Aug 2022 BTO: Unit Analysis for Central Weave @ AMK

One of the more popular BTOs this time around, Central Weave @ AMK is located in Ang Mo Kio, This BTO is surrounded by plenty of amenities and is within a short walking distance to the MRT. We check out why it's a hot favourite and do a quick analysis on the best stacks to pick.

Overview

BTO	Central Weave @ AMK
LOCATION	Bounded by Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, Ang Mo Kio Central 2, and Ang Mo Kio Central 3
IS IT A PLH MODEL?	No
TOTAL NO. OF UNITS	896
UNIT TYPES	2-room Flexi, 4-, 5-room, and 3Gen flats
NO. OF BLOCKS	5
HEIGHT	21 to 32 storeys
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE	2Q2028
PRICING	2-room Flexi Type 1: $198,000 - $232,000 2-room Flexi Type 2: $250,000 - $292,000 4-room: $535,000 - $676,000 5-room: $720,000 - $877,000 3-Gen: $713,000 - $842,000
NEAREST MRT STATION	Ang Mo Kio MRT on the North-South Line (~11-min walk)
PRIMARY SCHOOLS WITHIN A 1-KM RADIUS* *DISTANCE BASED ON APPROXIMATION, MAY DIFFER DEPENDING ON BLOCK	• Ang Mo Kio Primary School • Jing Shan Primary School • Mayflower Primary School
EXISTING AND FUTURE AMENITIES WITHIN 10- MIN WALKING DISTANCE	• Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic • Djitsun Mall • Ang Mo Kio Central Market & Food Centre • Fairprice Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 • S-11 Ang Mo Kio 711 Coffee Shop • AMK Hub (shopping centre) • Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West and East

Site Visit

We dropped by the site on a weekday evening. Check out our site visit here:

Unit Analysis

Looking at the site map, you’ll see that the blocks at Central Weave @ AMK are positioned in rather neat rows, with none of the weaving and intertwining of blocks commonly seen in more recent BTOs launched by HDB. It’s probably due to the need to maximise the smaller site. The upside to this is that it’s a lot easier to navigate around the site and the stacks are all in the north-south orientation which makes for windier apartments. The downside is that unless you are in a stack that is facing outwards, you will likely end up with a unit that looks directly into a neighbouring block and the close proximity between them probably doesn’t help.

We calculated the distances between the blocks:

1. Afternoon Sun

Unfortunately, because of how the blocks are arranged, all stacks will get a bit of the afternoon sun. The afternoon sun in Singapore comes from two directions, depending on the time of the year. Northwest direction from April to September and the southwest direction from October to March. What this means is that all units will have to bear with the afternoon sun for approximately half a year. Thankfully, the wind may go some way in helping to alleviate the heat.

Here’s how the afternoon sun moves at Central Weave @ AMK:

How much afternoon sun you get is also dependent on whether there are neighbouring buildings that can help you block out some sun. We think the lower floor units, 7th storey and below, at blocks 731A, 732A and at stacks 176, 178, 180, 182 and 184 at block 732B may be able to get some respite from the afternoon sun thanks to the adjoining car park.

2. Privacy

The key to picking a unit that’s private is that you want to go for corner units as these won’t have prying neighbours looking in as they walk by, and preferably away from the lifts and the rubbish chutes as those areas tend to have higher footfall.

If you are nit-picky, you may also want to avoid units that are side by side with another unit. For those planning to stay on lower floors e.g. 2nd or 3rd floor, it’s also useful to avoid units that are near the staircases since you may have neighbours using the stairs more often.

Finally, revisit the first site map in this analysis to see the distances between the blocks and see how comfortable you are with the distance between your unit to the next. If you are not, we would recommend going for upper-floor stacks facing the 4-storey Djitsun Mall, which will mean you won’t have any neighbouring residential blocks looking in.

These are the best stacks to go for:

Colour Code:
2-room = pink
4-room = yellow
5-room = orange
3-Gen = grey

731B: 124, 128
731C: 140
732B: 176, 184*

*Stack 184: The unit located at the level of the link bridge in this stack may see a high footfall, so we’ll definitely avoid that unit if possible. We can’t confirm the level of the link bridge, so do refer to the HDB brochure in due course.

3. Peace and Quiet

For quieter units, there are a few things to look out for. One, avoid units that are next to or facing the roads, especially arterial road Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, which sees really heavy traffic no matter the time of day. The MRT also runs along the viaduct next to Ang Mo Kio Ave 8. While it’s not overly loud because of the noise barrier panels, you can still hear whenever a train passes.

We think the other roads the BTO is surrounded by will also get quite heavily used as the area is surrounded by many amenities and the town centre. The car park at Central Weave is also likely going to be pretty much utilised by the public who visit these nearby amenities.

You’ll also wish to avoid units that are near to or facing areas where people tend to congregate which can generate higher noise levels e.g fitness corners, pavilions, playgrounds, the car park, bus stops and drop-off porches.

With these criteria in mind, these are the best units for some peace and quiet:

 

731A: 108, 110, 112, 114, 120, 122
731B: 126
731C: 132
732A: 148, 154
732B: 182

4. Unblocked views

For maximum wind flow, privacy and views that go further than your next block, you may wish to go for these stacks:

731B: 126 and 128 (Opt for stacks above 21st floor)
731B: 124 and 130 (Opt for stacks above 4th or 5th floor)
731C: 142
731C: 134, 136, 139 (Opt for stacks above 4th or 5th floor)

Other considerations:

• If you drive, you may find it a bit inconvenient walking from the car park to Block 731B, which is located furthest away from the car park. It’s also worthwhile noting that Blocks 731B and 731C don’t have link bridges to the car park, which can be useful for getting to and fro from the car park to your unit.
• 731B has the best lift-to-unit ratio among the blocks, with three lifts servicing just 4 stacks. This block is also the tallest, at 32 storeys, compared to the other blocks with 21 storeys.

Floor Plans at Central Weave @ AMK

Here's a look at the floor plans available at Central Weave @ AMK and a couple of ideas on what you can do with the space without extensive renovations:

2-room

The Type 2 layouts for the 2-room units are obviously bigger, with an extra room to spare. Consider turning it into a study or store room if you don't have the need for an extra bedroom. Alternatively, removing the separation between the two spaces will also give you a bigger bedroom. There's also a lot more room for flexibility with the Type 2 kitchen layouts. There's even enough room for a kitchen island/dining table combination, placed perpendicular to the entrance of the cooking space, something like this:

Design: Team Interior Design

4-room

The only thing that's not-so-standard about the 4-room units is the kitchens, which are placed in an L-shaped layout. Also, because the entrance of the cooking space is located really near the unit's entryway, there isn't a whole lot of thing you can do with this space without knocking down walls and removing bedrooms. An expansive kitchen island seems a bit out of the question since it will block the flow into the home, but it's a great setup for a semi-open or wet-and-dry kitchen:

Design: MET Interior

5-room

The 5-room units take after the 4-room units, but with a bit more wiggle room, so there's more potential in what you can do with the space. We love how generously sized and boxy the living/dining area is, which is great as it offers a ton of flexibility in how you can do the space. This is as opposed to other (and most) 5-room BTOs, which come with a more L-shaped layout for their living and dining areas. You can also choose to centre your living room layout by having the TV wall against the windows like the home below, with still plenty of room at the back to do up a dry kitchen setting:

Design: Adroit Interior Design 

3-Gen

Central Weave @ AMK is the only BTO this time around with 3-Gen flats, so they are likely going to be pretty popular, although they don't have the best stacks as we've seen in our unit analysis. Things are a bit tighter here, especially with the communal spaces if you don't plan to remove any bedrooms. To make the most of the space, you can convert the wall between Main Bedroom 2 and the living room into a full storage piece, with a concealed doorway into the bedroom:

Design: Starry Homestead