Tampines GreenGem Review and Site Tour

In this article, we are journeying to the east to uncover all there is to know about the newly completed BTO, Tampines GreenGem! From inspecting the infrastructure to verifying the presence of the proposed bus stops, we'll also be diving into the surrounding amenities. 

Launched back in Nov 2018, this project is definitely a real gem. With an MRT station on one side and a spacious park on the other, not to mention all the amenities on-site, it's actually a pretty decent place. We  did a unit analysis back in 2018, which you can read all about it in our review.

Project name	Tampines GreenGem
Location	Along Bedok Reservoir Rd and Tampines St 96
Total no. of units	1,086
No. of blocks	13
No. of storeys	13 to 17
Unit types	2-room Flexi, 3-, 4- and 5-room

Surroundings + Transportation

Tampines GreenGem is located in a dense residential neighbourhood. It’s pretty much surrounded by residential buildings on all sides, save for a portion along Tampines St 96 that overlooks the Temasek Polytechnic. Even the supposed “pond” to the north of the site will be converted into a high-rise residential development.

It has “green” in its name for a reason. The site is surrounded by cycling paths and a park connector, which leads you to the nearby Bedok Reservoir Park. Some stacks on higher floors actually manage to overlook it, which is pretty neat.

The BTO has two main entrances for vehicles, both located on Tampines St 96. It’s worth noting that you can’t access the site through Bedok Reservoir Road if you are driving, which is a good thing considering that road is going to be a really busy one, what with the number of BTOs sprouting in the area. Expect plenty of ongoing construction, dust, and noise if you’re planning to move in soon.

When we visited the site on a weekday afternoon, about 70% of it was open to the public. However, certain areas like the landscape deck were still closed off. Despite this, we were able to catch glimpses of those parts, which we’ll show you later in the article. 

The walk from the nearest MRT station, Tampines West along the Downtown Line, takes about 13 minutes from block 952A, so it's a little longer than we thought. We didn't get a chance to test it from the blocks along Bedok Reservoir Road because that area was still closed off, but it's probably going to be a bit closer.

Currently, there are no bus stops along Tampines St 96, but according to the HDB site map, there may be two in the future. For now, you'll have to use the newly constructed bus stops along Bedok Reservoir Road. Fortunately, there are plenty of buses there that can take you to different east-side neighbourhoods like Pasir Ris and Simei, and even catch a bus to town or Bishan. 

Alternatively, you can walk to Tampines Ave 1, where there’s an existing bus stop with a different set of buses that will take you to neighbourhoods like Whampoa, Punggol, and Pasir Ris.

Amenities

On-site facilities include a supermarket, eating house and a couple of lots open for shops, although these aren’t yet opened during our site visit. They face Bedok Reservoir Rd and don't sit atop the landscape deck for easy access to the public. There’s also a childcare centre near block 954A. That too isn’t located on the landscape deck.

For now, you can head over to the eateries located next to Tampines West MRT or Safra Tampines, or if you are willing to explore a bit further, head over to Tampines West neighbourhood centre (along Tampines Ave 3 and Tampines St 81 and about a 16-min walk), which has a supermarket (Prime supermarket) and a variety of food options.

What’s also interesting is that there’s going to a be mixed-use development (585 units + 10,500 sqm of commercial space) right across from Tampines GreenGem, which will bring more commercial facilities to the area. While we don't have all the details yet, it’s clear that this addition will greatly enhance the amenities available here.

Touring Tampines GreenGem

The facade for Tampines GreenGem isn't anything special. It's mostly green and yellow with some ombre vertical lines to add a bit of flair. But the landscape deck is on a whole different storey and definitely the highlight of this BTO. It was a shame we couldn't fully explore it due to ongoing landscaping works. Thanks to the landscape deck, blocks are spaced far apart, allowing for a comfortable distance between stacks that face each other.

The view from up top may make it seem like a labyrinth of sorts, but the landscape deck’s actually the main pathway to navigate around the BTO. Most of the amenities are conveniently located there, making it easy for residents to move around without dealing with traffic. Most of the void decks are also situated on this level. They feature a pretty utilitarian, fuss-free design. Take this for example: 

One drawback of this layout is that you'll have to go to different levels to access certain amenities. For example, you might have to go up a level to reach the playground from the car park, or go down another level just to go to the supermarket if you are walking on the landscape deck to get to it.

There are two car parks in this BTO. One of them is a spacious one-storey car park located beneath the landscape deck. It's bright and airy, providing ample room for parking.

This car park is also where you can access the different blocks, which we had to do because the landscape deck was closed off. However, it may be a bit tricky to find the blocks if you're not driving. For visitors, the block numbers at the car park level are clearly marked and are large and easy to read to help them find their way around.

The other car park is a multi-storey one. There are four blocks, 951A, 951B, 952A and 952B, that have direct access to it from their lifts.

Exploring the BTO, we noticed that each block had its own unique features. For example, some had privacy screens for units near the lifts—a really thoughtful touch. Some blocks also came with roof gardens on certain levels, though we couldn't explore them due to ongoing landscaping.

Because of the more unique design in Tampines GreenGem, most of the lifts come with additional indicators to make things less confusing as well. So you'll know which level you need to get to if you want to reach the car park and which to go to if you want to head over to the landscape deck for instance. 

Privacy is definitely a priority here, with the rubbish chutes tucked away in corners, away from the residential units. The common corridors are pretty long for certain blocks, but most are wide and spacious enough, offering plenty of privacy. 

There's a bin centre right next to the multi-storey car park. It's located near one of the vehicular entrances for easy access by the rubbish trucks, which means they don't have to go all around the BTO to collect the garbage. However, residents in stacks 141 and 143 might be more affected by the noise and activity from the bin centre.

We couldn’t quite see the playgrounds up close, but we managed to take a peek at one of the bigger playgrounds on site (see photo above). 

Final Thoughts

The landscape deck area between the blocks offers a lot of privacy, which is nice, but it can be a bit of a hassle having to go up a level just to access some of the amenities. It's also kind of unique to have two different types of car parks in one BTO.

The neighbourhood is mostly residential, with a good mix of public transportation and green areas. Although the current amenities are a bit limited, the opening of the on-site amenities and a future nearby mixed-use development will definitely enhance the convenience of the area.

What other completed BTO projects would you like us to visit next? Let us know in the comments.