With 2 new Lentor sites launched, we review Lentor's development in relation to nearby primary schools

Last week, URA released two new residential sites at Lentor Hills Estate for sale under its 2H2022 Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme.

Lentor Gardens, a much larger site, is launched under the Confirmed List, while Lentor Central, will be under the Reserve List. Land parcels under the Reserve List will only be launched for tender upon successful application by developers.

For Lentor Gardens, the tender is open until noon April 4, 2023.

Like Lentor Modern (which had a successful launch several weeks back), the upcoming Lentor Hills Residences and the two recently awarded sites at Lentor Hills Road (Parcel B) and Lentor Central, the release of the 5th and 6th additional sites is a definite signal that the estate is primed to become a coveted residential area.

Among the developments, Lentor Modern will be integrated with the Lentor MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast line network.

Here’s a summary table of the two GLS sites.

Location	Lentor Gardens	Lentor Central
Launch type	Confirmed List	Reserve List
Site Area	21,866.7 sqm	14,703.2 sqm (1)
Land Use Zoning	Residential	Residential
Maximum Gross Floor Area (GFA)	45,921 sqm	41169 sqm
Maximum Building Height (2)	Low-rise zone: 8 storeys Mid-rise zone: 16 storeys Technical height: 120m SHD	Low-rise zone: 5 storeys High-rise zone: up to the maximum technical height control of 120m SHD Technical height: 120m SHD
Estimated Number of Housing Units (3)	530 units	475 units
Lease Period	99 years	99 years
Tender close	12 noon 4 April 2023	–
(1) Subject to cadastral survey
(2) SHD – Singapore Height Datum
(3) Actual number of housing units proposed by developer may vary

Mid-rise zone: 16 storeys

Technical height: 120m SHD

High-rise zone: up to the maximum technical height control of 120m SHD

Technical height: 120m SHD

The location of these two sites relative to the other four existing Lentor sites (launched, in development) is what we’ll be analysing, particularly in relation to primary schools.

If you recall, in October 2021, when we covered the new home-school distance rules, one of the popular schools we featured was the all-girls CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ Primary.

At the time, we looked at developments within 1km and 2km of that primary school’s new home-school distance zones.

In summary, the closer your home is to a particular primary school (differentiated by zones), the higher the priority you get in having your child admitted if it comes down to a ballot.

Anyway, when that article was published, the Lentor Hills Road – Parcel A tender was ongoing, and Parcel B was on the Reserve List.

Parcel A was eventually awarded to Intrepid Investments, Guocoland and TID Residential, leading to the planned launch development of Lentor Hills Residences.

Some months later, Parcel B was launched for tender, and the 10,819 sqm site was awarded to TID Residential for S$276m.

Lentor Central (opposite Lentor Modern) was also launched for tender, and the 13,444.3 sqm site was awarded to Forsea Residence, Soilbuild Group and UED Alpha for S$481m.

Which Lentor Hills Estate land parcels are within 1km of CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ Primary

Fast forward to today’s upcoming tender, and we have the following:

The map above is an overlay of URA’s six Lentor land parcels and OneMap’s 1km and 2km home-school distance boundary from CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ Primary.

The red-coloured properties are within the 1km zone, the blues are within the 2km zone.

Based on the overlay above, it looks like the upcoming Lentor Gardens tender site (pinned orange site) will be within 1km of the primary school.

It also looks like parts of Lentor Hills Residences, and all of Lentor Hills – Parcel B (TID Residential) are within the 1km zone.

If you intend to purchase a property in any of these developments at launch and you have plans to send your daughter to CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ Primary (with the prospects that you’ll need to ballot in Phase 2C), it might be beneficial to review which blocks fulfil your criteria.

Better yet, if the postal code is available and OneMap recognises it, you can verify if they fall within the 1km or 2km zone. This usually applies more to completed developments rather than those under construction.

Which Lentor Hills Estate land parcels are within 1km of Anderson Primary

For residents considering primary school admission of their children into Anderson Primary co-ed school, located to the east of the estate, the overlaid map below shows where the school’s 1km (red) and 2km (blue) zones are.

Based on the map, it looks like most of the land parcels within Lentor Hills Estate are within Anderson Primary’s 1km zone, with the exception of parts of Lentor Central to the north, which is currently on the Reserve List of the GLS programme.

Which Lentor Hills Estate land parcels are within 1km of Mayflower Primary

Finally, a third primary school, Mayflower Primary, is located at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and underwent upgrading last year. The overlaid map below shows where the 1km (red) and 2km (blue) zones are within Lentor Hills Estate.

There may still be a small chance that part of Lentor Hills – Parcel B (the development awarded to TID Residential) is within the 1km zone of Mayflower Primary school.

Still, under this circumstance, it is always better to select a unit closer to the zone’s epicentre if you’re someone who can’t take any chances. The alternative is naturally to pick a different school.

The rest of Lentor Hills Estate will fall under the Mayflower Primary School’s 2km zone.

Of course, the above analysis is more for young parents planning to purchase a property in Lentor Hills Estate and eye admission into specific primary schools (and considering their ballot chances) in the neighbourhood.

We should point out that the next bumper Primary One admission registration for Dragon Babies (basically six years after the year babies are born in the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Dragon) will be 2030. That’s when primary school admission registration should be at its hottest.

As most of the developments at Lentor Hills Estate are completed by then, expect fierce competition for primary school admissions among residents in the neighbourhood.

If proximity to primary schools is not a concern for you and your family, it doesn’t really matter. Or does it?

It is always prudent to know which zone your property’s block (postal code) falls under relative to a popular school if you have plans to resell your apartment in the future. This is because your prospective buyer may be a young family with plans to send their child to a nearby school.

Also, there are many other secondary and tertiary institutions in the vicinity – such as Nanyang Polytechnic, Presbyterian High School, Yio Chu Kang Secondary and many more.

Keep a lookout for new launches in the Lentor Hills Estate, and here’s hoping you choose the right apartment in a favourable block when the time comes.

This article was first published in 99.co.