large integrated development atop Orchard MRT interchange station, at the exit towards Paterson Road. The development will combine around 1,000 new private residential units alongside retail, dining, office, and public spaces.

The site will span approximately 3.5 hectares, sprawling across undeveloped government land along Paterson Road, Orchard Boulevard, and Grange Road. Therefore, we can expect to see sites in the area be put up for sale under the Government Land Sales (GLS) program.

Paterson will also be a distinct node in the Inner Ring Identity Corridor, which will connect to Orchard, River Valley, as well as Tiong Bahru and Balestier. Walk-and-cycle infrastructure will be an integral part of this, promoting green mobility.

Overall, these additions will rejuvenate the district by introducing a modern live-work-play concept through an integrated hub, combining homes, retail, offices, and public spaces. This will aid in enhancing connectivity and community life for the current residents of Orchard, as well as for the new homes that will be built in the area.

Potential for Rejuvenation via the Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) Scheme

Despite the glitz and glamour that is often associated with Orchard Road, there are buildings that require rejuvenation. These includes some of the older, strata-titled malls that were built in the 70’s and 80’s, such as Far East Shopping Center and Orchard Towers.

As the facades of these buildings start to show their age, owners of these older malls might be compelled to collaborate and redevelop their sites into newer buildings that enhances the entire precinct as part of the SDI scheme. An example of this would be Tanglin Shopping Centre, which was announced for redevelopment under the SDI scheme in 2019.

With the enhancements to the Orchard precinct brought about by the 2025 Draft Master Plan, we could see more owners of older retail malls and buildings in Orchard be compelled to collaborate and rejuvenate their buildings under the SDI. 

Conclusion

Despite the differences in these CCR areas of Pearl’s Hill, Newton, and Orchard, the 2025 URA Draft Master Plan has set out complementary but distinct objectives in their transformation plans.

There is a common objective to densify and rejuvenate older plots in these areas to bring in new housing supply into the city, in a holistic way. This includes the creation of community spaces through integrated hubs, where living, working, and leisure are inter-connected.

There is also a focus on creating and enhancing pedestrian infrastructure, that falls in line with Singapore’s sustainability goals, through the Inner Ring Identity Corridor.

Finally, there is an important theme of celebrating Singapore’s unique identity, heritage, and culture. Important landmarks and iconic locations, such as Newton Food Centre, and the barracks at Pearl’s Hill are instead preserved, celebrated, and integrated into the future’s plans, rather than left as relics of Singapore’s past.

Overall, URA’s strategy of turning central and city fringe districts into vibrant and complete neighbourhoods leaves us much to be excited for the years ahead. This creates opportunities for new and exciting locations for people to live in – all while encapsulating Singapore’s vibrant urban lifestyle, heritage, and food culture.