GuocoLand will establish a new standard with the introduction of Lentor Modern, "the only integrated development" in the Lentor region

September 2, 2022



Lentor Modern by GuocoLand, the first and only integrated development in the upcoming Lentor Hills complex, will debut on September 2. In addition to 605 residential units spread across three 25-story residential buildings, the complex will have a shopping centre. The entire property will be underground connected to the Lentor MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

The street-level façade of the 96,000-square-foot retail area at Lentor Modern is very visible. Due to the slope of the ground, one end of the mall has one storey while the other end has three floors. While stores and food and beverage outlets are located on the first floor, a 12,000-square-foot supermarket and a 10,000-square-foot daycare facility are located on the second and third floors, respectively. "The project is planned so that residents have direct access to all the services in less than one minute, from the MRT station to the stores, grocery, eating options, and childcare centre," explains Dora Chng, general manager of GuocoLand (residential).

The Lentor Hills estate may be a new residential neighbourhood with nothing but vacant land at this time. However, it is situated within a private housing enclave and is accessible through Yio Chu Kang Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5. Cheng Hsing Yao, CEO of GuocoLand, describes the Lentor neighbourhood as a fascinating, rich location surrounded by private housing complexes. It is in close proximity to nature, yet it lacks a central gathering place for the local population.

Lentor Modern, which has a plaza in front of the shopping centre, is positioned as the neighborhood's new focal point. Cheng adds, "There will also be gathering areas for the public." It will be promoted as an upscale shopping and social village.


Lentor Modern is an integrated development with 605 residential apartments and a 96,000-square-foot shopping centre (Picture: GuocoLand)

"New way of living"

He believes that Lentor Modern will introduce "an exciting new lifestyle" to the Lentor neighbourhood. "This is why we call it the 'Modern' series." Lentor Modern is the third instalment of the series, following Martin Modern in Martin Place near Robertson Quay and Midtown Modern in the Beach Road-Bugis region. Lentor Modern is the third cooperation between GuocoLand and ADDP Architects in the Modern series, and the second collaboration between GuocoLand and Ortus Design, which was also engaged in Midtown Modern.

Lentor Modern is on an 186,000-square-foot, 99-year leasehold plot in front of a hillock that will become Lentor Hillock Park in the future. "While building Lentor Modern, we researched the area's history and discovered that the land was formerly part of Lentor Forest and had a stream," explains GuocoLand's Chng. Therefore, we requested the architect ADDP to design a structure that honours the site's heritage.

This resulted in the establishment of a series of more than 200-meter-long linked waterbodies on the fourth level of the development. There includes a leisure pool, a 50-meter lap pool, another 25-meter lap pool, as well as spa and jacuzzi pools. The amenities include a clubhouse with a business lounge, gaming room, and dance studio, as well as entertainment areas, pavilions, indoor and outdoor gyms, and a playground for children.

The canal is crossed by four bridges, according to Tang Kok Thye, associate partner of ADDP Architects. Sixty-six percent of the site's acreage is devoted to landscaping and infrastructure, and GuocoLand is incorporating more than one hundred plant species into the landscape.

Tang states, "We spent a great deal of time and effort improving the landscape and making it appear more natural and less manicured." Given the location of the site, the bark-like texture and deeper hue of the building's exterior were also created to reflect nature. For the protection of the birds, we avoided using too reflective glass. We are utilising railings instead of glass on the balconies for the same reason," he says.


A flex area that has been converted into an office for two (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Catering to hybrid employment

In addition to the fourth floor, each residential tower features facilities on the fourteenth story as well. The planted areas will have dining rooms for parties, work areas with natural ventilation, and an air-conditioned club lounge.

In addition to these work areas and the club lounge on the fourteenth floor, there are various pavilions on the fourth floor where residents can have private phone conversations, meetings, private tutoring lessons, or study groups. In addition to booths for hotdesking and meeting places, the clubhouse also features hotdesking stations and conference rooms.

"The landscaped spaces on the fourteenth floor are an extension of the residents' living rooms and are designed for people who prefer to work from home but do not wish to remain in their apartments," Chng explains.


Next to the master bedroom is a "flex room" that may be utilised as a nursery, study, walk-in closet, or sleeping loft. (Photograph: GuocoLand)

Residences with a 'flex room'

The 605 homes at Lentor Modern range in size from one to four bedrooms. The two- to four-bedroom flats have a "flex space" that may be utilised for a variety of purposes. It may function as a nursery, playroom, two-person study, walk-in closet, or even a tiny guest room. Cheng of GuocoLand explains, "This flex room is one of the ways we assist the adaptability of spaces, not just on a daily basis but also over time."

According to GuocoLand, prices for units at Lentor Modern will begin at $1,880 psf.

Only 10.4% of the residences at Lentor Modern are one-bedroom flats measuring 527 square feet and priced from $1.088 million ($2,065 per square foot). Two-bedroom units feature dumbbell floor plans and range in size from 678 to 732 square feet. They comprise 38.2% of the total units. The two-bedroom residences begin at $1,388,000,000 ($2,047 psf).

41% of the units in Lentor Modern are three-bedroom homes, and their square footage ranges from 969 to 1,130 square feet. Prices begin at $1,878,000 ($1,938 per square foot). At Lentor Modern, just 10.4% of the homes are huge four-bedroom condos measuring 1,528 square feet. Prices begin at $2,918,000,000 ($1,910 psf).

GuocoLand provides all flats with Smeg kitchen appliances. The standard bedrooms accommodate queen-sized beds, while the master bedroom accommodates king-sized beds.


Four-bedroom, 1,528 square foot display unit. These units account for just 10.4% of the total at Lentor Modern. (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

'Pole position' at Lentor

The Lentor Modern site is the most desirable in the new Lentor Hills development since it is the only one accessible to the MRT station, according to Lee Sze Teck, senior director of Huttons Asia (research). GuocoLand outbid eight competitors to secure the property in July 2021 with a bid of $784,1 million or $1,204 per square foot per plot ratio, respectively (psf ppr).

Cheng of GuocoLand explains, "When we acquire property, we always want to be in a prime location — we prefer to be in the heart of the action. You can see this at Guoco Tower in Tanjong Pagar, Guoco Midtown on Beach Road, and now at Lentor Modern."

Next next to Lentor Modern is the residential property Lentor Hills Road (Parcel A), which was obtained in January by a joint venture consisting of Hong Leong Holdings (40%), GuocoLand (30%), and TID (30%) with a bid of $586,600,000 ($1,060 psf ppr).

May saw the release of three additional Lentor Hills properties for sale under the government land sales (GLS) programme. The closing date for the land bids for Lentor Central and Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B) is September 13. Two more properties, a residential property in Lentor Gardens and another site in Lentor Central, are on the reserve list.


The URA has made six sites available under the Government Land Sales programme (Source: EdgeProp Landlens)

URA has released a total of six development plots in the Lentor Hills area to date, including the two sold sites. There are five additional sites in the queue for launch, increasing the total number of sites in the estate to eleven. "The Lentor Modern plot is the most attractive of the eleven plots," says Ken Low, managing partner of SRI. It also has the largest plot ratio, since other residential plots have just a plot ratio of 1.40. The Lentor Modern site is the second largest in the vicinity."

Low believes that Lentor Modern will revolutionise the Lentor region. "It will elevate the status of the neighbourhood," he argues. "As a result of GuocoLand's track record of redeveloping neighbourhoods, there is greater enthusiasm in the region now that they have moved in."

Tang of ADDP Architects concurs that the Len- tor Modern site is "the best" in the vicinity. Given the direction of the location, Lentor Modern overlooks the low-rise private housing subdivision. "Views are unobstructed above the fourth story," he says.


Lentor Modern will be connected to the Thomson-East Coast Line Lentor MRT station

Integration with the Thomson East Coast Line

With the completion of Lentor Modern anticipated for 2026, one year after the completion of Phases 4 and 5 of the Thomson-East Coast Line, all facilities will be in place, according to SRI's Low.

Lee from Huttons explains that the Lentor MRT station is connected to the Thomson-East Coast Line and the rest of the MRT network. "The Thomson East Coast Line has five interchanges, allowing passengers to transfer to all other MRT lines in Singapore. This will attract island inhabitants to areas like as Botanical Gardens, Orchard Road, and Marina Bay." Lee adds that there will be two other parks in the region in the future: Hillock Park and Linear Park.

In July, AMO Residence was the final big project in the Outside Central Region (OCR) to debut. Located on Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, 98% of the 372 units were purchased during the opening weekend. The average unit price was around $2,100 per square foot.

The release of Lentor Modern to the public is slated on September 17. Real estate professionals predict that the average launch price will fall between $2,200 and $2,300 per square foot.

Ismail Gafoor, the CEO of PropNex, says, "Given that Lentor Modern is an integrated development and that people are willing to pay a premium for the convenience of having an MRT station or shopping mall at their doorstep, it is anticipated that it will achieve a marginally higher average price than AMO Residence."

Lack of new construction of non-landed residential units in the OCR is also anticipated to contribute to robust sales. Gafoor anticipates that Lentor Modern will generate sales in excess of 70%, similar to those of Piccadilly Grand and Liv @ MB.