Novena is a

planning area Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

located within the Central Region of Singapore. Novena is bounded by Toa Payoh to the north,

Bukit Timah Bukit Timah, often abbreviated as Bt Timah, is a planning area and residential estate located in the westernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. Bukit Timah lies roughly from the Central Business District, bordering the Central Wat ...

to the west,

Tanglin Tanglin is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Tanglin is located west of Newton, Orchard, River Valley and Singapore River, south of Novena, east of Bukit Timah, northeast of Queenstown and north of Bukit Merah. ...

to the south and

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...

to the east. While Novena is not classified as a "new town" by the

Housing and Development Board The Housing & Development Board (HDB) (; ms, Lembaga Perumahan dan Pembangunan; ta, வீடமைப்பு வளர்ச்சிக் கழகம்) or often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the M ...

(HDB), the estate of Whampoa within the subzone of

Balestier Balestier () is a sub zone located in the planning area of Novena in the Central Region of Singapore. The main road, Balestier Road, links Thomson Road to Serangoon Road and the road continues on as Lavender Street. The area is home to rows ...

constitutes part of the

/Whampoa New Town.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital Tan Tock Seng Hospital (abbreviation: TTSH) is a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, located in Novena. The hospital has 45 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more than 8,000 healthcare staff. ...

, set up by philanthropist

Tan Tock Seng Tan Tock Seng (; 1798 – 24 February 1850) was a Malacca-born merchant and philanthropist from Singapore. Early life and business Tan Tock Seng was born in Malacca in 1798 to a Chinese Fujianese immigrant father and local Peranakan mother. ...

in 1844, one of the oldest and busiest

hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

in Singapore, is located in this area.

Etymology

Novena and its associated roads, buildings and Mass Rapid Transit station are named after

Novena Church The Church of Saint Alphonsus, or Novena Church as it is more popularly known, is a Catholic church in Singapore located at 300 Thomson Road. It is not a parish church and is under the care of the Redemptorists. The name Novena Church refers to ...

(canonically the Church of Saint Alphonsus Liguori) located in the area. Balestier Road was named after

Joseph Balestier Joseph Balestier (19 Mar 1788–12 Nov 1858), was a planter and merchant who was the first United States consul in Rhiau and in Singapore. In 1849, he was appointed Envoy and Diplomatic Agent of the United States to South Eastern Asia. Born in S ...

, an American diplomat who served in Singapore in the 1800s.

Housing

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.

Education

, this area has a total of three primary schools, three secondary schools and

Catholic Junior College Catholic Junior College (CJC) () is a junior college in Singapore, offering a two-year course for pre-university students leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. Founded in 1975, Catholic Junior College was the third ju ...

. The offshore campus of

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

is located at Balestier.

Transportation

Novena is accessible by

MRT MRT may refer to: Transport Rapid Transit Systems * Mass Rapid Transit (disambiguation) * MRT (Singapore) or Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore * MRT (Bangkok) or Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Thailand * Manila Metro Rail Transit System, Philippine ...

, 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.

Commercial services

Central to this area is

Novena Square 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 ...

, a mixed used development situated directly above the

Novena MRT station Novena MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North South Line. Located along Thomson Road in Novena, Singapore, the station is located near landmarks such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospi ...

. Novena Medical Centre is located at levels 8 to 11 of the

Square 2 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 th ...

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 Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...

(one in United Square and another in Novena Square), Cold Storage,

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

and the newly opened

Don Don Donki , also known as Don Don Donki, is a Japanese multinational discount store chain. As of 2022, it has over 160 locations throughout Japan, 15 in Singapore, 9 in Hong Kong, 5 in Thailand, 3 in Hawaii and Malaysia, 2 in Taiwan, and 1 in Macau and G ...

, 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. A new Integrated Care Hub will be completed by 2022 as part of HealthCity Novena, which will include a hospital, medical school and step-down facilities, as well as the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

Novena Square

Velocity@Novena Square, formerly known as Novena Square, is a sports and lifestyle

mall Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India ...

with a new building extension. It lies directly above

. It was opened in December 2000, and owned by Novena Square Investments. There are 160 stores and spans 3 floors.

Square 2

Square 2 is located at the

. It was opened on 10 December 2007, and it is developed and owned by

Far East Organization Far East Organization is one of the largest private real estate developers in Singapore. It has businesses in property development, retail, hospitality, and food and beverage brands in Asia and Australia. The company was founded by the late Si ...

. It has over 180 specialty stores, selling food and beverage, fashion and accessories,

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and enrichment, as well as beauty & wellness services, spanning five floors.

References

External links

* {{Places in Singapore Central Region, Singapore Places in Singapore