Upcoming Plans for Guoco Midtown Modern
Guoco Midtown, the new integrated development at Beach Road by GuocoLand, has announced an extension, that will see another condominium added to the project.
This condo, to be called Midtown Modern, will be part of the second phase of the development, Guoco Midtown II.
Guoco Midtown II will occupy the GLS (Government Land Sale) site at Tan Quee Lan Street that GuocoLand along with two Hong Leong subsidiaries clinched with a winning bid of SGD$800.2 million in September 2019.
The Midtown Modern condo will comprise two 30-storey blocks housing more than 500 residential apartments. Alongside its retail component, Midtown Square, it will sit just above Bugis interchange MRT station at Tan Quee Lan Street.
Altogether, Midtown Modern, and the 33 storey high Midtown Bay condominium, will contribute over 700 luxury homes to the housing stock in the Bugis / Beach Road area.
Midtown Bay launched for sale in October 2019. According to GuocoLand, around 30% out of the 219 one to three-bedroom units in this project have been sold, at prices of between SGD$1.3 million to $3.8 million.
Details of the Midtown Modern launch will only be unveiled at a later date, possibly in early 2020. This could bring it in direct competition with the launch of One Bernam, another mixed-use development in the central business district (CBD), near Tanjong Pagar.
Interestingly, the land costs of both One Bernam and Midtown Modern are very similar, with One Bernam being just slightly cheaper by $70 PSF. Midtown Modern has the advantage of being directly connected to Bugis MRT interchange station, and part of the Guoco Midtown complex, but One Bernam is more centrally located, in an established financial district.
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About Guoco Midtown
Guoco Midtown is the largest development under construction in the CBD. It is a multi-billion dollar project that will include three retail clusters, a 30-storey office block offering 770,000 square feet of premium Grade A office space, and a Network Hub. This is an 80,000 square feet members-only social cum business club that comprises networking lounges, private office suites, and conference / meeting facilities.
Mr Cheng Hsing Yao, managing director for GuocoLand Singapore, explained that, “Guoco Midtown was conceived with a vision of how people will work, live and play in the future. Part of that future has arrived much sooner.”
He highlighted that the development of Guoco Midtown is meant to serve as a blueprint for a post-pandemic environment.
“Work from home is not a new phenomenon, but a phenomenon that was gaining strength prior to Covid-19,” observed Mr Cheng.
He went on to say, “When we conceived Guoco Midtown, we were already looking at this emerging trend, and the blurring of lines between live, work and play, which means office spaces also need to incorporate the recreation element.”
Mr Cheng added that, “This is not going to be the last shock to the economy. We have to focus on creating a product that will be future-ready.”
However he remains optimistic about the need for offices. As he noted, “Most companies will likely make work from home part of their strategy, but it doesn’t mean companies don’t need offices any more…. The function of the office will shift from a place where people report to work, to a place where people go to collaborate, generate new ideas, new services, new products.”
Guoco Midtown is scheduled to be completed in phases, between 2022 to 2024. GuocoLand has made some adjustments to the development, albeit minor ones, in view of the pandemic. As such, Guoco Midtown’s “core and flex” concept, which offers both shorter-term offices and dedicated long-term office space, can provide companies more cost savings and flexibility.
For related story, see report of interview with GuocoLand Managing Director Mr Cheng.
Source: The Straits Times . 20 August 2020
