Springleaf Vs Faber Walk: Which Future GLS Residential Site Has More Potential?

The most common question I’m asked is how to find a good property. While comparing prices and projects is the first thing that comes to mind, a simple (and free!) way to do this is to simply look ahead. If you can get interested in the property market a few years before buying, you can already spot potential sites to watch for during land sales. Based on developer interest and early market excitement, this can “mark” future properties to watch for. A good example of this is the Springleaf and Faber Walk GLS sites, which already draw a lot of interest. Today, I’m going to dig into both sites and give a bit of history; and we can try to figure out which site will interest which types of buyers in the future:

The Springleaf GLS site

This is the Springleaf (Upper Thomson) site. This is a 2.44 ha site (Parcel A), and I’m sure the first thing you notice is that it’s right next to the MRT station! It’s across the road from Springleaf MRT on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). 

The planned condo here, Springleaf Residence, will also be the first high-rise residence in the area: there will be five towers, each of which are 25 storeys. It is also close to mega-development size at 941 units; just a bit short of 1,000 units. 

Springleaf is two train stops from Woodlands. I know that doesn’t sound as exciting as being next to Orchard or Jurong East or some other hub, but Woodlands is going to be the regional centre of the north. So in the future when it’s more developed, this connection will be more valuable. Also, even though Woodlands is a fringe area, drivers here are near the SLE and the upcoming North-South Corridor, so connectivity is stronger than it looks on the map. 

Anyway, this part of Upper Thomson is well known for being a very chill “green pocket,” because of the nearby Central Catchment and Upper Seletar Reservoir Park. 

I think a lot of people have failed to notice how much this area is changing, by the way. 

10 years ago, if you had told someone there would be a 941-unit condo here, they would have asked if you’re feeling alright. In those days, there was no Springleaf MRT station. In fact, you had to take a bus from Yishun or Upper Thomson and then walk, and this part of Upper Thomson Road didn’t even have a proper pavement. You would only come here because it’s an entry point to lesser-known trails like those in the Thomson Nature Park (which only officially opened years later, but was already well-known by hikers long ago). 

Locals will remember that Springleaf was best known for its prata. And yes, this is where the famous Springleaf Prata came from originally. It was along the kind of stretch where you see a few shophouses, some old bungalows, and not much else. 

(If you happen to know whether the original prata restaurant is still here, please comment and let me know.)

Faber Walk 

This parcel is 2.5 ha and is in a landed housing zone, near Pandan Gardens. This GLS site is not within walking distance of an MRT as of now; the nearest MRT is Clementi (EWL), and you’ll need to take a bus to get there. This is quite a normal drawback of being in a landed area though; most owners of landed homes drive, and prefer the quiet of being further from the MRT. 

One major selling point here is the proximity to Nan Hua Primary, which is within one kilometre; I’m sure parents will be quite eager to secure priority enrolment with this address, as Nan Hua is a highly regarded school.

There will be a closer MRT in future though. Pandan Reservoir station, on the Jurong Region Line (JRL), is expected to open in 2027 or 2028. It’s likely to be around one kilometre from the general site, but whether it’s a comfortable walking distance, we’ll have to see when the time comes. 

Hopefully it’s within walking distance because once the JRL is up, you can hop on a train to Jurong East, and interchange to the North-South and East-West Lines easily. 

For now, connectivity at Faber relies on roads. It is right next to the AYE, so driving to NUS, One-North, or Jurong Lake District is fairly fast; I estimate somewhere around 10 minutes if traffic is not too bad. 

This area used to be called “the other side of Clementi,” and it was just as ulu as the Springleaf site

While Clementi was modernising with condos and new flats, Faber Walk was the ignored portion of it for a long time. This was the side of Clementi you drove past on the way to West Coast Road, wondering whether you took a wrong turn. If you were a student from NUS or Singapore Poly, you might have passed through Faber on a jog or when cycling now and then; but other than that, this was an obscure residential niche.

There were a lot of semi-detached houses and walk-up apartments, and for many years, this area seemed to ignore our condo boom. There were no malls, no MRT lines, no big hawker centres. Just peace, trees, and very very loud crickets (so watch out if you buy a landed house here). 

Interest in the sites so far

Developer interest in the Faber Walk GLS site was reasonably strong, reflecting confidence in fundamentals. When the site tender closed in November 2024, it received three bids, with the top bid from a GuocoLand-TID consortium at $350 million, or around $900 psf ppr. The nine per cent gap between the top and second bid suggests reasonable optimism, and I feel they intend to position the project as a premium, family-focused offering. The bidding behaviour reflects Clementi’s need for new private homes – especially within greener, lower density areas.

By contrast, Springleaf’s journey through the GLS process has been slower. This is because the original Parcel A site launched with a requirement to include 100 long-stay serviced apartments alongside the residential units; developers don’t seem to be very interested in this model right now, so it received no bids when its tender closed in mid-2024. 

However, URA later refined the concept and launched Parcel B, just next door, with more conventional requirements; so this time it attracted a successful bid from a GuocoLand-led joint venture. That site will now be developed as Springleaf Residence, which will likely attract nature lovers who still like MRT convenience. 

Future development and growth potential for Faber Walk 

Faber’s prospects are tied to Jurong, which is intended to be the “second CBD” of Singapore. Besides the obvious benefit of being near Jurong East, which is already a hub, Jurong Lake District (JLD) will see a surge of offices, entertainment, hotels, and residences; probably ongoing over the next 10 to 15 years. 

For Faber Walk-area residents, this means a lot of future upside potential: more job and rental prospects nearby, more shopping/dining options (beyond the already plentiful Jurong East malls), and a general uplift in property values.

On the infrastructure front, the Jurong Region Line will also be a game changer. By late-2020s, Pandan Reservoir station will link residents to Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Jurong Industrial Estate, and Jurong Innovation District. 

Imagine being able to get to Jurong West or Boon Lay by train without needing to interchange at all: a big plus for those working or studying out west. Furthermore, the Cross Island Line (CRL) will pass through Clementi in the 2030s, likely with a station near West Coast or Clementi itself. And let’s not forget the smaller improvements: new parks and trails in Clementi. The Rail Corridor is running just north of Faber, for example.

In summary, Faber Walk is ulu for now, but it’s sitting on the brink of major new growth nodes (Jurong Lake District, One-North, etc.). It’s the classic case of a sleepy corner today that could be a hot address tomorrow.

Future development and growth potential for Springleaf

I think Springleaf has potential as Singapore’s next “green” residential enclave. According to URA plans, about 33 hectares of Springleaf’s forested area will be developed into a mixed-use residential precinct, yielding roughly 2,000 new homes. This doesn’t mean cutting down the forest by the way, but balancing the local ecology with the upcoming construction (you can see the URA plans here).

As part of the master plan, we can see there are a number of other plots not yet developed in this area; so there’s a lot of room for future growth. But URA has also said there will be a “buffer zone” for future development, so the greenery will be preserved. 

Possibly, Springleaf might also see more demand from people working in Woodlands but seeking a more “atas” private housing option than Woodlands itself. 

Springleaf’s location is also nicely within the Woodlands Regional Centre and the future North Coast Innovation Corridor; so I can definitely foresee this area booming in the future; and being close to the RTS link to Johor might help (fingers crossed it really happens this time!)

Overall, Springleaf’s growth potential is quite unique: it won’t turn into another dense town center, but rather a niche enclave for nature-loving residents, with just enough urban convenience (thanks to TEL and some mixed-use elements.) If URA’s vision pans out, in just five to 10 years Springleaf could be akin to a mini-Bukit Timah of the north: green, affluent, and exclusive.

So which sites are better? It depends on what sort of home buyer you are

If you’re a family with school-age children, especially those targeting a famous primary school like Nan Hua, the Faber Walk site is the clear winner. 

Its location is within one kilometre of Nan Hua Primary, and Clementi is an established educational belt. Future access to the Jurong Region Line also makes it ideal for long-term family living. HDB upgraders and west-side dwellers will also find Faber attractive: it’s a low-rise enclave with privacy, yet not far from JLD and Jurong East. It’s a grounded, practical choice for these buyers. 

In contrast, Springleaf suits buyers seeking a retreat-like environment with great MRT access, but who are less concerned with school proximity or immediate urban convenience. 

In my mind, I envision nature lovers, empty-nesters, or those with Work From Home arrangements. It also has room for long-term investors, counting on the area’s transformation into a green urban-fringe enclave. 

Both are good in their own right, but for different reasons and different buyers.