SINGAPORE — One of the oldest estates in Singapore is getting a major facelift, with modern high-rise residential blocks adorned with sky gardens and sky terraces that offer panoramic views of the city.

Twenty such high-rise residential blocks, alongside commercial facilities such as a two-storey hawker centre, will be added to Dawson estate by 2020.

In addition, in the largest project under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) since Hillview Avenue was redeveloped under the plan in 1999, 31 residential blocks in Tanglin Halt Road and Commonwealth Drive that are more than 50 years old will make way for future developments.

Residents of these blocks will have the option of relocating to the 3,700 new flats in Dawson estate. In tandem with SERS, the 157 stalls located at Commonwealth Drive Food Centre and Tanglin Halt Market, as well as 54 rental shops in Tanglin Halt estate, will be cleared by 2024.

Dawson estate, meanwhile, will see an array of new amenities, comprising 30 shops, a supermarket, four eateries and communal facilities such as childcare centres, an education centre, a student care centre and a senior citizen centre. These developments follow two other projects — SkyVille@Dawson and SkyTerrace@Dawson — launched almost five years ago under the Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) initiative.

“With every new HDB town becoming more modern and better designed, there is a need to ensure the older towns do not end up too far behind. Hence, the ROH initiative has since been rolled out in Yishun, Punggol, Jurong Lake, East Coast and Hougang,” said Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for National Development in a blog post yesterday.

Speaking to TODAY, Ms Diana Gee, a resident who has lived in Tanglin Halt for more than half a century and will be affected by SERS, said the en bloc scheme is a good initiative, but is afraid living costs in the new neighbourhood will rise.

“The houses here are very old and have many problems. I understand from my neighbours that their roofs are always leaking and they have a lot of problems with their flats. I don’t really mind (the move) as it is still near our area. But the food here is good and cheap. I am not too sure what it will be like when we move there,” she said.

Another resident, who wanted to be known as Mdm Leong, told TODAY she would miss Tanglin Halt.

“After living here (for) so long, it is very hard for us to part with the neighbourhood. The residents here all know one another and are just a phone call away if we want to meet up. Now, out of a sudden, they tell us we need to move and we can’t even say no,” said the 80-year-old.