District 11 · Core Central Region
Landed Homes in Newton · Novena · Thomson
The city's wellness quarter... where Singapore's medical heart, established schools and central calm meet just north of Orchard.
Image: Novena Church · Terence Ong · CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
The History
A district named for devotion, rooted in healing.
Novena draws its name from the Novena devotions held at the Church of St Alphonsus, the Catholic church that became a local landmark and lent the whole district its identity. The area's medical roots run deep: Tan Tock Seng Hospital, founded in 1844, moved to its Novena site in 1909, and the surrounding Balestier and Moulmein corridor has been tied to healthcare and convalescence for well over a century.
Newton, at the southern edge, grew as a residential gateway to Orchard, while Thomson reached north toward the reservoirs and greenery of the central catchment. Long valued for its schools and churches, District 11 settled into a role it still holds today — a calm, established residential belt wrapped around the city's institutions of healing and learning.
What's Changing
Building Singapore's largest healthcare hub.
District 11's defining project is Health City Novena, a 17-hectare integrated healthcare hub centred on Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Announced in 2013 and built in phases toward completion around 2030, it is set to become Singapore's largest healthcare complex — some fifteen integrated buildings spanning care, research and teaching, expanding healthcare space in the precinct by roughly 150 percent.
Under URA planning, Newton and Novena are also being shaped as a health hub and transport gateway, anchored by the Newton and Novena MRT interchanges linking the North-South and Downtown Lines. The result is a district densifying with medical, educational and residential uses at once, while keeping the low-rise, leafy character of its older estates — a combination that keeps Novena and Newton among the most centrally connected places to live in Singapore.
Why Live Here
Four reasons District 11 endures.
Singapore's medical heart
Health City Novena and Tan Tock Seng Hospital make this the most comprehensive healthcare cluster in the country, right on your doorstep.
Central without the crowds
A short hop from Orchard and the CBD, yet quieter and greener, with established low-rise residential streets.
Schools and heritage
Long home to respected schools and the churches and shophouses of the Balestier and Moulmein heritage corridor.
Gateway connectivity
Newton and Novena interchanges connect the North-South and Downtown Lines, with the central catchment parks just to the north.
Keep Exploring