CLOSE FIGHT FOR RARE 'GEM' - CONDO SITE IN TOA PAYOH LORONG 4

I work near Toa Payoh. The place has changed little in the last 20 years except for more HDB blocks sprouting up or the older ones being spruced up.

Condo sites for sale are rare in Toa Payoh. I guess that's why the Lorong 4 site is hotly contested. However, it is not an ideal place. Especially with a temple sited so close to it. The noise and smoke is an issue during temple festivities. Do note that the temple is on elevated ground of more than 10 metres.

To get to the Braddell MRT station, you need to cross a road and cut through some blocks. 430 metres according to the Business Times. Not that bad. Unless it rains. There are no sheltered walkways.

For those who drive and intend to get to town for work via the Braddell entrance to CTE, good luck. The Braddell flyover feeds to Braddell Road which leads to CTE. Traffic is a crawl for that few hundred metres.

However, the more interesting plot of land is not the condo site. It is the blocks of HDB flats and carparks which you traverse across to get to Braddell MRT. With about less than 50 years' of lease left and a low built-up area, the site is plum for SERS.

Police Security Command occupies a plot which is slated for further detailed planning by URA. That may prove to be exciting if something commercial is planned for to support the speculated SERS development.

Still, I think it was wise to site the condo land next to the temple. Let the commercial players handle the downsides.

Cheerios.