New neighbors

We have some large new neighbors. They are a handful of new HDB (Housing Development Board) apartment buildings standing across the street from our home. We live in an older HDB, standing a mere 22 stories high. The new buildings top out at 40 stories. They will provide housing for some people who already live near us, as well as new owners.

The new HDB buildings in our neighborhood.

The Community Center where we practice yoga each Friday night

Only Singapore citizens and permanent residents are eligible to own an HDB flat (apartment). Affordable housing is considered a right in Singapore, much like free education in many countries. People are put on a waiting list for years, while a new HDB is being built. That is not to say that people are homeless while waiting for HDB completion. Some HDB residents will move from a much older building that is slated to be demolished and replaced with something else (often a commercial building - a shopping center, movie theater, etc.). Other new residents will be young couples newly married, some of whom may have to rent or live with family members while waiting for their flat to be finished.

Night view from the 40th floor of the new HDB building.

View from the 40th floor of our building - in the foreground, left side of the street.

Like real estate anywhere in the world, politics surrounds HDBs. Building a new HDB is a major decision, since it will mean not only the development of land, but also large construction contracts. It can also mean that some residents are overlooked, while others are provided the opportunity to upgrade to a newer home. For some residents, a new HDB can be a chance to put a monetary value on one's citizenship. For instance, the residents of older HDB buildings nearby the new units were given first opportunity to purchase the new flats. Because their old buildings will be demolished (another political decision, to be sure), they can purchase a flat in the new buildings. However, they can also sell the old flat just prior to moving out, thereby giving the new owner the opportunity to purchase the new flat. This can mean a quick profit on a property that will be demolished, just for a chance to buy another property.

Given that the new HDB has improved facilities and views, the value of the property is likely to increase over time, and in a few years, the new owners can either sell the new flat at a profit, or rent the unit out and live elsewhere. Owners of a flat in our building indicated that they were jealous of owners in the old neighboring buildings, since our building is old, but not eligible for the upgrade. In this case, they were hoping that the government would want to tear down their building, which would have meant a nice profit for them. These acquaintances live elsewhere in a privately-owned (non-HDB) building and use their HDB flat purely for its real estate value. A demolition and new flat purchase would have been a chance for a major upgrade in their real estate portfolio.

No one lives in the new building nearest to ours. So, I went over to check out the views from the hallways on the upper floors. As a government housing project, each unit is identical to the next, from the second story to the 40th. This means all of the same bathroom tiles, floor tiles, light fixtures, kitchen counter tops and plumbing fixtures, and everything else you can think of besides furniture (they come unfurnished). Of course, the government chose the same products for the sake of efficiency and convenience - making every apartment the same saves money and is the most equitable solution for a big project like this. However, because people want to make their units unique for their own enjoyment, and because many of them want to immediately increase their marketable value through improvements, this brand new building is now the site of massive destruction and reconstruction.

Visit any floor and you will find bags filled with the rubble of recently completed construction being torn down and removed from apartments.

21st floor - Bags filled with the remnants of a brand new apartment interior.

21st floor - Shiny white new tile, broken and removed from flat.

In place of this rubble is the reconstruction of bathrooms, kitchens and floors. Workmen are in and out of the building with boxes of new floor tiles and other items. Outside the building I saw a stream of men transferring sand from a large pile (below) to wheelbarrows, up the elevator, and into a room on the 25th floor. I assume it was used for placing new tiles throughout the unit. On other floors, there were piles of sand in the hallways, left over from recent projects or ready to be used for something else.

Pile of sand at base of new building. Notice all flats are without power. No one lives here yet.

Sand piled near the elevator on the 21st floor.

All of this reconstruction will turn cookie-cutter apartments into one-of-a-kind showpieces, some with million-dollar views of Singapore's beautiful skyline; that is, for lucky new owners on higher floors who are fortunate enough to be on the correct side of the building.

All of this waste of resources and labor promises to frustrate me in the weeks to come, but also to stir curiosity about who might be our new neighbors.