Bukit Timah has never needed an introduction. It’s one of those “quietly expensive” parts of Singapore—old money bungalows, top schools, low supply, and a long-standing reputation as a prime residential belt. What’s new is that the district is about to welcome a rare, masterplanned growth story right on its doorstep: Bukit Timah Turf City, a former racecourse area along Dunearn Road, now being progressively transformed into a new housing estate anchored by greenery, heritage and future transport connectivity.

And the clearest signal that the transformation has moved from concept to reality is the Government Land Sales (GLS) pipeline along Dunearn Road—starting with the first private residential site (which drew strong bidding interest), and now followed by a second GLS site launched for tender.

For buyers, investors, and anyone tracking where “prime” is heading next, this is a headline worth paying attention to. Here’s what’s happening, what the latest Dunearn Road GLS means, and why many are calling Turf City’s next chapter a new prestige area in the making.

1) The headline: A second Dunearn Road GLS has opened for tender

On 8 December 2025, URA released a new private residential site at Dunearn Road for sale under the 2H2025 GLS Programme, alongside other sites in Lentor Central and Kallang Close (plus a hotel site at Telok Ayer Street).

This Dunearn Road parcel is notable because it is the second private residential site offered for the upcoming Bukit Timah Turf City estate, strengthening the view that the area is entering its “first wave” of redevelopment and new launches.

Key published parameters for the Dunearn Road GLS (high-level):

• Site area: about 19,041.6 sq m

• Estimated yield: about 330 private homes

• Commercial component: up to 1,400 sq m, including a supermarket (at least 1,000 sq m)

• Social infrastructure: at least 600 sq m set aside for a childcare centre

• Tender close: 28 April 2026 (as cited by market commentary)

Even without price talk, the planning intent is already clear: this isn’t just another condo plot. It’s a site designed to seed a future neighbourhood with daily conveniences and family infrastructure, at a location that’s poised to benefit from both existing MRT access and a future MRT station tied to the Cross Island Line.

2) Why Dunearn Road, and why now?

URA has been consistent about how Bukit Timah Turf City will be rolled out: progressively, starting with areas closer to existing transport nodes along Dunearn Road.

That matters because the first phase sets pricing benchmarks, shapes buyer perception, and often becomes the “reference project” for future parcels. PropNex, for example, has pointed to the first Dunearn Road plot as a likely pace-setter for how subsequent sites may be tendered and priced.

This is how prestige districts evolve in real life:

• A large land bank gets unlocked (rare in prime areas).

• Early GLS sites anchor the narrative and absorb the first wave of demand.

• Infrastructure and placemaking roll out in tandem.

• Later sites price off the success of earlier launches.

Bukit Timah Turf City is following that playbook—except it’s happening in an area already associated with prime living.

3) A “10-minute neighbourhood” in prime Bukit Timah is a big deal

URA’s planning language for Turf City is not subtle: the vision is a green, inclusive, heritage-aware estate where amenities can be reached easily on foot or by cycling—often described as a “10-minute neighbourhood” concept.

From URA’s Draft Master Plan materials and official statements, key themes include:

• Car-lite, pedestrian-first planning, with fewer parking lots and more emphasis on walkability and cycling connections

• Shops, parks, recreation and community facilities intended to be within a short walk or cycle for residents

• Road improvements being studied, including widening of Dunearn Road, Bukit Timah Road, and Eng Neo Avenue to manage future traffic flows

• Heritage + nature integration, not as an afterthought but as a defining character of the estate

In other words: Turf City isn’t positioned to be “just more housing.” It’s positioned to be a new kind of prime neighbourhood—one that leans into lifestyle, public space and identity, not only postal code.

4) Heritage isn’t marketing fluff here—it’s part of the plan

Turf City’s former racecourse history is central to URA’s identity-building for the precinct. When URA announced the broader concept for Bukit Timah Turf City, it highlighted that the estate would be anchored by heritage, nature and inclusive spaces.

Channel NewsAsia’s coverage (based on official planning narratives) also highlighted that heritage studies recommended retaining and repurposing significant buildings and structures linked to the site’s history, alongside the idea of a major open space that references the geometry of the old racetrack.

In Singapore terms, this is the difference between:

• “Nice condo with facilities”, versus

• “Neighbourhood with a story”, where public spaces, conserved structures and green corridors can become everyday backdrops.

That kind of placemaking tends to age well—especially in prime districts where buyers care about environment, not just unit size.

5) The first Dunearn Road GLS proved developers are paying attention

Before the second site even launched, the first Dunearn Road GLS – Dunearn House already delivered a strong signal: competitive bidding and a high-profile winning consortium.

Reports highlighted that the first Dunearn Road plot drew nine bids, with the top bid coming from a JV involving Frasers Property, Sekisui House and CSC Land, at $1,410 psf ppr, for a site that could potentially yield around 380 units.

Strong participation matters because developers typically show up in force when they see:

• A location with durable owner-occupier demand,

• A credible planning narrative (URA’s is very clear here),

• And an area where future GLS supply can support a multi-year “new precinct” story.

That’s how you get a pipeline of launches that keeps buyers engaged—not a one-off project that disappears after TOP.

6) What the new (second) GLS parcel suggests about future living at Turf City

The second Dunearn Road GLS is expected to yield about 330 homes and includes meaningful non-residential elements (commercial space, supermarket, childcare), which is important because it points to a more self-sufficient neighbourhood from the start.

This is the “prestige” angle people often miss. Prestige isn’t only about CCR vs RCR. It’s also about how life feels day-to-day:

• Can you walk out for groceries without driving?

• Is there childcare integrated into the neighbourhood fabric?

• Are there parks and public spaces you actually use?

• Does the area have a long-term plan, not just one condo?

URA’s published requirements (supermarket floor area, childcare allocation) suggest Turf City’s early parcels are being curated to deliver that kind of lived convenience—not left to chance.

7) Transport: today’s Downtown Line, tomorrow’s Cross Island Line

One reason Dunearn Road is being used as the first rollout corridor is simple: it is already connected.

The Dunearn Road plots are within reach of Sixth Avenue MRT (Downtown Line), and in the longer term, the area is expected to benefit from the planned Turf City MRT Station on the Cross Island Line, with sources noting an expected opening around 2032.

That creates a two-layer transport story:

• Immediate usability (DTL access for town and CBD connections), and

• Long-run upside (CRL connectivity spanning across the island, reshaping travel patterns over time).

In Singapore, when an already-prime district gets additional connectivity, it rarely makes the location less desirable.

8) So… is this “the new prestige area to look forward to”?

If “prestige” means a mix of:

• Prime district reputation (Bukit Timah / District 11 context),

• Low replacement supply (large new land tranches are rare here),

• Strong schools and established amenities around the wider Bukit Timah belt,

• And a masterplanned new estate with greenery + heritage + rail-led accessibility…

…then Turf City is checking a lot of boxes.

URA itself has framed the first Dunearn Road GLS as a catalyst that will “kickstart” the longer-term rejuvenation of Bukit Timah Turf City, with heritage buildings and nature areas sensitively integrated into future development.

And now that the second plot has opened for tender, the narrative becomes more concrete: this is no longer a distant idea—it’s an unfolding, multi-stage transformation.

9) A quick clarity note: “Turf City” vs “Singapore Turf Club (Kranji)”

Singapore has two “turf” stories running in parallel, and people sometimes mix them up:

• Bukit Timah Turf City (former racecourse site in Bukit Timah): This is the precinct tied to the Dunearn Road GLS and the new Bukit Timah housing estate plans.

• Singapore Turf Club at Kranji: This is a separate site, which has been announced to close by March 2027 and be redeveloped for housing and other uses.

Your Dunearn Road GLS story is firmly about Bukit Timah Turf City, not Kranji—but both reflect a broader national direction: using large legacy land parcels to create new homes and new towns in a more integrated way.

What to watch next (and why buyers are tracking this closely)

With the Dunearn Road GLS tender closing on 28 April 2026, market watchers will be looking for:

• How competitive the bids are (a proxy for developer confidence),

• How the land rate compares with the first plot’s benchmark,

• And what the eventual product positioning looks like (family-centric, boutique luxury, mixed convenience focus, etc.).

For homebuyers, the first wave of projects in a new estate often comes with:

• The strongest “new precinct” attention,

• The clearest future upside tied to infrastructure rollouts,

• And the psychological edge of buying before the area becomes fully priced-in.

That’s why Dunearn Road GLS isn’t just another land parcel headline. It’s arguably the front door to Bukit Timah’s next chapter—where heritage, greenery and transit converge into what could become one of the most watched prestige micro-markets in the coming decade.