Mixed-use communities with an MRT station command a premium price. Why do integrated developments make sense? Alice Tan, head of consultancy at Knight Frank Singapore, defines an integrated development as a mixed-use development with a substantial residential component and a substantial commercial component that is connected seamlessly to a transportation node and public spaces.

“Typically, when integrated developments are launched, developers will construct a 20% to 25% premium over other private condos in the same area,” says Tan, who spoke on August 13 at the EdgeProp Singapore NDP Master Plan Master Class webinar series, which highlighted the Beach Road-Bugis and Lentor areas.

GUOCOLAND SKY BUNGALOW COLLECTION
On the 29th and 30th floors of Midtown Modern, two 1,808 sq ft four-bedroom units with a total area of 3,616 sq ft were sold for $17 million in July 2022. Last month’s highest price per square foot was $4,783 psf for a 1,808-square-foot apartment on the 30th floor.
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In July, two four-bedroom units on the 29th and 30th floors of the Midtown Modern building in the Beach Road-Bugis area sold for $4,617 psf and $4,783 psf, setting new psf price records. The two units of 1,808 square feet can be combined to create a duplex penthouse with five bedrooms and 3,616 square feet of space. The apartment on the 29th floor was purchased for $8.35 million, and the apartment on the 30th floor was purchased for $8.65 million, for a total of $17 million.

The duplex penthouse at Midtown Modern is one of six similar units that debuted in early July as part of GuocoLand’s Sky Bungalow Collection. Previously, the only penthouse, a 3,520-square-foot duplex with five bedrooms, sold at launch for $14.83 million ($4,213 per square foot).

Underground access connects Midtown Modern to the Bugis MRT Station, which serves as a transfer point for the Downtown and East-West Lines. Midtown Modern is an extension of the adjacent, 558-unit Guoco Midtown integrated development. The $2.4 billion price tag for Guoco Midtown includes a 30-story Grade-A office tower, a five-story Midtown Hub for social and business networking, 33,000 square feet of retail and food and beverage space, and 219 Soho-style apartments in Midtown Bay. Moreover, the development includes over 30 themed gardens and 3,8 ha of landscaped areas. Midtown Modern is being constructed by GuocoLand, Hong Leong Holdings, and Hong Realty.

Additionally, the construction of Guoco Midtown has stimulated neighborhood revitalization. In 2020, Shaw Tower, a commercial building with offices and movie theaters constructed in 1975, will be demolished. A 450,000-square-foot Grade-A office tower with five floors (15,700 square feet) of retail and food and beverage space is currently under construction. Utilize our commercial directory to locate Singapore’s commercial properties.

The construction of the 558-unit Midtown Modern is currently underway on Tan Quee Lan Street in the Beach Road-Bugis neighborhood.

The M will be located directly across from Shaw Tower on Middle Road when it is completed. After its February 2020 launch, 93 percent of the project’s units have been sold. The highest psf price achieved in the development, according to a caveat filed in September 2021, was $3,035 per square foot for a 614-square-foot, two-bedroom unit on the nineteenth floor that sold for $1,862 million ($3,035 per square foot).

UOL Group is constructing a seven-story building at 333 North Bridge Road, which it purchased for $79.3 million in December 2019. It is the continuation of UOL’s Odeon Towers. This structure is located opposite the Raffles Hotel, which reopened in late 2019 following a two-year renovation.

South Beach, an integrated development completed in 2016, is located on the opposite side of Shaw Tower. It includes two 42- and 45-story towers, one with Class-A office space and the other with the 634-room JW Marriott Hotel and 190 luxury apartments, South Beach Residences, on the 23rd through the 45th floors. The establishment is connected to the Esplanade MRT Station on the Circle Line and features retail and F&B on the first and basement levels.

In 2018, South Beach Residences debuted a 1,216-square-foot, two-bedroom unit with prices beginning at $3.5 million, or $2,795 per square foot. Prices peaked at $4,748 per square foot in October 2021, when a 3,897-square-foot, three-bedroom penthouse on the 42nd floor sold for $18.5 million.

New integrated developments in the Beach Road-Bugis region have established new price benchmarks for residences with each new launch. Is a similar price increase likely in a suburban enclave like Lentor Hills Estate off Yio Chu Kang Road?

79% of the 1,247 respondents to a recent survey conducted by EdgeProp Singapore preferred a non-central location with high connectivity (such as direct access to an MRT station) over a central location without MRT station access within walking distance.

In a similar vein, 81% of respondents preferred a non-Central location on top of a mall to a Central location that was not within walking distance of a mall. Consequently, convenience and connectivity are valued more than a Central or non-Central address.

Could GuocoLand replicate the success of Guoco Midtown and Midtown Modern with the upcoming Lentor Hills project? GuocoLand was awarded the Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Lentor Central in July 2021 with a bid of $784.1 million, or $1,204 per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The 186,001-square-foot, 99-year leasehold site is being transformed into the 605-unit Lentor Modern, which is scheduled to open in September. The residences will span three 25-story towers atop a 96,000-square-foot retail complex with a 12,000-square-foot supermarket, a 10,000-square-foot childcare center, services, food and beverage outlets, and additional amenities. The project will incorporate the forthcoming Lentor MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

The Lentor Hills Residences is near Integrated development- lentor modern. Lentor Road, which is part of District 26 in Singapore, is the location of the brand-new luxury residential development Lentor Hills Residences. The development provides its residents with an unmatched level of comfort and convenience, as well as a lifestyle that is both exclusive and unique. There are 600 apartments in total, distributed across two three-story towers. One-bedroom to four-bedroom apartments, duplexes, and even penthouses are among the many types of living spaces available in the development.