A while back, a reader asked for a review of the Toh Tuck area, and so off I went. But while exploring the area, another lesser-known estate (Jurong Park Estate) caught my eye, so I thought I’d do a tour of that first instead. (I promise to get around to Toh Tuck soon though, once I figure out what’s the best way to segment it – it spans too large an area to cover in one article!)
By the way, Jurong Park landed estate is not to be confused with Jurong Bird Park, which is nowhere nearby! Instead, this enclave of houses is about a 15-20 minute walk from Beauty World MRT or a 4 minutes drive. (It’s actually sort of “opposite” Burgundy Hill, which I toured a while back – separated by a huge reserve site that is currently all greenery.)
Anyway, since I promised “sweeping views,” let’s start with the money shot.
I’d be really happy if I lived on this plot of land, wouldn’t you? You can see all the way to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve opposite! (It’s the lighter green area at the top right of the Masterplan shown here.) As you can see, the Jurong Park landed enclave is quite independent – although surrounded by some condos, there is a huge piece of empty land to its left (the yellow zone – that’s what separates it from Burgundy Hill) and above it is a large park.
There is also a smaller park/playground within the estate. I say smaller but it’s actually very sizeable for a playground. Do you remember how the playground near Ming Teck Park estate had its own private basketball court? Well, the Jurong Park playground has its own badminton court!
Maybe such amenities are more common than I had previously thought….?
This is the aforementioned badminton court. The estate is on sloping land, so this is at the bottom of the hill (the vantage point from which I took the photo of the “sweeping views.”) However, it’s still elevated above road level! In case you were wondering, it’s the Jalan Tekukor playground. If you observe the tree line in the background of the photo, you’ll realise that, as mentioned, this playground is on elevated land (above road level), which is a nice “barrier” from pollution and whatnot. Photo of the stairs leading down to street level (and a bus stop) so you can get an idea of exactly how high it is.This is actually what you see as you walk up the playground, so you get a better feel of exactly how spacious this estate is.Photo of the other playground equipment. As you can see, it’s a mix of outdoor gym equipment and kid’s play facilities.Although situated opposite the houses at Jalan Selanting, there’s a decent distance between the equipment and the houses, although I imagine it could potentially still get pretty noisy if someone held an outdoor bootcamp here.Photo of some of the houses along Jalan Selanting. As far as I could tell, there are only semi-Ds and detached houses within this estate, which is one reason why the area felt less dense.
If you’re looking for a terrace house, your only chance here would be the houses along the main road. Bear with me for a few minutes and we’ll head in that direction.
I took a left here to walk down to the main road. Towards the road junction, if you turn left, you will see this empty plot of land, which is below the playground. (The playground is on the elevated land at the left of the photo.)This is what you see if you look towards the right. (To the left there is a bus stop.) The row of houses at the rightmost edge of the photo is the 5 terrace houses that I was referring to earlier. They’re situated along Jalan Jurong Kechil FYI.
The colourful block behind is Sherwood Condominium. Initially, I was wondering if this row of terraces could potentially be redeveloped into a condo too (if all the house owners form a block.) However, from the looks of the Master Plan (I shared a snapshot earlier on in this article), it does not appear possible at the time of writing. (Sherwood Condo sits on land with a plot ratio of 1.99 but the terrace houses do not appear to have a plot ratio assigned.)
They have a nice long driveway, which makes it easier to drive in and out of the houses, and allows you space to park a second car if necessary. Also provides more of a setback from the main road. (I would say that Jalan Jurong Kechil isn’t the busiest road, but it does see a bit of traffic.)This is the view the houses get. (There is also a bus stop across the road.)
According to the masterplan, the land is zoned residential but it didn’t look like a condo. So I did a bit of sleuthing and it seems like the land used to be a school (Bukit Batok Primary) but is currently serving as temporary migrant worker housing.
Photo of what the houses look like. (As the owners were in the front yards, I couldn’t take a proper face-on shot.)I walked a few steps down and it was Sherwood Condo to my right. A little bit in front is the construction site for Verdale. And next to the Verdale is The Hillford, a 60-year leasehold property that was touted as a retirement village. (It was sold out within one day!)
These are the closest amenities to Jurong Park estate that I could find. The Hillford has a laundry, a 7-11, a bread shop, a butchery, a hairdresser, a preschool, etc.
Opposite The Hillford, I turn right and enter Jurong Park Estate again via Jalan Rajawali. On the left side of Jalan Rajawali are more condos, whilst the landed houses are all towards the right.As the photo shows, it’s all high-rise buildings to the left. These smaller condos, such as Grand Regency and Selanting Green, separate the landed houses and the larger development, Signature Park, a freehold development with over 900 units.Here’s a photo that captures the landed house and the condo in the same frame. You can see that the landed houses here are quite nicely sized.
Also note that many of the houses here have a structure commonly seen in houses built on sloping land, where the garden/patio is elevated above the car park/basement. (You can see it in the house shown above. I also saw something similar when I toured Victoria Park Villas.) This has the benefit of a breezier, less polluted garden but may be challenging for elderly family members (as the rooms in the basements are usually dark, so may not be viable as “granny rooms.” Moreover, unlike Victoria Park villas, houses in older estates such as Jurong Park usually do not come with lifts so re-building may be necessary if you have mobility-challenged family members.
Despite the sun, the walk was very breezy thanks to the upwards-sloping nature of the land.Walking further uphill brought me to Jalan Layang Layang.I turned the road to take a photo of the houses along Jalan Layang Layang. Note how the land here is slightly uphill too!
As you can see from the photo above, the estate is really generously proportioned and parking is not an issue here. Overall, the entire area felt peaceful, quiet and a great place to live. (Some estates are quite busy and winding, so cycling or playing on the roads can feel perilous – for both the cyclist and driver! I visited a part of Toh Tuck Estate where the roads were really narrow and bendy, and when I (slowly) turned round the bend, almost ran into kids who, for some reason, were lying down in the middle of the road in the car’s blind spot!) In contrast, the roads here are wide, parallel, and quiet – I would be happy to cycle around the area if I lived here, and driving around this estate is definitely much less stressful!)
Walk past Jalan Layang Layang, and you reach Jalan Kakatua, which has 2 childcare centres: Bambini (shown here) and Innate Montessori (beyond the right edge of the photo.)This is the empty land beside Bambini Childcare Centre (which is just to the right of this photo) and, if my Google Map reading skills prove correct, the yellow building in the background is Signature Park Condo. Walk down Jalan Kakatua and past Bambini, this is what we see.One thing that struck me here was how massive some of the houses are and yet located so close to their neighbours. This photo doesn’t really capture how large the house feels but it does give you a sense of how built-up the houses are. (It seems like the house owners built as large a house as possible on the land, so there’s not much garden.)
Note: They also feel bigger because they’re located uphill, so a 3-storey building looks like a 4-storey one when you’re looking up at it from lower-lying land, if that makes sense.
I mean, the house on the left here looks almost as large as some of the boutique condos I saw at Pasir Ris!The larger houses are probably rebuilt ones, as there were several that were just modest 2-storey buildings. As you can see above, the house in the middle is dwarfed by its neighbours.If you turn to your left, there are several short cul-de-sacs off Jalan Kakatua. These dead ends overlook a large area of green forest, as you can see here.House to the left of the previous cul-de-sac. House to the right of the cul-de-sac. Both of these houses have totally unblocked views of the greenery. Unfortunately, the greenery does come with its share of wildlife. As I walked towards the end of the cul-de-sac to try and get a better picture of the view, I ran into this monkey. There was only one though and it seemed rather shy as it ran off the moment it saw me. (Unlike when I visited the houses at Island Country Villas– there were scores of monkeys who were decidedly not afraid of humans. Also no boars, unlike the houses at MacRitchie.)This is what the view looks like if I turn in the other direction (i.e. with the greenery behind me and facing Jalan Kakatua.)I think this photo captures perfectly just how hilly the area is! The house on the right reminds me of the old-school ones I saw at Fuyong Estate (but in better condition, that is.)Another photo showing how spacious this area is.Turning in the other direction (towards Jalan Jurong Kechil): am I the only one who thinks that this area is so green and spacious, it looks like an out-of-Singapore shot? Photo taken in the direction of Signature Park. Although there are condos at the other end of the estate, because the land slopes down, the high-rise buildings don’t dominate the skyline here too much. If you have the budget, there’s a house here for sale!As I walk to the end of Jalan Kakatua, it brings me to Jalan Merbok. Turn to the left, and I see Canossian Convent/Lifesprings Spirituality Centre as well as some landed houses.The gate is open so I head in for a wander. Rather a nice setting!This is actually where I take the “money shot” of the view I shared at the start of the article.There are neighbouring houses situated on this hilltop, so I assume they have the same lovely view. However, I can’t head into their grounds to verify it!This is one of the houses next to Canossian Convent and, honestly, it looks like it may have an even better view since it appears to be even more elevated! Anyway, I better head out before I disturb anyone in the Convent!Walking back down to Jalan Selanting, which is where I started today’s walkabout.Jalan Selanting. As you can probably tell, I’m a big fan of this area (alas no budget.) However, if I had to say which street I’m least fond of, I would have to say some parts of Jalan Selanting wouldn’t be my top choice, as they’re located right next to the high-rise condos. No view and ventilation or light may also be affected. (Trust me, I know, because I stay on the 3rd floor, a stone’s throw from a 20-storey plus monstrosity. My flat is so dark, I developed a Vitamin D deficiency after moving in!)
(I actually have better photos to show just how much the condos tower over the houses but am not using them as I don’t want to single out any of the houses – at least this photo doesn’t show any of the houses clearly.)
Before we end today’s walkabout, I had better touch upon schools. Jurong Park is within 1 km of Bukit Timah Primary School. According to Yoursingaporemap, it is just out of range of Pei Hwa but the discrepancy is so slight (like 0.02km or something like that), it would be worth checking for the specific house number you are keen on.
For groceries, besides the 7-11 at The Hillford, there are several specialty shops such as Seoul Butcher and Lotte Mart in the vicinity and Giant at Beauty World (all within 1 km.) There is also Bukit Timah Market and Hawker Centre within 1 km and next to the Toh Yi HDB Executive Maisonettes, one of which recently made the news as the “most expensive HDB executive flat in Singapore.”
TJ’s interest in property was sparked after returning from the UK- where balconies are not counted in one’s square footage!- and finding that the Singapore property had totally changed in the 7 years she was away. When not reading and watching articles & videos about property, she is busy cooking and baking for friends, family & her blog Greedygirlgourmet
Moved to one of the condo mentioned last month and I can say love the experience of living in the neighbourhood. Chirps of birds in the morning and cool temperature (25 degrees) are the things I also like.
Love the children playground too. Even saw some expat families took taxi just to let their children play there! There are 6 preschools nearby to choose too.
After few bus stops you can find Sheng Siong and Cold Storage at West Mall Bukit Batok to buy groceries.
Worth the extra commute time to go CBD on weekdays. Hope that someday we could upgrade to one of the houses here!
P.S. Can you do Dairy Farm/Cashew side tour too? Curious about that area. Thanks!
TJ
12 min read
Moved to one of the condo mentioned last month and I can say love the experience of living in the neighbourhood. Chirps of birds in the morning and cool temperature (25 degrees) are the things I also like.
Love the children playground too. Even saw some expat families took taxi just to let their children play there! There are 6 preschools nearby to choose too.
After few bus stops you can find Sheng Siong and Cold Storage at West Mall Bukit Batok to buy groceries.
Worth the extra commute time to go CBD on weekdays. Hope that someday we could upgrade to one of the houses here!
P.S. Can you do Dairy Farm/Cashew side tour too? Curious about that area. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your insights! Will check out the area 🙂