Condo style improvements HDB should consider

HDB flats have narrowed the gap with private condos over the past decade. From projects like DBSS flats, to neighbourhood facilities like gyms and clubhouse areas, our flats have become increasingly condo-like. In a decade or two, the differences between them will probably come down to having security guards, and how often the residents quarrel with management (for HDB: rarely. For many condos: frequently). Here are a few other steps HDB can consider from condos:

1. Gem Residences style EZ-Link readers

Gem Residences is one of the first properties to enable EZ-Link cards as keycards. It makes a lot of sense: EZ-Link cards are actually more secure than the average keycard, and you will probably be carrying it around anyway.

Now we know we can’t have keycard locks for every BTO flat because of the cost involved. But HDB estates do have many communal facilities, from gyms to clubrooms to local gardens. Because they’re so open, it’s actually common for total strangers to wander in unnoticed. And let’s be frank: we all know that one guy who sneaks in to use another estate’s treadmill machines, or god forbid – pluck things from their community herb garden.

Perhaps we could have EZ-link based card locks for these communal facilities, so that access is kept to estate residents. This helps ensure that the estate’s facilities go to estate residents first, and some stranger from three districts over can’t monopolise the bench press at the gym.

With a few more tweaks, these readers can also be used to track popularity (the number of people tapping in). The town council can then see what the peak periods are, and which facilities they should focus on upgrading first.

2. A Qingjian Realty style home users app

Riversound Residences has a home users app for residents. This is the brainchild of Qingjian Realty, who have a little more tech savvy than many developers.

Now if you’ve ever tried to book facilities (like the multi-purpose hall), you might realise it’s a little troublesome. There are emails and phone calls to send back and forth, or fiddling about on the council website. Likewise, announcements are still made via bulletin boards, which hardly anyone reads.

Picture instead, a home users app: with one touch, you can call up details on which facilities are booked, and for when. You can then make your own booking, or send enquiries. You can also get the latest announcements and updates – so if the estate is being fumigated for example, you can take the necessary steps to be out of the house.

With further tweaks, this kind of app can also be used to gather feedback. The town council can  put out a question (e.g. should we make bicycle paths wider at the cost of less pedestrian space?), and get instant poll results as the residents pick “Yes” or “No”

3. Rock climbing walls

We first saw this sports facility at Trevista, and it’s a great use of vertical space.

Do you know how hard it is it find reasonably priced rock climbing facilities in Singapore? It’s $35 to over $120 for two to three hour sessions, depending on where you go.

HDB flats have wonderful, open, flat, vertical walls. They’re constantly trying to cover it in murals or related pretensions toward creativity; so why not a residents’ rock climbing wall?

If safety is a concern, the wall used can be fenced off (closed unless a qualified supervisor is present). And obviously, we’re not saying the rock climb has to reach SAFRA level heights – just little ones along the wall, that reach up maybe a metre and a half.

4. Putting green

Putting greens are increasingly common; Central Green has a nice example of this. And despite persistent stereotypes of golf being a rich person’s game, regular Singaporeans enjoy it too. We just don’t believe one metal stick is so much better than another, we need to take out a second mortgage to buy it.

Putting greens can fit in well with garden areas, and are a quiet, non-disruptive activity (barring the occasional scream of impotent rage). The main advantage of a putting green isn’t just for golfers – it’s for that famous side-effect of golfing: networking.

Make the green open enough, and people will inevitably talk to each other. It starts with two residents exchanging golf tips, and could end in long friendships. It might also be nice to have a residents’ centre where people can borrow the appropriate equipment (although honesty would be a big issue there).

5. Taxi call lights / waiting lobby

You see this at the entrance of practically every condo: an epilepsy inducing strobe light, or a light-up sign that yells “taxi”. And all the cabs congregate in a particular waiting area, ready for residents.

It would be nice if HDB estates could plan with this in mind. Why not have one taxi waiting area for every cluster of blocks, equipped with a call service? While condos employ guards to do it, residents can hit a button to turn on the call lights (think shopping mall cab stands). This is especially useful for elderly residents who are unfamiliar with call apps, like Uber or Grab.

It also provides a convenient point of reference for cab drivers and their passengers. The cab won’t have to wander around the maze of car parks to find a calling passenger, and the passenger won’t have to shriek like a banshee and chase it when it drives past.

It can’t all be about cost

We understand the realities of the situation, with there being less budget for HDB estates than condos and so on. But many condo type facilities we mentioned here are not actually that expensive (within the context of upgrading whole estates)

We’re pretty sure that, over the coming decades, HDB flats will give private condos a run for their money, facilities wise. It’s certainly something for buyers to think about, before assuming condos are always the better buy.

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