The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), in a Friday (3 May) update, said that land zoned as business park usage in Media Circle might soon be set aside to build new homes.

It is proposed to convert a plot of land adjacent to Infinite Studios at one-north that was previously reserved for a business park into primarily residential space with commercial uses on the ground floor. For the square plot between Media Walk Circle and Media Walk, a plot-ratio of 3.7 has been proposed.

The Portsdown Road parcel is an irregularly shaped piece of land that is currently mostly a white area. It is also being considered for commercial and residential use, but detailed planning will be required.

The authorities may also assign a plot rate of 4.3 for a parcel located along Portsdown Avenue that is intended to be used both as a residential and commercial property. The authorities are proposing a fourth parcel for pure residential purposes.

URA has said that the high-density housing developments proposed will help to support the housing demand in One-North and make the area a vibrant mixed use district.

As soon as the information is ready, more details on the plans for development of the site will become available.

Media Circle was originally envisioned around 20 years ago as an industrial park that would serve the media technology sector.

However, it is still quite a distance away from residential housing estates and the nearest MRT stations.

Media Circle’s Government Land Sales Program has released more residential land in recent years.

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Qingjian Realty, Forsea Residence and Forsea Residence received a site of 10,632.1 square metres in February. The price was S$395M or S$1,191 for each square foot on the plot ratio. Infinite Studios and another site adjacent to it are expected to launch in May. This site is expected to yield 515 apartments.

The Hill @ One North was the last new launch to take place in the area of one-north in April 2024. On the first day that sales were recorded, 43 units were sold. The units sold for an average of S$2,595 per square foot. Gao Xiuhua is one of the owners at Kingsford Development. He bought the land for S$162.4M or S$1,210 psf ppr.

One-north district has seen a strong demand for private houses. The area is close to NUS, Singapore Polytechnic School and NUS High School. It also has a business district near Science Park.

The factors listed above make One-North a desirable area for tenants or buyers in the area who work or are studying.

It is possible that the supply of homes was behind demand in one-north, leading to a stronger rental growth there than in Dover.

The number of dwellings estimated in the site could exceed 1500.