Emerald Hill - Singapore’s first Conservation District

Before the 1980s, Emerald Hill Road was linked to the main Orchard Road. In the early 1980s, proposals were put forth to consider the conservation and integrity of the Emerald Hill buildings.

This led to the subsequent single lane traffic flow re -development of the road in 1981 starting from the intersection at Orchard Road. The existing tarmac road was replaced with pre-cast concrete paving blocks, pocket gardens were created along the roadway, the back lanes tiled

In August 1985, the Urban Redevelopment Authority designated the Emerald Hill site as a conservation area, and with the setting-up cost of $2.2 million, restored 6 two-storey shophouses facing Orchard Road, calling it Peranakan Place.

Emerald Hill was gazetted as a conservation area in 1989, Singapore’s first such designated estate. Most of Emerald Hill’s terrace houses were designated for private residential usage, except for a few near Orchard Road, that were granted for commercial purposes. These commercial venues consist of Peranakan Place and several popular bars and restaurants.

In the late 1980s, a section of Emerald Hill Road, the short stretch that led to its junction with Orchard Road, was pedestrianised and closed off to vehicular traffic. Likewise, part of the neighbouring Cuppage Road was also converted into a pedestrian walkway.

While the owners were required to maintain the front façades of the housing units, in order not to compromise the overall aesthetics of Emerald Hill’s stretch of conserved terrace houses, they were allowed to add extensions at the rear of their units to create more spaces. These extensions, however, were not allowed to be taller than the front façades.