West is best: Why the west of Singapore is the new place to play, eat and hang out

“The east is the best side!” “The east has the best food!” “The air in the east is better!”

For those who call the other parts of Singapore home, the above smug proclamations must be familiar. In fact, our friends living in the east never seem to tire of their grating campaign to inspire postal-code envy in us.

As a lifelong Westie, I pooh pooh their misplaced pride. Because the western part of Singapore is on the up, and fast shedding its sleepy-town image. In May this year, the Government announced that the site of Jurong Country Club will be the terminus of the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail. Plans are also underway to make Jurong Lake District the second Central Business District of Singapore — similar to Canary Wharf in London and Songdo in Incheon, South Korea.

“The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) recently launched a Request for Proposal to invite multi-disciplinary teams to develop master plan proposals for Jurong Lake District. Our goal is to transform the District into a high-quality mixed-use business district, distinguished by its high-connectivity, car-lite environment, inclusiveness and unique green and blue setting,” said Adeline Seet, URA’s executive manager for strategic communications and media relations.

One such project is the new concept bus stop conceived by a group of architects from DP Architects as a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Designed to “make waiting fun”, Project Bus Stop brings together multiple agencies, such as the Land Transport Authority, the National Library Board and the National Environment Agency, to re-imagine the daily commuting experience with features such as free Wi-Fi, mobile phone charging points, and a book exchange corner.

“Various studies and research were done to help deepen our understanding of close to 4,700 bus stops island-wide,” said Seah Chee Huang, director of DP Architects. “However, our design intention was that, regardless of waiting times, we wanted to inspire commuters and enhance their first-and-last mile connectivity experience with greenery and smart technology.” This bus stop of the future was proudly unveiled at Jurong Gateway Road last week.

When it comes to social spaces, the west is welcoming a growing number of businesses hoping to catch the early wave into Singapore’s next It neighbourhood. Timbre+ is one such player. The hipster hawker centre concept by the Timbre Group, opened in Ayer Rajah in April this year, has been a resounding success, receiving some 2,700 customers daily from Monday to Thursday, and close to 3,000 daily from Friday to Sunday.

Edward Chia, co-founder and managing director of the Timbre Group, notes: “The western part of Singapore has immense potential. With the Government’s push for development in the west to become the next economic and commercial hub, and the envisioning of the One-North areas in attracting more international technology companies, Timbre+ is set to become a key community partner to capitalise on the growing popularity of the area.”

By combining live music with creative eats in a space that looks like a run-of-the-mill hawker centre in an industrial park, Timbre+ has successfully drawn people from all over Singapore hungry for a dining experience that is not located in Orchard Road, Sentosa or East Coast Park.

For businesses looking for a wide expanse of space without the killer rentals of downtown, the west is a rational choice. Touted as Singapore’s first-ever multi-specialist Olympic-standard sporting facility, newly opened The Yard is an urban jungle that occupies some 20,000sqf of warehouse space.

The facility holds more than 13,000sqf of Olympic standard, customised and limited-edition gymnastics apparatus and has two Olympic-sized trampolines. Families and fitness fans looking to spend the weekend trying their hands at something active will most definitely appreciate what The Yard has to offer.

“The west has seen a massive growth in footfall over the last few years, with new malls and facilities populating the space — definitely a reason for people from all around to check them out,” said Rosanna Trigg, founder of The Yard. In a bid to further boost traffic, The Yard has been partnering with pre-schools and institutions to offer students classes. “When they (the kids) tell their parents about it, the parents can also pop by and attend our adult classes.”

Interestingly, the growing buzz surrounding the west seems bewildering to residents of the area. “The west has always been cool!” proclaimed Vanessa Tai, a resident of Holland Village. “Holland Village is a great neighbourhood, and it is the first stop to make when you come to this side of the island.”

“I have lived in the west my whole life and it’s a different vibe from the east. The east feels like a retirement town, whereas over here, we have universities, polytechnics, tech start-ups and incubators — the whole place bustles with energy and a can-do spirit! I don’t even need to go to Orchard Road to shop — we have JEM and Westgate!” enthused Grace Chan, a resident of Clementi.

So is it not apparent that the west is where it’s all at? East-side, your move.