Completion of Jurong Lake Housing Transformation
Over the past 9 years, small businesses in Jurong Lake District have started noticing an increase in sales, alongside the rejuvenation of the area.
Mr Tan Kah Ann, the Jurong Town Centre Merchant Association chairman, said that this appears to have come about with residents choosing to spend more time around their homes on weekends, rather than going to other places.
He observed that the addition of a new pavilion and children’s playground at the new pedestrian mall J Link is especially popular with families, and those hosting community events.
”There are many tuition centres in this area, so after their classes, children often come down to play and run around with their friends while their parents shop nearby. It creates a very lively environment,” commented Mr Tan.
Last Sunday, HDB announced that renewal of the Jurong Lake enclave under its Remaking Our Heartland program has been completed. This area was one of the three picked in 2011 for revitalisation, alongside Hougang and the East Coast.
Over the nine years since then, the estate has been progressively outfitted with new features such a communal spaces and interconnected gardens. One of the main aspects was the rejuvenation of Blocks 130 to 135 at Jurong Gateway Road, that comprises Jurong East Town Centre.
This section, now re-named as J Connect, had its communal spaces and building facades overhauled and given a new updated look with lush landscaping. It joins to the nearby JCube shopping centre through J Link, and will offer an alternative shopping venue to Clavon residents besides Clementi Mall.
Jurong Gateway & Jurong Lake
In addition, Jurong Gateway, around Jurong East MRT station, has also grown into a vibrant township. It includes mixed used developments like Jem and Westgate, and an integrated healthcare hub comprising Jurong Community Hospital and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
HDB is careful to point out however, that the completion of these regeneration plans, is not the end of new developments in the district. From 2021 onwards, the remaining sectors of Jurong Lake Gardens, including the Japanese and Chinese Gardens, will be completed. The western sector opened in April 2019 to the public.
Jurong Lake is set to become a recreational and leisure cluster by 2026. It will feature a new Science Centre, together with a 7-hectare integrated tourism development as well, around the lake.
All these developments will comprise part of the up-and-coming 360-hectare Jurong Lake District (JLD). That will make it the biggest mixed-use business district outside the Central Business District. This augurs well for the upside potential of homes in the area and in Clementi one MRT stop down, such as for Clavon and Parc Clematis.
JLD has been identified as a car-lite district. New MRT lines will be added to the area as well, including the Jurong Region Line by 2027, and the Cross-Island Line sometime in the 2030s.
Mr Tan expects that the renewal plans will draw more visitors to the estate, which is sometimes called the “Orchard Road of the West”.
“When all the malls, neighbourhoods and parks are connected, people won’t have to travel elsewhere to shop or play. We can do everything here in Jurong,” he remarked with satisfaction.
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Source: The Business Times . 20 January 2020
