Marine Parade was initially a seaside promenade in the Katong area along the East Coast that stretched from what is now the Parkway Parade Shopping Centre to Martia Road. In 1966, land reclamation works were started around Marine Parade as part of the larger reclamation project planned for the East Coast. The government subsequently announced plans to build a public housing estate on the reclaimed land in the Marine Parade area in mid 1971. The first batch of 6,000 Housing and Development Board flats at Marine Parade were completed by 1973, while the second batch located along Marine Drive were completed by 1975. The estate was fully functional by the late 1970s with the completion of communal facilities such as hawker centres, schools, a post office and a library. By the 1980s, Marine Parade had become one of the more popular residential areas in Singapore due to its proximity to the coast and the availability of sports and recreational facilities at the nearby East Coast Park. The estate is also conveniently linked to the city centre after the completion of the East Coast Parkway Expressway by the Public Works Department in 1981.
