If you’ve searched for co-living near Jalan Besar MRT in 2026, you’ve probably noticed the listings get thin fast — most operators concentrate on Tiong Bahru, Bugis or River Valley. Coliva runs two pet-friendly houses on Rowell Road, both six minutes’ walk from Jalan Besar MRT (Downtown Line, DT22): The Driftwood House and The Boho Den. This post walks through what each house is like, what the rooms cost, and why Jalan Besar quietly works as a base for working professionals and creatives who want central Singapore on a co-living budget.
Why Jalan Besar for co-living?
Jalan Besar sits between Little India, Lavender and Farrer Park — a 12-minute MRT ride from Raffles Place, ten from Bugis, six from Newton. The streets are lined with two-storey shophouses that locals are quietly turning into bakeries, design studios, gyms and cafes that don’t bother with signs. The rent profile, the food, and the small-block walkability are why renters who tour both Tiong Bahru and Jalan Besar often pick the latter.
For a longer read on the neighbourhood — food, parks, commute times, walking-distance gyms — see our Jalan Besar neighbourhood guide.
The Driftwood House
The Driftwood House is a four-ensuite Rowell Road shophouse converted into a co-living home with an open terrace, a generous common kitchen, and four en-suite bedrooms across two floors. The design language is exactly what the name implies: warm wood, neutral textiles, and a lot of natural light through the front and rear windows.
Who it suits: renters who want their own bathroom, a quiet study area in the room, and walking access to the Jalan Besar food scene. Couples are welcome in the master suites where the room spec allows.
Rooms and rents: the Saffron Room (premium master, queen bed, S$3,000/month) is the headline room; the Solana, Marigold and Zora rooms are S$1,800-S$2,300/month en-suites. All four come fully furnished with bed, wardrobe and study desk. Browse Driftwood rooms.
The Boho Den
The Boho Den is the second Coliva house on Rowell Road — same neighbourhood, same six-minute walk to Jalan Besar MRT, but a different layout and a different vibe. The Den has a softer, layered design palette (terracotta, dusty rose, plenty of plants) and works well for renters who want something that feels less corporate and more home-studio.
Who it suits: creatives, work-from-home professionals, and anyone who values the social rhythm of a smaller house. The Den’s common areas are designed for sitting around with a coffee, not just for transit between bedroom and front door.
Rooms and rents: a mix of en-suite and common-bath rooms in the S$1,450-S$2,400/month range. Lease terms match the rest of the Coliva portfolio: 3, 6 or 12 months, all-in. Browse Boho Den rooms.
What both houses share
Beyond the design differences, both Rowell Road houses run on the same operational baseline:
- Pet-friendly by default. Up to two dogs or cats per resident, no breed list or weight cap, subject to a temperament chat. See our 2026 pet-friendly rental guide for what that actually means in practice.
- All-in rent. Wi-Fi, AC, utilities and bi-weekly common-area cleaning bundled into one monthly figure. No SP setup, no broker fee.
- Six-minute walk to Jalan Besar MRT. Downtown Line stations Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Telok Ayer and Chinatown are all under 15 minutes door-to-door.
- Walking-distance food. Berseh Food Centre, Sin Lee Foods, the Tyrwhitt Road bakeries and the Tekka Place hawker stalls are all within 10 minutes.
- One standard deposit. One month’s rent, no separate pet deposit.
Commute and CBD access
Jalan Besar MRT is on the Downtown Line, which means a single train gets you to most of central Singapore without a transfer:
- Bugis — 2 stops, ~6 minutes
- Promenade (Marina Bay area) — 4 stops, ~12 minutes
- Telok Ayer / Tanjong Pagar (CBD core) — 5-6 stops, ~15 minutes
- Chinatown — 5 stops, ~13 minutes
Bendemeer (DT23) and Lavender (EW11) are also within walking distance, so the East-West Line is in reach without a bus transfer.
Working from home in Jalan Besar
Both houses are built around the assumption that at least some residents work from home most days. Each room has a dedicated desk, the Wi-Fi is fibre with mesh repeaters across both floors, and the common areas have power outlets at every seating spot. If you need to step out for a change of scenery, Sin Lee Foods, Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee and the Foreword Coffee at Tekka Place all have laptop-friendly seating within an eight-minute walk.
Meeting-rich schedules: there are two privacy-oriented seats in the Driftwood living room (a reading nook and a desk by the front window) and a quiet upstairs landing in the Boho Den that doubles as a video-call corner. Most calls run cleanly without booking anything; for back-to-backs in your room, the en-suite layouts give you the noise isolation a common-bath room can’t.
What pet owners should know about Jalan Besar specifically
Jalan Besar isn’t a park-rich neighbourhood like Springleaf or Bukit Timah, but it works well for small-to-medium dogs and indoor cats for three reasons:
- Walkable to two green spaces. Farrer Park field (8 min) and the Whampoa Park Connector (15 min) cover the daily walk; Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a 10-minute MRT ride for the weekend long walk.
- Vets within 10 minutes. Mount Pleasant Whitley and Animal & Bird are both reachable in under ten minutes by car or Grab.
- Quiet streets after dark. Rowell Road has very low through-traffic at night, which makes it easy on dogs that startle near busy roads.
One honest caveat: you don’t have a private garden. If your dog needs unsupervised outdoor time, a landed rental or a condo with a yard will fit better than any Jalan Besar shophouse, including ours. Our 2026 pet-friendly rental guide covers when to choose each format.
Who shouldn’t pick Jalan Besar
To save you a viewing if it’s the wrong fit: Jalan Besar isn’t for renters who want condo-style amenities (gym, pool, concierge), for big-dog owners who need an enclosed garden, or for anyone whose office is in the far west or far east where the commute pushes past 40 minutes. For those, our Springleaf house on the Thomson-East Coast Line is often a better starting point.
Booking a viewing
The fastest way to see both Rowell Road houses is to book a single back-to-back viewing — the Driftwood and the Den are a five-minute walk apart, so you can compare in one trip. Use the contact form or WhatsApp +65 8513 9003. Bring your dog or cat if you’d like — we encourage it. We typically reply within a few hours, including evenings and weekends.
If you’re still in the research stage, the full FAQ covers deposits, leases, application paperwork and the most common pre-viewing questions.