Novena, Singapore

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Novena
Other transcription(s)
 • Chinese诺维娜
 • MalayNovena
 • Tamilநொவீனா
Location in Central Region
Location in Central Region
Novena is located in Singapore
Novena
Novena
Location of Novena within Singapore
Coordinates: 1°19′15.09″N 103°50′32.75″E / 1.3208583°N 103.8424306°E / 1.3208583; 103.8424306
Country Singapore
RegionCentral Region
CDCs
Town councils
  • Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council
  • Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council
  • Jalan Besar Town Council
  • Tanjong Pagar Town Council
Constituencies
DGP exhibited
PA incorporated
  • 22 January 1999[1]
Government
 • MayorsCentral Singapore CDC

North West CDC


 • Members of ParliamentBishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC

Jalan Besar GRC

Tanjong Pagar GRC

Area
 • Total8.98 km2 (3.47 sq mi)
 • Rank34th
Population
 (2019)[2][3]
 • Total49,210
 • Rank25th
 • Density5,500/km2 (14,000/sq mi)
  • Rank26th
DemonymOfficial
  • Novena resident
Ethnic groups (2015)
 • Chinese38,840
 • Malays2,110
 • Indians4,210
 • Others2,830
Postal district
8, 11, 12

Novena is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Novena is bounded by Toa Payoh to the north, Bukit Timah to the west, Tanglin to the south and Kallang to the east. While Novena is not classified as a "new town" by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the estate of Whampoa within the subzone of Balestier constitutes part of the Kallang/Whampoa New Town.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital, set up by philanthropist Tan Tock Seng in 1844, one of the oldest and busiest hospitals in Singapore, is located in this area.

Etymology[edit]

Novena Church in the evening

Novena and its associated roads, buildings and Mass Rapid Transit station are named after Novena Church (canonically the Church of Saint Alphonsus Liguori) located in the area.[4]

Balestier Road was named after Joseph Balestier, an American diplomat who served in Singapore in the 1800s.[5]

Housing[edit]

Land in Novena is very expensive because of its close proximity to the Central Area. There are few HDB flats in Novena; most houses in the area are condominiums or private housing.[6]

Education[edit]

As of 2017, this area has a total of three primary schools, three secondary schools and Catholic Junior College.[7] The offshore campus of Curtin University is located at Balestier.

Transportation[edit]

Novena is accessible by MRT, with buses serving the city, nearest neighbouring estates and is close proximity to the expressway. The area has no bus interchange, the nearest being in Toa Payoh. However, Saint Michael's Bus Terminal can be found along Balestier.

Healthcare[edit]

Novena is home to the largest concentration of hospitals and medical centres in Singapore.[8]

An integrated academic medical complex termed HealthCity Novena, is centred around Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and supported by step-down facilities such as the Integrated Care Hub, Ren Ci Hospital and Dover Park Hospice as well tertiary national medical centres including the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, National Neuroscience Institute and National Skin Centre.[9][10] The Clinical Sciences Building of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and various leisure and public spaces complete the complex.[11]

A number of private healthcare providers are situated next to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The private cluster is anchored by Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, with standalone outpatient clinics leveraging on network effects setting up in Novena Medical Centre, Novena Specialist Centre and Royal Square Novena.

Commercial services[edit]

VeloCity@Novena Square and Square 2/Novena Medical Centre

Central to this area is Novena Square, a mixed used development situated directly above the Novena MRT station. Novena Medical Centre is located at levels 8 to 11 of the Square 2 shopping centre. Adjacent to Novena Square's Office Tower is a sports-themed mall called Novena Velocity. Opposite Novena Square, and across the Junction of Newton Road, Moulmein Road and Thomson Road, is United Square Shopping Mall, a children-oriented mall, with shops catering to infants, kids and parents. Shops located in the Novena area include Starbucks (one in United Square and another in Novena Square), Cold Storage, Decathlon and the newly opened Don Don Donki at Square 2, a Japanese Discount Store. Banks located in the Novena area include POSB and UOB. Novena has seen major improvements in terms of new shops opening in the area since Square 2 and Velocity commenced business in recent years.

Novena Square[edit]

Velocity@Novena Square, formerly known as Novena Square, is a sports and lifestyle mall with a new building extension. It lies directly above Novena MRT station. It was opened in December 2000, and owned by Novena Square Investments. There are 160 stores and spans 3 floors.

Square 2[edit]

Square 2 is located at the Novena MRT station. It was opened on 10 December 2007, and it is developed and owned by Far East Organization. It has over 180 specialty stores, selling food and beverage, fashion and accessories, education and enrichment, as well as beauty & wellness services, spanning five floors.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Singapore Infopedia – Development guide plan". National Library Board.
  2. ^ a b City Population – statistics, maps and charts | Novena
  3. ^ a b "Statistics Singapore - Geographic Distribution - 2018 Latest Data". Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. ^ Savage, Victor R. (2013). Singapore street names : a study of toponymics. Brenda S. A. Yeoh. Singapore. p. 636. ISBN 978-981-4484-74-9. OCLC 868957283.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Singapore, National Library Board. "Joseph Balestier | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Novena District Guide". Streetdirectory.com. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  7. ^ School Information Service
  8. ^ PropertyGuru (24 February 2017). "Eye on Novena: Bridging the past and future". Yahoo News.
  9. ^ "500-bed rehab hub next to TTSH to open in five years | the Straits Times". The Straits Times. 22 March 2017.
  10. ^ "HealthCity Novena". www.ttsh.com.sg. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Speech by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong at the official launch of Health City Novena". www.moh.gov.sg. Ministry of Health.

External links[edit]