Buona Vista is a neighbourhood and subdivision of the city-state of Singapore, but is often referenced as a town. As a major subdivision, it is served by the Buona Vista MRT Station which links it up with the MRT system. It also has a bus terminal.
History[]
The Buona Vista estate was developed by the Housing and Development Board in the early 1970s as the neighbourhood 6 of Queenstown. The first flats (at Holland Close and Holland Avenue) were balloted on 10 July 1973 under the Home Ownership for the People Scheme.[1]
Geography[]
Buona Vista is close to the Dover and Ghim Moh estates, and Holland Village. It shares its name with North Buona Vista Road and South Buona Vista Road, which together is a famous (or infamous) hilly winding road that navigates through Kent Ridge and is well known by thrill-seekers and racers alike.
Shopping Malls[]
Rochester Mall[]
Rochester Mall is a shopping mall in a business park of Rochester. It was opened on May 13, 2012, surrounding a lot of nightclubs, Zenith Cans and Zenith Plateau.
Rochester Mall offers an exciting mix of F&B, retail, and civil cultural & arts that appeals to the entire family, the working professionals, expatriates and tertiary students. Shoppers are treated to a unique shopping experience at over 30 retail, educational and F&B outlets.
Nestled in the vicinity of work-live-play-learn environment of One-north community, the unique open-concept mall embraces all of these into its development. Sited next to the lush greenery of Rochester Park, the mall provides an exceptional dining experience in the elegantly furnished colonial houses, landscape terraced-garden and interesting alfresco dining area. Reputable educational centres further enhance the attractiveness of the mall. Completed with modern arts and cultural elements, the mall instantly becomes a highlight in its vicinity.
Strategically located at North Buona Vista Road with an unrivalled array of transportation network, Rochester Mall is at the confluence of Buona Vista MRT Station (East-West MRT Line and Circle Line). Set to create a vibrant retail scene, Rochester Mall is bound to draw crowds with its retail concepts, tentalising food and engaging activities and events.
Star Vista[]
Star Vista is a shopping mall that is part of CapitaMalls Asia and had their worship venue of New Creation Church. It was designed by Andrew Bromberg. I had went there on 13 November 2013 and had Boston Seafood, Hot Tomato Express, Menya Musashi, Nando's and Morganfields (the restaurant that I ate). The later, there is also Exercise Heartbeat 2013, being held there similar to Fast & Furious 6 at one-north, and later on talked about the Marina Coastal Expressway, which will be opening on 29 December 2013.
Star Vista was opened on 15 September 2012.
Separately, CapitaLand also plans to sell the Star Vista shopping mall into the New Creation Church business arm for $296 million.
Transportation[]
Buona Vista Bus Terminal[]
Buona Vista Bus Terminal
Buona Vista Bus Terminal (Chinese: 波那维斯达巴士终站) is a bus terminal in Buona Vista, Singapore. This terminal does not allow boarding or alighting on site, but passengers can board at the nearest bus stop. Together with the nearby Ghim Moh Bus Terminal, both terminals serves passengers in Buona Vista and Ghim Moh. It is bordered by Buona Vista Community Centre complex, the nearby Civil Service College building, and North Buona Vista Road.
Previously, the Buona Vista Bus Terminal was served by Commonwealth Avenue Bus Terminal, located at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and North Buona Vista Road. Due to the construction of Commonwealth Avenue extension in the 1970s, a portion of the terminal was affected, resulting in the creation of temporary terminal at Holland Drive. The temporary Holland Drive terminal, which is located next to the City Shuttle Service terminus, started operating in November 1975 for certain bus routes. In 1982, SBS had to vacate the Commonwealth Avenue terminal and move to the temporary terminal called North Buona Vista Terminal. By the late 1980s, the present Buona Vista terminal was operational and service 91 and 191, services to Ayer Rajah Crescent and Portsdown Road were later introduced, together with the opening of Ayer Rajah Expressway.
There are 15 parking lots at Buona Vista Bus Terminal. The terminal has a combined entrance and exit at Holland Drive and the second connecting to North Buona Vista Road.
In 8 January 2013, a 27-year old man stole the bus for a joyride and abandoned it near his home at Commonwealth Avenue. The bus was found at his home at Commonwealth Avenue near Holland Avenue. It was empty and not damaged in anyway. The bus driver did not notice the 27-year old man who was sleeping all the way to Buona Vista Bus Terminal. When the man woke up, he alighted from the bus and board another which still has keys in the ignition. He was sentenced to 9 months and 2 weeks in imprisonment and suspended from driving for one year.
Services[]
| Service | Destination | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Bedok | |
| 48 | Bedok North Depot | |
| 74 | Hougang Central | |
| 74e | Hougang Central | Weekday AM/PM Peak Unidirectional |
| 91 | ↺ Ayer Rajah Crescent | Weekdays & Sat |
| 145 | Toa Payoh | |
| 185 | Soon Lee Bus Park | |
| 191 | ↺ Media Circle | |
| 200 | ↺ Kent Ridge |
Ghim Moh Bus Terminal[]
Ghim Moh Bus Terminal (Chinese: 锦茂巴士终站) is a bus terminal located in Ghim Moh along Ghim Moh Road with a small bus park behind the terminal. The terminal is now one of the few surviving terminals of the 1970s era in which it was common for terminals to be built along the roadside with only a small booth for bus captains to report to when completing their duties. The terminal allows boarding and alighting at a bus stop along the road and serves the residents of Buona Vista and Ghim Moh as well as those in the Mount Sinai housing estate.
Before the consolidation of bus routes to operate to and from major interchanges, roadside terminals were very common, especially in the seventies. Ghim Moh Bus Terminal was no exception, and opened in the late 1970s to compliment the building of Ghim Moh Estate. The terminal was situated adjacent to Block 9 and 10.
In 1986, the bus terminal was relocated to a bus bay outside Block 9 along Ghim Moh Road when the existing bus terminal was converted into a car park. One of the car park entrances was sealed off and functions as a turnabout point for buses entering from Commonwealth Avenue West. An alighting bay was also near the turnabout point, opposite a rubbish collection point. Due to limited land space, a permanent terminal was never constructed for Ghim Moh.
In 2006, the HDB announced SERS redevelopment scheme for Blocks 9, 9A, 10, 11, 12 and 12A. The blocks were slated to be demolished and then redeveloped. In early 2012, the blocks of flats were vacated, leaving the bus terminal with decreased ridership.
This terminal may not merge with Buona Vista Bus Terminal. Firstly, Ghim Moh residents would have to make a longer journey to Buona Vista to catch services 100 and 111. Secondly, there is currently an open space vacated by Ghim Moh Temporary Market & Food Centre after renovations on its current site, but buses continue to make a looping point before parking at the main road where the bus stop is. There should be a new bus interchange to facilitate traffic flow on the main road, even if it is not air-conditioned.
History[]
- 7 March 1977 - 28 May 1988: 13, 20
- 29 May 1988 - 4 November 1989: 13, 20, 191
- 4 November 1989 - 1993: 100, 111, 191
- 1993 - 30 August 2015: 92, 100, 111
Amenities[]
The Civil Service College, Ministry of Education, Star Vista, Rochester Mall and One-North are located close to the Buona Vista MRT Station, served by both the East West Line and Circle Line. National University Hospital (NUH) is connected via a short trip on the Circle Line.
Facilities including Buona Vista Swimming Pool and the Community Centre which are located at Holland Drive.
Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Tanglin Trust School, a British-based international school are also located there.
Dover Knowledge District[]
As an extension of one-north, the Dover Knowledge District can realise synergies between the nearby business parks, academic and research institutions. It will offer vibrant integrated spaces to create exciting new jobs and learning opportunities, and support Singapore's long-term economic growth.
Fairfield Methodist Secondary School[]
Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) is an autonomous co-educational Methodist secondary school in Dover, Singapore.
The school is one of the oldest in Singapore, having been founded in 1888 by Miss Sophia Blackmore, a missionary from Australia. It began as a one-room school for girls in Cross Street, Singapore, with eight Peranakan students. The school was known as Telok Ayer Girls' School.
In 1912, a donation of $5,000 from an American named Mr Fairfield allowed the school to construct a new school building on a site provided by the government at Neil Road. The relocated school was renamed Fairfield Girls' School. It was then renamed Fairfield Methodist Girls' School in 1958.
In 1983, the school moved into a new campus at Dover Road. At that point, the school began to admit male students, becoming the first co-educational Methodist school in Singapore. The primary and secondary sections of the school were also separated to become Fairfield Methodist Primary School and Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, though both schools remain housed in the same campus and shared some facilities.
Fairfield Methodist Secondary School became an autonomous school in 1996, recognised by the Ministry of Education for its academic and co-curricular achievements.
The only notable alumni is Teo Lee Shan who had been playing badminton and basketball from 2016 to 2017. She started life in 2012.
Political history[]
Buona Vista is divided between the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and the West Coast GRC. The Member of Parliament for the portion belonging to Tanjong Pagar GRC, which formerly belonged to Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, which includes Holland Drive and Holland Village is Chan Chun Sing.
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