Tampines hub: Less retail, more community spaces

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/tampines-hub-less-retail-more-community-spaces

Touted as the Republic’s first integrated lifestyle hub, the proposed Tampines Town Hub — spanning the size of seven football fields — would have “significantly” less retail space as originally mooted, after feedback from more than 15,000 Tampines residents showed that they would rather have more community spaces for the young and old to interact with one another.

The hub will be built on the Tampines Stadium and Sports Hall site.

Conceptualised as a meeting place for residents, the hub also provides a platform for community arts programmes such as drama, music, dance and visual arts to grow, as well as become accessible to heartlanders. It is expected to attract some three million people annually.

In coming up with the design for the hub, which will have a wide range of facilities such as a performance arts theatre, green spaces and flea markets, feedback was taken from more than 15,000 residents through focus groups, face-to-face interviews and phone surveys.

Some of the ideas submitted by the residents, which will be factored into the design, included community gardens, more parking lots, integrated cycling routes, as well as hawker centres instead of posh restaurants.