Heartland living in Lentor — where the familiar meets the future
By Timothy Tay
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Nestled in a tranquil corner of the Ang Mo Kio Planning Area, the locale commonly referred to as the Lentor neighbourhood was marked out as a developing residential town in the 2019 Master Plan.
Based on URA’s urban development plan, the Lentor neighbourhood will introduce new residential supply to alleviate the housing needs of residents in the mature Ang Mo Kio town area. Prime plots of land for upcoming private residential developments have already been demarcated for future development.
The Lentor neighbourhood was featured at EdgeProp Singapore’s NDP Master Plan master class webinar on Aug 13. The webinar introduced some of the development plans for the neighbourhood and the surrounding areas, as well as useful property analytics tools available on EdgeProp Singapore.
Ang Mo Kio subzone
Based on URA’s planning boundaries, the Lentor neighbourhood is actually a subzone called Tagore within the Ang Mo Kio Planning Area in the North East Region.
The name of the subzone likely stems from an industrial zone in the north of the area which is bounded by Tagore Drive and Tagore Road. The entire planning subzone is bounded by Seletar Expressway, part of Lim Chu Kang Road, and a section of Upper Thomson Road.
The private landed housing estate at Tagore Avenue is near the upcoming Lentor Hills Estate (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
There are two existing private landed housing estates within the Lentor neighbourhood — one is the Teacher’s Housing Estate near the junction of Yio Chu Kang Road and Upper Thomson Road, and the other is along Lentor Loop.
Locals and long-time residents of Singapore will find the Lentor area shares similar attributes with many residential towns and estates across the island. These include proximity to schools, community amenities, a variety of local food options, and access to several green spaces.
Due to its proximity to the Ang Mo Kio area, several schools are close to the Lentor neighbourhood. EdgeProp Singapore’s Landlens analytics tool shows the schools within 1km of the neighbourhood are Anderson Primary School and Presbyterian High School. Other schools in the area include Mayflower Primary School, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, Anderson Secondary School, Anderson Serangoon Junior College and Nanyang Polytechnic.
Some of the neighbourhood amenities and community services that are close to the Lentor area are the Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital, the Yio Chu Kang Sport Centre (beside Yio Chu Kang MRT Station), as well as the Yio Chu Kang Community Centre.
Residents of Lentor also benefit from a variety of local food options close to their neighbourhood. Well-known shophouse restaurants along the nearby Casuarina Road and in Springleaf are a short drive away. These two places are also home to famed prata shops Casuarina Curry and Springleaf Prata Place.
Some of the community amenities as well as sport and recreational facilities can be found around the Yio Chu Kang Sport Centre, which is beside the Yio Chu Kang MRT Station and bus interchange (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
There is also an abundance of public parks and green spaces around the Lentor neighbourhood. For example, the Thomson Nature Park is located to the east of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, between Old Upper Thomson Road and Upper Thomson Road.
According to NParks, this 50ha park was the site of a former village of immigrant Hainanese, and the local flora and fauna boasts a rich biodiversity. The park features five trails that span a total of 3.8km around the former village road network, featuring heritage highlights as well as freshwater habitat nature trails.
In addition, residents can head to the nearby Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1. This 62ha park is one of the largest urban parks in central Singapore and is a popular family-friendly green space.
Transport connectivity boost
Within the Lentor neighbourhood, most of the residential developments in the pipeline, and future development sites, are beside the Lentor MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). This station was part of the second phase of the TEL line that opened in August 2021.
The next phase of the TEL will extend the line all the way to the Marina Bay area. The operational sections of the line run through Woodlands, Lentor, Upper Thomson and Caldecott. The next phase will run through Bukit Timah, Orchard Road, River Valley, Outram Park, Shenton Way and Marina Bay.
The Lentor MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) opened in August 2021, and will be linked to Lentor Modern in the future (Photo: Albert Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
This means that residents in the neighbourhoods along the new MRT line will enjoy more convenient public transport connectivity to the city centre. The next phase is expected to be operational by the end of this year.
In addition to convenient access to a crossisland MRT line, residents of the Lentor area will benefit from better road and highway connectivity when the North-South Corridor is completed in 2027.
Billed as Singapore’s longest Transport Priority Corridor, the 21.5km infrastructure project will enhance the overall road connectivity for towns along the new highway towards the city centre. Some of these towns include Woodlands, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Newton and Novena.
Transit Priority Corridors were introduced in 2017 as roads that integrate dedicated bus lanes, wider pedestrian footpaths and dedicated cycling paths. According to the Land Transport Authority, this will result in faster and smoother road travel for commuters heading to and from the city centre.
In Lentor, the nearest section of the NorthSouth Corridor will run under the nearby Lentor Avenue and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6.
Three residential development sites in the Lentor Hills Estate have been put up for sale on the 1H2022 GLS Programme (Source: URA)
Residential buildup in Lentor
As part of the intended increase in residential housing in the Lentor neighbourhood, six Government Land Sale (GLS) sites have been earmarked for development. The GLS sites are centred around an existing grassy hillock. Based on URA’s urban concept plan for the neighbourhood, this small hill will be the central green space and park area that will radiate towards several linear parks in the vicinity.
Two GLS sites have already been awarded. The first was a 185,932 sq ft site beside Lentor MRT Station that was awarded to GuocoLand in July 2021, after the developer submitted the winning bid of $784.1 million ($1,205 psf per plot ratio, or psf ppr).
The site will be developed into Lentor Modern, a mixed-use development comprising three 25-storey towers with a total of 605 units, and a two-storey, 96,000 sq ft commercial podium with a 10,000 sq ft childcare centre, 12,000 sq ft supermarket, retail and F&B outlets, as well as other amenities and services. (Find Singapore commercial properties with our commercial directory)
Meanwhile, the second site was awarded to a joint venture (JV) made up of Hong Leong Holdings, GuocoLand and TID (itself a JV between Hong Leong and Mitsui Fudosan). The Hong Leong-led JV submitted the top bid of $586.6 million ($1,060 psf ppr) in January this year. The 184,393 sq ft site will be developed into Lentor Hills Residences, a 600-unit residential development.
In May this year, the government launched public tenders for two neighbouring sites under the 1H2022 GLS programme — Lentor Central, a 144,657 sq ft, residential site that could be developed into a 470-unit project; and Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B), a 116,456 sq ft, residential site that could be developed into a 265- unit project. The tender for both GLS sites will close on Sept 13.
The remaining two GLS sites that have not been awarded or put up for public tender are expected to be launched in 4Q2022, according to URA. One of the plots is a 158,172 sq ft residential site called Lentor Central, located beside the upcoming Lentor Modern. The next plot is a 235,278 sq ft residential site called Lentor Gardens, and is beside the future Lentor Hills Residences.
GuocoLand’s other integrated development, Midtown Modern in the Bugis area, also saw keen interest from buyers and investors when the project was launched in March 2021 (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Attractiveness of integrated developments
Despite the pipeline of residential developments in the Lentor area, only one GLS site has been zoned as a mixed-use development. GuocoLand’s Lentor Modern will be the only upcoming private development in the area that integrates residential and commercial elements, as well as a prime spot beside the MRT station.
Over the last few years, home buyers and investors have snapped up available residential units in newly launched integrated developments. Most property consultants cite the convenience of retail and F&B amenities at the doorstep as a driving factor behind this buying demand.
This consumer sentiment was backed by a survey done by EdgeProp Singapore in June, which looked at the degree to which home buyers in the market today value convenience and connectivity when considering their next property purchase.
Among the survey respondents, 87% indicated that proximity to a supermarket was most important for an integrated development; followed by 69% who said that affordable food choices was the next important factor; and 66% cited walking distance to an MRT station as the third most important factor.
So far, the consumer sentiment seems to have translated into healthy sales at recent project launches of integrated developments. In May this year, the 407-unit Piccadilly Grand, which is connected to Farrer Park MRT Station, saw 77% of the total available units sold over the launch weekend. The development is 81% sold to-date.
GuocoLand’s other integrated development, Midtown Modern in the Bugis area, also saw keen interest from buyers and investors when the project was launched in March 2021. The 558-unit integrated development saw 61% of its total units snapped up over the launch weekend. The project is about 79% sold to-date.
Thus, as buyers continue to value connectivity and convenience as important attributes, all eyes are on Lentor Modern. The project benefits from many favourable locational attributes and is a highly desirable integrated development in a growing residential neighbourhood.
The average age of existing condos in Lentor is about 26 years, and there has been no new launch in the area for the last 10 years (Source: EdgeProp)
Price trends around Lentor
On top of the urban development plans set out in URA’s master plan for the Lentor area, another reason why the upcoming supply of residential developments is highly anticipated is the lack of new private, non-landed residential developments in the suburbs or Outside Central Region.
Using EdgeProp Singapore’s Landlens analytics tool, the average age of condominiums within 1km of Lentor MRT station is about 26 years. The oldest condo in the vicinity is the 116-unit, freehold Thomson Grove which was completed 38 years ago, in 1984. It is followed by the 99-year leasehold, 270-unit Far Horizon Gardens, which was completed 36 years ago.
Conversely, the newest condo in the area is Meadows @ Pierce, a 479-unit development that is beside the landed Teacher’s Housing Estate. This condo was completed 10 years ago in 2012.
In addition, despite the lack of new project launches in the area, average property prices in the Lentor area have generally trended upwards over the past decade or so.
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For example, at Thomson Grove, the latest transaction was for a unit that changed hands in July at $1,417 psf. This is almost double the transacted price a decade ago, when a unit was sold for $724 psf in July 2012.
Likewise, at The Calrose, a unit was sold in July at $1,297 psf, compared to a decade ago, when a similar-sized unit fetched $1,012 psf. Interest from home buyers and investors in the Lentor area will likely increase in the coming months, as new projects are launched and developers competitively bid for available GLS sites there.
The neighbourhood is likely to see a transformation into a more liveable and inclusive residential town based on URA’s master plan and development plans for the area. This will contribute to the overall attractiveness of the area, and capital appreciation of properties in the Lentor neighbourhood.
Check out the latest listings near Lentor Modern, The Calrose, Guoco Tower, Midtown Modern, Thomson Grove, Meadows @ Pierce, Far Horizon Gardens, Piccadilly Grand, Lentor MRT Station, Farrer Park MRT Station, Yio Chu Kang MRT Station, Anderson Primary School, Presbyterian High School, Mayflower Primary School, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, Anderson Secondary School, Anderson Serangoon Junior College, Nanyang Polytechnic
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