Toa Payoh History

As one of the earliest satellite towns built by the HDB that is now aging, Toa Payoh, which in Malay means a “big swamp”, is going through a process of rejuvenation now. While its estate renewal strategy is seeing major upgrading of flats, work is on in full swing around the train station for the new HDB headquarters, due to open in 2002.

The overall aim is to convert Toa Payoh into a modern town, just as it was transformed in the early 70s from a swampland (when farming and pig-rearing were common in the locality) into a new-generation town.  Some of the landmarks in the area are the Seu Teck Temple, the Toa Payoh Garden Tower, the Islamic Centre of Singapore and the Siong Lim Sian Si Buddhist Temple.

Toa Payoh is already a self-contained town with shopping facilities, a sports complex, library and a garden. Some of the popular schools in Toa Payoh are the CHIJ primary and secondary schools, Pei Dao Secondary School, First Toa Payoh Secondary School, Pei Chun Public School and Braddell Primary School. The Marymount Convent School is also located between Toa Payoh and Bishan. 
 

LOCATION OF TOA PAYOH PLANNING AREA

The Toa Payoh planning area is located within the Central Region. It is bounded by Braddell Road and Bartley Road to the north, Upper Paya Lebar Road tot the east, MacPherson Road and Jalan Toa Payoh to the south and Thomson Road to the west. It covers a total of 845 ha in land area.

Upgrading Projects

The existing public housing in Toa Payoh Town is currently undergoing redevelopment and upgrading. Private high-density housing is also proposed to incease the variety of housing forms in the planning area.

STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Toa Payoh planning area is just 6km away from the city centre. It is well-served by the expressways and major roads as well as excellent public transportation. 

Being an established town, a wide range of facilities is available in Toa Payoh. These include commercial, entertainment, sports, religious, communites club and educational facilities. 

The Toa Payoh planning area also enjoys minimal height development constraints. Most of the buildings can be built up to 25 storeys. Large tracts of land are also available at Toa Payoh West and Woodleigh Park areas for quality housing development. There are plans to revitalise the urban residential character of Toa Payoh, one of the oldest housing estates. New and better flats will be introduced through the redevelopment and upgrading programme. New residential areas will be created at Toa Payoh West and Woodleigh. About 13,000 more housing units will be available in Toa Payoh area.

There will be more variety of housing forms. New medium and high density housing will be introduced at Braddell Road, Marymount Road, Thomson Road and Bartley Road. Private high-density housing is also proposed to increased the variety of housing in Toa Payoh.

The existing Toa Payoh Town Centre will also be redeveloped. More commercial and housing developments will be introduced in the town centre to make better use of land around the MRT station.

To meet the recreational needs of residents, new neighbourhood parks and open spaces are proposed. As part of the regional strategy to link all the greenways, the existing Toa Payoh Town Park will also be connected to this green network to link up Bishan and Kallang River Parks.