3 blocks at MacPherson Lane to be HDB’s latest Sers project

SINGAPORE — Three blocks of flats at Blocks 81 to 83 MacPherson Lane are the latest to be selected for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced on Thursday (May 31).

A total of 313 residential units, most of which are two-room and three-room flats, will be affected, along with 27 shops and two eating houses.

Residents of the 50-year-old flats will be offered replacement units in three brand-new 17-storey or 19-storey blocks of flats being built on Circuit Road, which will have an estimated 630 units.

Their new flats, which are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023, will be located near the MacPherson MRT station and the Pan-Island Expressway.

The HDB said the new flats will have recreational and communal facilities, as well as a commercial block with a supermarket, shops and two eating houses. Elder and childcare centres will also be available.

Affected residents will have to move out of their current flats between the fourth quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024.

Owners of the commercial properties, on the other hand, will be given compensation based on the market value of their units at the time of the Sers announcement, said the HDB. They may opt to buy a new unit on a 30-year lease or choose to rent a new unit.

Those who choose not to take up a new commercial unit will receive an additional payment pegged at 10 per cent of the market value of their existing unit, added the HDB.

All affected owners will be invited to a Sers exhibition held from June 2 to 4 at the hard court beside Block 81 MacPherson Lane.

Completed in 1968, the three blocks on MacPherson Lane will be the 81st site to benefit from Sers since its introduction in 1995.

The last Sers project was announced in 2016 for West Coast Road, which involved eight blocks of flats.

The fate of old flats have been a concern among Singaporeans following National Development Minister Lawrence Wong's warning last year that not all old HDB flats will be automatically eligible for Sers.

Concerned over media reports that some buyers are forking out high prices in anticipation of Sers, he pointed out that only 4 per cent of all flats have been identified for Sers since the scheme's launch in 1995.