Recently, I read from The Straits Times website that a Housing Board carpark at Bukit Merah estate is partly rented to a car dealer because it was underused. According to the report, the arrangement is the first of its kind and is extremely rare. HDB agreed to do so as the take-up rate for season parking is low there.

It is indeed a clever move by HDB to generate income from a under-utilized carpark. Come to think of it, there are also other HDB carparks in Singapore which are underused. An example is the muti-storey carpark above, which is situated along Bedok Reservoir Road. The top level is often left empty, even late in the night.

Other than renting to car dealers, the top floor of the carpark can be utilized in other ways. For example, the Residents