Work starts on Tampines Town Hub

Singapore's first integrated town hub to enable old and young to interact, bond under one roof
By Janice Tai, The Sunday Times, 12 May 2013

Work started yesterday on Singapore's first integrated town hub - which will house facilities including a library, sports centre and hawker centre under one roof when it opens in 2016.

The idea is to encourage more community spaces in which different generations can interact and bond while engaging in a variety of activities.

A family with elderly parents and young children, for example, will be able to spend a weekend together swimming, taking dance or cooking classes and dining.

More than 2,500 Tampines residents picked up spades to take part in the ground-breaking ceremony at Tampines Stadium yesterday morning.

It marked the start of construction work on the Tampines Town Hub, which will occupy 5.6ha of state land - or about seven football fields, on the site of the existing Tampines Stadium and Sports Hall.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is also a Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC, said about 15,000 residents gave ideas and feedback in the past year.

"The Hub's design incorporates many ideas from our residents," he said. "Residents can enjoy a wide range of sporting, cultural and learning activities as a family, connect with their friends and neighbours and run their errands."


The ideas were collected through face-to-face interviews, phone surveys and focus group discussions.

Some of the suggestions that will be taken on board include having less retail space, more family-friendly facilities and a hawker centre instead of just high-end restaurants.

Amenities within the hub will include Tampines Regional Library, clinics, childcare centres, culinary and music studios, a community club and government agencies such as the National Heritage Board office and the North East Community Development Council.

When completed, it will also incorporate the country's first regional sports centre, complete with swimming pools, tennis courts, gymnasium, town square and jogging track.

Residents can cycle to the Hub via cycling tracks linked to those in the neighbourhood, or take a train there. The Tampines MRT station is just minutes away.

Police officer Terence Tan, 44, said the cycle tracks will ease the traffic congestion in the area.

"I will no longer have to go to different places for my children's enrichment classes and my badminton sessions," he said.

IT consultant Teh Teik Lee, 40, said: "The nation is getting more crowded and such hubs make things so much more convenient."

* Construction of Tampines town hub starts
By Toh Yong Chuan, The Straits Times, 1 Jun 2014

Tampines residents got their hands dirty on Sunday when they left their hand prints on wooden boards that will eventually line the perimeter of the construction site of a new Tampines town hub.

They were at an event to mark the start of construction of the hub. When completed in 2018, the hub, which is about the size of seven football fields, will house sports, retail and community service centres.

On Sunday, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is the anchor minister for Tampines GRC, also visited a new information centre near the construction site which will keep residents updated on the progress of the town hub.

The People's Association said on Sunday that it has gathered views from more than 15,000 residents since the plan for the new hub was announced in 2011. It also welcomes residents to continue giving feedback on the hub.

* Tampines new town hub to open progressively from end-2016
When Phase One of Our Tampines Hub is completed, residents will be able to make use of the community centre, retail and food and beverage outlets, hawker centre and badminton hall.
By Chan Luo Er, Channel NewsAsia, 30 Aug 2015

A five-storey regional library, a 20-court badminton hall, six swimming pools and a 5,000-seater stadium with a FIFA-approved football pitch are some of the facilities residents can enjoy when the new town hub at Tampines opens progressively from the end of 2016.

More than 2,000 Tampines residents came together on Sunday (Aug 30) for the official unveiling of the town hub's name, Our Tampines Hub, and to receive updates on the features and facilities offered at the hub.

Speaking at the event, Education Minister and Adviser to Tampines Grassroots Organisations Heng Swee Keat said the community and lifestyle hub was the culmination of tens of thousands of residents' suggestions over the past few years.

The hub was first introduced in 2011 by then-National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan as part of the town's five-year master plan.



Phase One of the hub will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2016. Residents will be able to make use of the community centre, retail, food and beverage (F&B) outlets, an 800-seat hawker centre and the badminton hall.

MORE GREENERY, WALKWAYS, BICYCLE RACKS

Mr Heng, also said they will be planting more greenery and building covered walkways of up to 400 metres from the train station, as part of the town's Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.

Mr Heng was joined by his Tampines GRC team, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Mr Mah Bow Tan, Ms Irene Ng and Mr Baey Yam Keng. Also present were the People's Action Party's (PAP) new candidates for the GRC for the coming General Election: Ms Cheng Li Hui, who is vice-chairman of the Citizens Consultative Committee in Tampines East, and Mr Desmond Choo, who is second adviser to Changkat grassroots organisation.

Mr Choo and Ms Cheng will replace Mah Bow Tan and Irene Ng, who are stepping down from politics.

Earlier on Sunday morning, Mr Heng and his team launched a new 1 kilometre cycling route at Tampines Street 11 to mark the 10th anniversary of the town's cycling committee.

Singapore's first model cycling town, now has a bike path which links Tampines Changkat Community Club, Tampines Round Market and Food Centre, as well as the HDB neighbourhood shops.

New dual bicycle racks will also be installed at Block 114 Tampines Street 11 near Tampines Changkat Community Club and Block 138 Tampines Street 11 near 137 Tampines Round Market. There will be a total of 76 bicycle racks.