By Kelvin Sin, Co-Founder of LiveFree · CEA Reg. No. R062804F
Last updated: July 2026
The Beauty World transformation is one of the most consequential precinct upgrades happening in Singapore’s western fringe right now, and it sits squarely in District 21 — Upper Bukit Timah, off Jalan Jurong Kechil, anchored by Beauty World MRT (DT5) on the Downtown Line. Over the next few years, an ageing 1980s-era town centre is being rebuilt into what the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) calls a “green urban village”: a new integrated transport hub, a fresh retail-and-residential landmark, and a rebuilt community heart, all knitted together beside the station. For buyers weighing a home or an investment here, the natural question is whether this rejuvenation actually lifts nearby condo values — and by how much.
This piece separates the confirmed facts from the marketing gloss, maps the catalysts to real dates, and lines up the psf evidence that is already on the ground. Figures for future completions are indicative and hedged; treat forward-looking numbers as direction, not promise.
Strip away the developer brochures and the Beauty World transformation is a URA masterplanned rejuvenation of the District 21 town centre clustered around Beauty World MRT, which opened on 27 December 2015 as part of Downtown Line Stage 2. The 2019 Master Plan set the vision — masterplanned by architecture firm WOHA — of Beauty World as a “green urban village” and the “southern gateway into Bukit Timah’s nature attractions.” In plain terms: better transport, denser retail and community amenity, more greenery, and less reliance on the car.
A quick but important accuracy note, because competitors routinely fumble it: Beauty World is District 21, not District 23. Hillview, Cashew, Dairy Farm and Bukit Panjang belong to D23 (Downtown Line stations DT2 and DT3). Beauty World (DT5) and King Albert Park (DT6) are D21. If a listing tags an Upper Bukit Timah project as “Hillview” or “D23,” that is a red flag.
New launches in the immediate catchment are positioning themselves as beneficiaries of this catalyst. Among them is The Sen, a 99-year leasehold project of around 347 units on De Souza Avenue off Jalan Jurong Kechil, roughly a 1km walk to Beauty World MRT — close enough to ride the precinct’s rejuvenation without sitting on top of the construction hoarding.
Here is the single biggest trap in every thin microsite ranking for this topic: they merge two separate projects into one. There are, in fact, two distinct integrated developments, on two different plots, with two different scopes and two different timelines.
The Jalan Anak Bukit Government Land Sales site was awarded in November 2022 to a Far East Organization and Sino Group joint venture for around S$1.03 billion. Under the tender terms, the site carries a maximum gross floor area of roughly 96,551 sqm (about 1.04 million sq ft), including up to 20,000 sqm of commercial space and a ceiling of up to 845 residential units.
What was actually built on it is The Reserve Residences: 732 residential units across eight blocks, plus 160 serviced apartments, plus the Bukit V mall (around 215,000 sq ft of retail) — all 99-year leasehold. Crucially, this development also houses the integrated transport hub (ITH): an air-conditioned bus interchange with a gross floor area above 5,000 sqm (including at least 400 sqm of concourse and retail), an underground pedestrian link to Beauty World MRT and an overhead bridge to the Bukit Timah market. The Reserve Residences launched on 27 May 2023 and sold about 71% of its 732 units — roughly 520 homes — over launch weekend at an average of around S$2,450 psf. Completion of the development and its interchange is slated for around Q1 2028 (indicative).
Separately, on a different plot right next to the MRT station, sits the Bukit Timah Community Building. This is not part of the bus interchange. It integrates an expanded Bukit Timah Community Club, an enhanced Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre, an indoor sports hall, a community library and elder-care facilities. The old two-storey hawker centre was demolished in the second half of 2024, and an interim market and food centre — housing 98 relocated stallholders — opened on 1 October 2024. The new community building is slated to complete around the second half of 2029 (indicative).
So: interchange, mall and Reserve Residences on one site (~2028); community club, market, sports hall and library on the other (~2029). Anyone telling you the bus interchange contains the library or the hawker centre is conflating the two.
The dated sequence below is the backbone of the whole transformation. Later milestones are indicative and, given Beauty World’s documented history of delays, should be read as “slated for,” not fixed.
| Year | Milestone | Detail | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 (27 Dec) | Beauty World MRT (DT5) opens | Downtown Line Stage 2; anchors the precinct | High |
| 2019 | URA Master Plan sets “green urban village” vision | WOHA masterplan; southern gateway to Bukit Timah nature | High |
| 2022 (Nov) | GLS sites awarded | Jalan Anak Bukit → Far East/Sino (~S$1.03bn); Bukit Timah Link → Bukit Sembawang (~S$200m) | High |
| 2023 (27 May) | The Reserve Residences launches | ~71% of 732 units sold, avg ~S$2,450 psf | High |
| 2024 (H2) | Old hawker centre demolished; interim market opens 1 Oct | 98 stallholders relocated | High |
| ~Q4 2027 | 8@BT TOP (indicative) | 158-unit leasehold, Bukit Timah Link | Med |
| ~Q1 2028 | Reserve Residences + Bukit V mall + integrated bus interchange complete (indicative) | Air-con interchange, underground MRT link | Med |
| ~H2 2029 | Bukit Timah Community Building completes (indicative) | New CC + market/hawker + indoor sports hall + community library | Med |
Transport hubs do not raise prices by magic; they change everyday behaviour, and behaviour drives demand. A few mechanisms are worth naming.
Frictionless connectivity. An air-conditioned bus interchange with a sheltered, underground link straight to the Downtown Line platform removes the small daily annoyances — heat, rain, road crossings — that quietly shape where people want to live. When a bus-to-rail transfer becomes a two-minute indoor walk, the catchment that finds the location “convenient” widens.
Amenity density. The Bukit V mall (~215,000 sq ft) plus up to 20,000 sqm of commercial space in the Reserve development, layered on top of a rebuilt market and food centre, turns Beauty World from a transit stop into a destination. Homes within walking distance of that density tend to command a liveability premium.
Positioning and greenery. The “green urban village” framing and the precinct’s role as the southern gateway to Bukit Timah’s nature attractions differentiate it from generic suburban town centres — a narrative that supports pricing over time.
The honest caveat: these are indicative, forward-looking mechanisms. Correlation between infrastructure upgrades and price strength is well documented, but it is not a guarantee of causation for any single unit, and construction-period disamenity can weigh on sentiment before the upside arrives.
| Amenity | Before (pre-transformation) | After (post-2028/29) | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bus interchange | On-street / temporary bus stops | Air-conditioned integrated bus interchange, sheltered rail transfer | High |
| MRT connection | Surface access to DT5 | Underground pedestrian link + overhead bridge network | High |
| Retail | Ageing Beauty World Centre / Bukit Timah Plaza | + Bukit V mall (~215,000 sq ft) + ~20,000 sqm commercial in Reserve dev | High |
| Market / hawker | Old two-storey centre (now interim) | Enhanced Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre in new community building | Med |
| Community / civic | Standalone CC | Expanded CC + indoor sports hall + community library + elder care | Med |
| Housing supply | Existing resale stock | +732 + 160 (Reserve) + 158 (8@BT) + more units | High |
Assertions are cheap; evidence is the differentiator. Below are indicative psf figures for named projects in and around the Beauty World catchment, each with its correct tenure label. These are aggregator-based recent-transaction ranges from public listing portals, so treat them as indicative and Med confidence. Note the tenure column carefully, because getting it wrong is an exclusion-level error.
| Project | Tenure | Units | Indicative psf | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Reserve Residences | 99-yr leasehold | 732 + 160 SA | ~S$2,450 psf (launch avg) | Integrated dev; from ~S$2,300 psf entry |
| Forett at Bukit Timah | Freehold | 633 | ~S$2,186–2,654 (avg ~S$2,327) | Former Goodluck Garden; TOP Sep 2024; ~4% annualised gain (single-source) |
| The Linq @ Beauty World | Freehold | 120 | ~S$2,606–3,257 | Former Goh & Goh Building; completed 2025 |
| Daintree Residence | 99-yr leasehold | 327 | ~S$1,991–2,121 | Toh Tuck / Clementi Park; ~22% avg gains since launch (single-source) |
| 8@BT | 99-yr leasehold | 158 | new launch | Bukit Timah Link; ~2-min walk to DT5; TOP est. Q4 2027 |
Indicative figures based on recent transactions from public listing portals; capital-gain percentages are single-source and hedged. Not a forecast.
The pattern worth noting is not that any one number is precise, but that projects tied tightly to the station and the transformation story have held firm-to-rising pricing through a period of general RCR strength. The reported Forett annualised gain (~4%) and the Daintree figure (~22% since launch) each come from a single source, so read them as illustrative, not as guaranteed returns.
If you are comparing new launches riding this catalyst, our roundup of the 2026 top 5 new launches puts the Beauty World contenders in wider context.
When will the Beauty World integrated transport hub be completed?
The air-conditioned integrated bus interchange sits within The Reserve Residences development on the Jalan Anak Bukit site, which is slated to complete around Q1 2028 (indicative). The separate Bukit Timah Community Building next to the MRT is slated for around the second half of 2029.
Is Beauty World District 21 or District 23?
District 21. Beauty World (DT5) and the surrounding Upper Bukit Timah locality, off Jalan Jurong Kechil, are firmly in D21. Hillview, Cashew, Dairy Farm and Bukit Panjang are District 23 — a distinction many listings get wrong.
Will the Beauty World transformation raise condo prices?
It is best described as an indicative catalyst. Better connectivity, denser retail and the “green urban village” positioning support demand, and nearby projects have held firm-to-rising pricing. But timelines can slip and correlation is not a guaranteed causation of future gains.
Which projects benefit most from the transformation?
Those closest to the station and the new amenities — The Reserve Residences (which houses the interchange), 8@BT (~2-min walk), and nearby launches such as The Sen (~1km walk). Established freehold projects like Forett and The Linq also sit in the catchment.
Are the marquee Beauty World projects leasehold or freehold?
A mix. The Reserve Residences, 8@BT and Daintree Residence are 99-year leasehold. Forett at Bukit Timah and The Linq @ Beauty World are freehold.
What is the “green urban village”?
It is URA’s 2019 Master Plan vision for Beauty World, masterplanned by WOHA — a rejuvenated, greener town centre positioned as the southern gateway to Bukit Timah’s nature attractions, with the integrated transport hub and community building as its anchors.
How big is The Reserve Residences?
732 residential units across eight blocks, plus 160 serviced apartments, plus the Bukit V mall, on the Jalan Anak Bukit GLS site. It launched on 27 May 2023 and sold around 71% of units over launch weekend.
Disclaimer: Figures are indicative and, where noted, hedged or single-source. This article is for general information only and is not financial or investment advice. Verify all details against official sources and consult a CEA-registered agent before making any property decision.
Hi 
We offer private property consultations for readers. Interested?
