Buona Vista

Not to be confused with Buena Vista.

Buona Vista is a neighbourhood and subdivision of the city-state of Singapore, but is often referenced as a town. As a major subdivision, it is served by the Buona Vista MRT Station which links it up with the MRT system. It also has a bus terminal.

Geography

Buona Vista is close to the Dover and Ghim Moh estates, and Holland Village. It shares its name with North Buona Vista Road and South Buona Vista Road, which together is a famous (or infamous) hilly winding road that navigates through Kent Ridge and is well known by thrill-seekers and racers alike.

Etymology

Buona Vista was so named because of the good view it offers — buona vista means "good sight" in Italian. North Buona Vista Road was officially named in 1972.

Amenities

The Civil Service College, Ministry of Education and One-North are located close to the Buona Vista MRT Station. National University Hospital (NUH) is connected by a shuttle bus that takes passengers to and from the MRT Station. Since January 2008, this shuttle bus has been temporarily shifted to nearby Dover MRT station due to renovation going on for the upcoming underground Circle Line MRT station which will be ready by 2011.

Facilities including Buona Vista Swimming Pool and the Community Centre are located at Holland Drive.

Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Tanglin Trust School, a British-based international school are also located there.

As of this moment, the areas around Buona Vista are undergoing rapid development.

A new building, called the "Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex (CCRC)" is being planned by Rock Productions, the business arm of New Creation Church,^[1] together with CapitaLand. The building is envisioned as a "futuristic complex with restaurants, shops and a 5,000-seat theatre", and will cost nearly SGD1 billion.^[1]

Political history

Buona Vista is divided between the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and the West Coast GRC. The Member of Parliament for the portion belonging to Tanjong Pagar GRC, which formerly belonged to Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, which includes Holland Drive and Holland Village is Chan Chun Sing, the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and the Minister of State for Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.

References

• Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1