Property Herald: Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A) GLS Site Launched for Sale

Introduction

The Singapore government launched a private non-landed residential site located at Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A) for sale by tender on 24 June 2025 as part of the Government Land Sale (GLS) programme.

Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A) site description

With a site area of about 24,422 sqm and a Gross Plot Ratio (GPR) of 2.2 times, the GLS site, Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A) is estimated to be able to yield about 595 apartment units. The site is zoned for residential development with commercial space on the first storey.

Strengths

One of the strengths of this site is that there would be commercial space of around 2,000 sqm on the ground floor. The space is likely to be used for F&B outlets, a supermarket, and shops to cater to the needs of the future residents and that of the surrounding developments. Such retail space would provide retail amenities that could enhance the attractiveness of the residential properties to homebuyers.  

One of the most attractive aspects of the subject site is its direct connection to the Springleaf MRT station. The site is located next to the MRT station. One of the entrances to the station would be connected to the future development on the subject site. The proximity to the MRT station allows future residents to commute to the rest of Singapore, but to key nodes such as City Hall and Raffles Place MRT station which are part of the Central Business District (CBD).

In addition, the future residents on this development would not have to travel far for dining options, as there are restaurants, cafes and eateries are located just across the road from the subject site. Once the commercial space on the site is open for operation, there will be more dining options. 

Shortcomings 

One of the shortcomings of the subject site is the current lack of a big supermarket or wet market nearby. However, there are some shophouses in the Springleaf area. The closest Sheng Siong supermarket is 2.8 km away from the subject site and is located near the Khatib MRT station.

Some property developers were wary of bidding for this site when it was previously offered for sale. There were also no bids from developers in the previous GLS tender for this site mainly because it was mandatory for the developer to build and operate long-stay service apartments as part of the project on this site.

The latest GLS site launched in the area, Upper Thomson Road (Parcel B), which closed on the 4 April 2024, only received a single bid for the site, reflecting the cautious sentiments among developers.

Expected reactions from developers 

The latest private residential project in the area is The Essence which was launched in March 2019. The project is located about 650 metres away from the subject site and is further away from Springleaf MRT station. The GLS site Upper Thomson (Parcel B) located just beside the subject site was also awarded just last year in 2024. Since the authorities have removed the mandatory requirement to develop and operate the long-stay service apartments for the Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A) site in view of market feedback, the current tender for this site is expected to garner more interest from developers.

The 99-year leasehold condominium projects launched in the area range from $2,000 psf to $2,400 psf as shown in the table below.

Table 1: Springleaf area comparable projects in the past 12 months

Name of Project	Street Name	Completion Date	Median Price ($psf)
Lentor Mansion	Lentor Gardens	Uncompleted	$2,349
Hilock Green	Lentor Central	Uncompleted	$2,231
Lentoria	Lentor Hills Road	Uncompleted	$2,226
Lentor Modern	Lentor Central	Uncompleted	$2,218
Lentor Central Residences	Lentor Central	Uncompleted	$2,214
Lentor Hill Residences	Lentor Hills Road	Uncompleted	$2,168
Norwood Grand	Champions Way	Uncompleted	$2,079

Source : MOGUL.sg Research, URA

Note : All projects are 99-year leasehold, transactions from 2024 June - 2025 June