SINGAPORE – A foodcourt and supermarket will open in Tengah’s first neighbourhood centre, Plantation Plaza, at the end of the second quarter of 2024, bringing relief to residents lamenting the lack of amenities and public transport options in the new housing estate.

Spanning more than 10,000 sq m, the five-storey Plantation Plaza comprises a total of 75 shops – a supermarket and foodcourt, as well as dining, retail, services and recreational options.

It is designed to be a one-stop destination for residents’ everyday needs, said the Housing Board in a statement on March 9, adding that other eateries, commercial shops and services in the development will start operations progressively.

The majority of these shops are expected to be operational from mid-2024, about six months after the completion of the first Tengah Build-To-Order (BTO) projects Plantation Acres and Plantation Grange in December 2023, said HDB.

Plantation Plaza will be integrated with another BTO project, Plantation Village, which was completed in January 2024.

HDB deputy chief executive officer of estate Mike Chan said the agency has worked with Giant and Koufu in their renovation planning to allow them to take measurements earlier and start their fitting-out works at Plantation Plaza as soon as the temporary occupation permit is obtained.

On Plantation Plaza being completed later than the homes in Plantation Village, HDB said it has been prioritising work on residential units before catching up on the construction of facilities and amenities within the precinct.

The agency added that this was in response to feedback from the majority of flat buyers, who preferred to receive their keys sooner to start renovations.

HDB noted that the construction of Plantation Plaza has been timed to be completed at about the same time as four BTO precincts in its immediate vicinity – Plantation Grange, Plantation Acres, Plantation Village and Plantation Grove – as it is meant to serve residents living there.

Plantation Plaza will be completed only after a sizeable proportion of residents have moved in – estimated to be from mid-2024, after home renovations are completed six months following key collection – to ensure business viability for retailers, added the agency.

To support businesses during the initial tenancy period, while the number of residents in Tengah grows, HDB will offer new shop tenants staggered rent discounts.

Besides the neighbourhood centre, there will also be a retail street – a linear pedestrian mall with 14 eateries and retail shops – linking Plantation Plaza to Blocks 127A to 126A of Plantation Village.

It will provide residents with sheltered pedestrian access from their homes to the future Tengah Plantation MRT station on the Jurong Region Line, which is slated to be completed in 2029.

A green connector known as Plantation Farmway will weave through the housing precincts and link them to recreational facilities – children’s playgrounds, adult and elderly fitness corners, a multi-purpose court and landscaped seating areas – in the area.

The stretch of Plantation Farmway between Plantation Acres and Plantation Grange will be completed by April 2024.

Meanwhile, the stretch of Plantation Farmway between Plantation Village and Plantation Grove will be opened by the second half of 2024.

Plantation Village was completed in January 2024, while the final residential blocks in Plantation Grove will be completed by the second quarter of 2024, according to HDB.

A mobile FairPrice grocery truck has been deployed at Plantation Acres, Plantation Grange and Plantation Village, among other interim measures HDB has implemented to meet residents’ essential needs in the meantime.

By the third or fourth quarter of 2024, Plantation Acres and Plantation Grange will each have an operational preschool.

Other upcoming amenities in Plantation Village include a residents’ network centre and preschool that are slated to complete construction in the second quarter of 2024, with the preschool projected to open its doors in the fourth quarter of the same year.

In Plantation Grove’s case, a preschool will be ready in the second half of 2024, while construction of a community club is slated to be completed by that year.