GUOCOLAND is expanding its multi-billion-dollar integrated development on Beach Road, Guoco Midtown, to include a second luxury residential project named Midtown Modern.

The condomininum will consist of two 30-storey towers with more than 500 apartments in a forest garden setting, as well as a retail podium, the mainboard-listed property developer announced in a press statement on Thursday.

It will have one-bedroom to four-bedroom units, and residents can enjoy “large green spaces and a wide range of recreational facilities not usually found in central business district projects”, GuocoLand added. More details will be released at a later date.

Its retail podium, named Midtown Square, will also be the third retail and food and beverage (F&B) cluster at the Guoco Midtown development.

Both the new condominium and podium will sit above the Bugis MRT station along Tan Quee Lan Street.

With the expansion, the combined site for Guoco Midtown now covers 1.5 million square feet (sq ft) of gross floor area spanning 3.2 hectares of prime land.

In all, the mega master development will comprise two condominiums, three retail clusters, a 30-storey office tower, a five-storey Network Hub building serving as a purpose-built business and social networking club, and over 20 concept gardens and public spaces.

GuocoLand opened the first condominium, Midtown Bay, last October. Prices at the 33-storey, 219-unit development started from S$1.38 million for a one-bedroom unit. 

As for the retail and F&B clusters, aside from the newly announced Midtown Square, the other two are Midtown Garden along Beach Road and Midtown Market, which sits behind the Old Beach Road Police Station building. Midtown Garden was previously named City Room, while Midtown Market used to be named Market Place.

The three low-rise clusters will each surround a public space, which will be “different in character and atmosphere, with distinctive retail and F&B offerings”, GuocoLand said. The developer plans to actively manage these public spaces by curating events and activities – such as fitness programmes, markets, concerts and performances – with community partners, similar to its management of Guoco Tower at Tanjong Pagar.

The Guoco Midtown mixed-use development is expected to be completed in phases between 2022 and 2024.

It is expected to bring an additional 10,000 office workers, residents and visitors into the district daily, according to GuocoLand.

GuocoLand Singapore group managing director Cheng Hsing Yao said the mega project will “serve as a demonstration of how cities of the future can be liveable and sustainable while engaging its occupants and the community”.

Guoco Midtown is led by GuocoLand with a group of investors: Hong Kong-listed Guoco Group, Hong Leong Holdings and Hong Realty.

Shares of GuocoLand closed at S$1.38 on Wednesday, down S$0.01 or 0.7 per cent.

Source: Business Times (click here)