![](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Gate-of-the-former-Bidadari-Cemetery-1024x685.jpg?fit=1024%2C685\")
\nArtist\u2019s impression of HDB flats in the future Bidadari estate.
\nConsidered part of Toa Payoh, Bidadari has emerged as one of the most popular new housing estates in Singapore, with recent BTO flat launches proving hugely successful.
\nBy Joanne Poh
\nThere was an outcry when it was announced that the historic Bidadari Cemetery would be exhumed to make way for a new housing estate. Singaporeans lamented yet another instance where heritage would be razed to make way for progress.
\nBut years later, prospective property buyers are unfazed. The Bidadari Estate, with its excellent location in the mature town Toa Payoh just minutes from the city core, has proved one of the most sought-after new housing estates in Singapore.
\nIn fact, the first batch of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, launched in November 2015, were hugely oversubscribed, and a more recent BTO exercise in May 2017 saw Bidadari, together with Geylang, seeing the highest demand.
\nHistory of Bidadari Cemetery
\nWhile Bidadari is now being redeveloped into an integral part of Toa Payoh\u2019s residential infrastructure, Singaporeans are determined not to let the area shed its rich history. The National Heritage Board has worked hand in hand with the Urban Redevelopment Authority to ensure that some of the area\u2019s design retains elements which allude to its past.
\nThe word Bidadari means \u201cangel\u201d in Malay and is of Sanskrit origin. The former Bidadari Cemetery once held the remains of Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Sinhalese people. It originally served as Singapore\u2019s principal Christian cemetery during its run from 1908 to 1972.
\nPreviously, the main Christian cemetery had been situated in Bukit Timah. However, because it tended to get flooded often, Bidadari was chosen to house a new cemetery, with the new layout being greenlit in November 1907. The cemetery was officially opened on New Year\u2019s Day 1908, and after 1909 burials were diverted from the Bukit Timah Cemetery to this new one.
\nLater, plots of land neighbouring the existing Christian burial grounds were assigned to other communities, with the Muslim cemetery being opened in 1910, and the Hindu and Sinhalese cemeteries in 1925. Later in 1932, the Bidadari Mosque was constructed on the grounds of the Muslim Cemetery, only to later be demolished in 2007 when the cemetery had already ceased operations.
\nThe final burial at the cemetery was held on 31 October 1972, following which all other burials had to be redirected to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery, which is today the only cemetery accepting burials.
\nIn the following years, the Bidadari Cemetery fell into disuse, and as it became overrun by thick vegetation, it was transformed into a park of sorts, which Singaporeans visited for a dose of nature or exercise. It also became a popular birdwatching spot, with over 50 species having been spotted in the area.
\nExhumation of the cemetery began in 1996, but it was only after the cemetery was earmarked for development that works intensified, with the bulk of the exhumation being carried out between 2001 and 2006 in order to make room for urban redevelopment.
\nToday, the memory of the cemetery lives on at the Bidadari Memorial Garden on Mount Vernon Road, where several relics and headstones selected for preservation are now on display.
\nGate of the former Bidadari Cemetery. (Photo: Smuconlaw, Wikimedia Commons)
\nA sought-after residential estate
\nThe Bidadari residential estate is slated for completion in 2018. Expectations are high, and residents are looking forward to a 700m \u201cheritage walk\u201d that will link Bidadari Park with the upcoming Alkaff Lane. Swathed in greenery, it is expected to be a scenic route that lends itself well to walking and cycling.
\nThe new Bidadari estate is made up of four districts, namely Alkaff, Woodleigh, Park Edge and Bartley Heights, covering an area of 93ha.
\nThe area is served by the Potong Pasir and Woodleigh stations on the MRT\u2019s North East Line and Bartley station on the Circle Line, as well as the future Bidadari Bus Interchange, which will be connected to Woodleigh MRT station.
\nParents with school-going children are also attracted by the presence of many established schools in the vicinity including Cedar Girls\u2019 Secondary School, St Andrew\u2019s Secondary School and Maris Stella High School.
\nAlice Tan, Director and Head of Consultancy and Research at Knight Frank Singapore, is optimistic about what residents can look forward to.
\nShe said: \u201cThe future residents of Bidadari can look forward to the upcoming development of a town centre, new public housing and the rejuvenation of Bidadari park by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).\u201d
\nBidadari\u2019s overwhelming appeal to prospective BTO flat buyers is unsurprising.
\nTan said: \u201cBidadari is one of the up-and-coming precincts in the central region to be developed into a distinctive residential enclave centred on the vision of \u2018A Community in a Garden\u2019. Its attractiveness to home buyers lies largely in its good location with convenient transport connectivity to the city, and the shortage of available new homes to support the growing residential demand in this area.\u201d
\nIn November 2015, Bidadari\u2019s first batch of BTO flats was launched in the Alkaff district to great fanfare. Of the 2,139 units available, more than half of them were four-room flats.
\nThe first BTO projects, including Alkaff Vista, Alkaff Lakeview and Alkaff CourtView, are expected to receive their Temporary Occupation Permit in 2019 or, in the case of Alkaff CourtView, 2021.
\nThey are expected to reinforce Bidadari\u2019s \u201ccommunity in a garden\u201d urban planning concept, and residents will enjoy facilities such as a park, scenic lake, market square and park connector measuring 1.8km which will enable cyclists to pedal from Punggol to Kallang.
\nOverwhelming appeal looks set to endure
\nEven though Bidadari\u2019s first new residents have yet to collect the keys to their new homes, the area has already become one of the most highly desirable residential addresses due to its proximity to the city centre.
\nTan predicts continuing popularity, particularly amongst young couples who wish to get a slice of a centrally-located mature town.
\nShe said: \u201cThe upcoming new home supply will be highly sought-after by young couples who would like to live near their parents, and families who live in nearby estates and are looking to buy new homes. Currently, the precinct is well supported by amenities in the surrounding mature estates, but there still remain opportunities for further commercial development of Bidadari to support the upcoming population.\u201d
\nIt is still early days for Bidadari, but based on the overwhelming reception received by every BTO launch in the area to date, the area will continue to enjoy uncommonly strong demand as Singaporeans compete for increasingly scarce homes in one of Singapore\u2019s most sought-after and most conveniently-located mature towns.
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