URA awards Lentor Central GLS site to GuocoLand

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday said it awarded the tender for Lentor Central site to GLL D Pte Ltd. This comes nearly a week after the tender closed with nine bids.

GLL D, an indirect subsidiary of GuocoLand, submitted the highest bid in the tender for the site - S$784.1 million or S$1,204 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) - a bid that surpassed the expectations of property consultants polled by The Business Times before the tender closed.

The 99-year plot is 17,279.9 square metres (sq m) in size and has a maximum gross floor area of 60,480 sq m. It is designated for a private housing development with commercial space on the first storey. The site sits next to the upcoming Lentor MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

URA first launched the tender for the site on April 15. The tender closed on July 22.

The bid by GuocoLand, part of Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan's Hong Leong Group of Malaysia, was 4.5 per cent higher than the second-highest bid of S$1,152 psf ppr, from a tie-up comprising Intrepid Investments, Hong Realty and TID Residential. The trio are part of the Hong Leong Group Singapore, helmed by Mr Quek's Singaporean cousin Kwek Leng Beng.

GuocoLand's proposed scheme for the Lentor Central plot envisions a mixed-use, transit-oriented development of 25 storeys with around 600 residences. There will also be food-and-beverage and retail spaces, including a supermarket and more than 10,000 square feet for childcare facilities.