CDL vs Sim Lian at Woodlands Drive 17: Plot 1 (Wynwood Grand) vs Plot 2

Search “Woodlands Drive 17 EC” and you will find two different projects answering to the same street name. HDB released two adjacent Executive Condominium parcels along Woodlands Drive 17 in the Woodlands South precinct of District 25, and awarded them to two different developers roughly five months apart. Plot 1 went to CDL Divine Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of City Developments Limited, and has since been named Wynwood Grand. Plot 2 went to Sim Lian Group and, as at October 2026, has no confirmed project name.

Both parcels share the same headline location story: Woodlands South MRT (TE3) on the Thomson-East Coast Line within a short walk, Woodlands Health Campus and the 1.5 ha Healing Garden beside them, and Singapore Sports School and Christ Church Secondary as immediate neighbours. Both were tendered before the 8 May 2026 policy change, so both keep the earlier EC framework. Beyond those shared facts, they are separate developments with different site envelopes, different land costs, different developers and different launch windows. This article is written by the Wynwood Grand sales team, not by either developer, so where a fact comes from the tender record we say so and where it is an estimate we label it.

Plot 1 was launched under the 1H2025 Government Land Sales Confirmed List on 8 April 2025, closed on 5 August 2025 with five bids, and was awarded to CDL Divine on 26 August 2025. The winning bid of S$360,899,000 worked out to S$782.41 psf per plot ratio, at the time the highest land rate ever paid for an EC site. The margin was remarkably thin: Sim Lian’s second-placed bid of S$360,280,000 (S$781.07 psf ppr) trailed by about S$619,000, or 0.17%.

Sim Lian did not have to wait long for a second chance. Plot 2 was awarded in January 2026 at S$396.9 million, or about S$794 psf ppr, which set a new EC land record and surpassed CDL’s figure by roughly S$12 psf ppr. So two developers that bid within a dollar of each other on the first parcel now hold neighbouring sites, with Sim Lian paying slightly more per buildable square foot for the larger, denser plot.

The sequence matters for buyers in one practical way. Because Plot 1 was awarded first, CDL is roughly five months ahead in design, approvals and showflat preparation. That lead translates into Wynwood Grand reaching the market first, with Plot 2 following in 2027 per published estimates.

The table below gathers the published particulars for both parcels in one place. Figures for Plot 1 come from HDB tender documents and the 26 August 2025 award. Figures for Plot 2 come from the January 2026 award and subsequent industry reports; the unit count in particular is an estimate that ranges from about 480 to 560 depending on the source, and it will only be fixed when Sim Lian files its plans.

CDL is the Hong Leong Group’s SGX-listed flagship, founded in 1963, and has built several ECs: Blossom Residences, Piermont Grand, Copen Grand and Lumina Grand. Copen Grand in Tengah (639 units, with MCL Land) sold out at an average of about S$1,337 psf. Lumina Grand in Bukit Batok (512 units) sold 53% on launch weekend in January 2024 at S$1,464 psf and has since sold out. CDL also developed Norwood Grand, the private condominium at Champions Way nearby, which is the closest recent private benchmark in Woodlands.

Sim Lian is an established EC developer in its own right, and its most recent launch is the strongest data point in the current market. Rivelle Tampines (572 units) launched in March 2026 at a record average of S$1,893 psf, sold 92.5% over its launch weekend and was fully sold within a month, the best EC launch result since 2017. Sim Lian also bid on Plot 1 and missed by 0.17%, so it clearly wanted this location.

The fair reading is that both parcels are in experienced hands. CDL brings a longer EC list and a nearby private project; Sim Lian brings the freshest sell-out and a demonstrated willingness to pay for Woodlands Drive 17. Neither track record is a reason to dismiss the other project.

Land cost is the largest single input into an EC’s selling price. At S$794 psf ppr against S$782.41, Sim Lian’s land cost is about 1.5% higher per buildable square foot. On its own that is a small gap, and construction costs, financing and the market on launch day matter at least as much. What it does suggest is that Plot 2 is unlikely to be priced meaningfully below Wynwood Grand on a like-for-like basis; a developer that paid a record land rate has little room to undercut its neighbour.

The second factor is time. Analysts currently project Wynwood Grand at roughly S$1,750–2,000 psf, with Knight Frank at the upper end. Recent EC launches have stepped up with each cycle: Aurelle of Tampines at S$1,766 in March 2025, Otto Place at S$1,700 in July 2025, Coastal Cabana at S$1,734 in January 2026, then Rivelle Tampines at S$1,893 in March 2026. If that trend continues, a launch in mid-2027 could face higher input costs and a higher benchmark than one in late 2026, though nobody can promise the direction of the market.

The third factor is density. Plot 1’s 1.7 plot ratio is low for a recent EC site, against 2.1 on Plot 2, 2.5 at Rivelle Tampines and 3.0 at Senja Close. Lower density generally means more ground-level space per unit and wider block spacing; it does not make apartments larger or cheaper per square foot. Buyers who value a less dense site may prefer Plot 1, while buyers who want a bigger pool of units to choose from may wait for Plot 2.

Because both projects sell under the same eligibility rules, the same S$16,000 income ceiling and the same 5-year MOP, the choice is not about which one you qualify for. It is about timing and fit. Here is the sequence we suggest to buyers who are considering both.

• Confirm eligibility once. The checks are identical for both plots, so get your HFE letter and property-history position settled before either preview.
• Attend the Wynwood Grand preview when it opens (expected late 2026 / early 2027, TBC by CDL). It is the first chance to see actual unit sizes, the site plan and the indicative price list for this location.
• Benchmark, do not guess. Use Wynwood Grand’s released pricing as the reference point for what Plot 2 might cost; by then Sim Lian’s own particulars should also be clearer.
• Weigh density against choice. A 1.7 plot ratio on ~420 units versus 2.1 on ~480–560 units is the clearest physical difference between the two.
• Decide with a deadline. Old-rule ECs are limited to five awarded sites; both Woodlands Drive 17 plots are among them, and waiting for the second does not add any policy advantage.