![](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Eye-on-Tampines.jpg?fit=720%2C197\")
\nDeveloped by MCC Land, The Santorini is a recently completed 597-unit condominium in Tampines.
\nTampines has transformed over the years from a sparsely populated settlement into one of the largest housing estates in Singapore, complete with high-rise apartments, a new mega lifestyle hub and several MRT stations, making it an ideal neighbourhood for young families.
\nBy Joanne Poh
\nTampines is a hive of activity in eastern Singapore. The new town is Singapore\u2019s third largest, as well as its third most populated. Its amenities, however, are second to none.
\nDespite the many malls, community spaces and facilities, one of the area\u2019s biggest claims to fame in recent years has been the opening of IKEA Tampines in 2006.
\nThe store is a behemoth that is visible from the expressway, and a mandatory stop for the many young families building a home in this neighbourhood.
\nThere is a lot more in store for Tampines in the near future, which continues to grow and will very soon welcome more than a thousand young families in an upcoming Build-To-Order (BTO) flat launch.
\nA carefully planned town
\nLike much of Singapore, Tampines has a rural past and received its name from the tempinis, or ironwood trees, that littered the area. Unlike some of Singapore\u2019s other neighbourhoods, Tampines was sparsely populated, with few farms and villages punctuating an otherwise undisturbed landscape.
\nPlantations and sand quarries stood in the area until construction of the housing estate and new town commenced in 1978. As late as about 1987, parts of Tampines were still being used for military training.
\nOver a period of about 10 years, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) resettled more than 3,000 villagers so that the area\u2019s infrastructure could be developed.
\nThe new town compromises several neighbourhoods which were built in stages, the first two of which were completed between 1983 and 1987. By the end of the 1980s, the town centre and some of the key divisions including Tampines North, East, West and Changkat started to take shape.
\nConstruction would, however, continue over the years, with another two neighbourhoods being completed only in 1997, and Tampines North New Town\u2019s first BTO flats announced as recently as 2014.
\nIn 1992, Tampines won the World Habitat Award, which was conferred by the United Nation\u2019s Building and Social Housing Foundation for being a remarkable settlement.
\nIn many ways, Tampines has become an archetype of the HDB new towns Singaporeans have come to associate with their country.<\/p>\n