Punggol Town Hub Is A Necessity For Residents
Remember when Our Tampines Hub (OTH) was officially opened on 6 Aug 2017?
Touted as Singapore’s largest integrated community hub, there was much anticipation for its opening since it took 3 years to complete.
OTH may have celebrated 20 million visitors in Jun 2018, but residents say that the footfall isn’t as impressive as its initial launch.
Now, Punggol will be welcoming its own mega-hub by 2021. If the situation is anything like Tampines, you’d think that it’s a bad move.
But what will guarantee that Punggol Town Hub will perform better than OTH?
Punggol is a young residential town
Though residential areas have existed in Punggol decades ago, it wasn’t until 2007 that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong introduced plans to develop Punggol.
Fast forward 11 years and much of the Punggol 21 Plus project has been realised.
With the Punggol Waterway, parks and schools up and running, the resident population of Punggol has grown from 52,700 in 2007 to 83, 300 in 2013.
Dr Janil Puthucheary, MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, explained that lots of facilities are needed to cater to Punggol’s rapid growth.
As many young couples are setting up their first homes in Punggol, a large & integrated hub would be an asset to the community.
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In comparison, HDB started developing Tampines way back in the 1980’s. Tampines Town was already designated as a regional centre in the early 90’s.
So it’s safe to say that Tampines already had all the basic facilities its residents need, which makes OTH just an added bonus rather than a necessity.
Punggol residents need a place besides Tampines to buy food
Punggol’s current retail offerings are mainly at Punggol Plaza and Waterway Point.
There also aren’t many dining options since there are no major food centres around.
The new hawker centre at Punggol Town Hub will mean that Punggol residents won’t have to travel to places like Tampines just to buy food.
Other new amenities like Punggol’s new public library and a childcare centre, will help satisfy all her residents’ needs under one roof.
Tampines on the other hand already has 3 large malls located near Tampines MRT station and bus interchange — Tampines Mall, Tampines 1 and the revamped Century Square.
Home to many famous food haunts, Tampines residents are basically living in food heaven.
Maybe that’s why we rarely see people flocking to OTH for food.
It’ll be interesting to see the response to food options at Punggol Town Hub instead.
The hub’s directly at the MRT station
Those who have visited OTH will know how troublesome it is to walk there from Tampines MRT station.
Fortunately, for curious visitors to Punggol, the Town Hub will be connected directly to Punggol MRT station.
And that’s not all! It will also link to Punggol Town Square and Sam Kee LRT station. So you can explore parts of Punggol if you’re feeling adventurous.
An exciting new communal space
All comparisons aside, the construction of yet another integrated community hub is exciting news for any neighbourhood.
More options for shopping and dining will leave residents spoilt for choice.
Let’s hope that the Punggol Town Hub will fare well after its launch and make residents’ lives a lot easier.
Featured image from Facebook and Google Maps.
