Normanton Park in Kent Ridge to open for preview after no-sale ban dropped

ALMOST two years after its developer was slapped with a no-sale licence, the Normanton Park private residential project can now proceed to market.

However, there are several conditions tied to the sale of its units, to protect the interests of homebuyers.

The development, situated in District 5 and next to Kent Ridge Park, will open for public preview on Jan 2, 2021, said Kingsford Huray Development in a press statement on Thursday.

Normanton Park will likely be the largest project launch next year, going by its total of 1,862 residential units, which are equipped with smart-home features, the Chinese property developer added.

It is expected to obtain its temporary occupation permit (TOP) in 2023.

Kingsford was issued a no-sale licence in January 2019 for the project, which prohibited it from selling units before obtaining the TOP although it could still begin construction.

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That came after the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) found that some building works such as windows and barriers at the company's earlier project - Kingsford Waterbay along Upper Serangoon View - had deviated from regulatory requirements. Angry residents there reportedly took the Chinese firm to task over poor construction work.

Feedback received from buyers of another condominium, Kingsford Hillview Peak near the Hillview MRT station, was also taken into consideration at the time, The Business Times (BT) reported.

Kingsford Waterbay was ordered to stop building works in December 2017, and that was lifted only after rectification works were completed. Separately, the property developer was fined S$130,000 in July 2017 for repeated safety lapses at the work site for the Hillview Peak project.

The no-sale ban was lifted on Nov 30 for Normanton Park, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) website. A sales licence was issued instead.

A URA spokesperson told BT on Thursday that in issuing the sales licence for the project, the Controller of Housing had taken into consideration the fact that Kingsford had completed the Waterbay project "satisfactorily" with the certificate of statutory completion (CSC) and titles issued.

The Hillview Peak condominium also received its CSC and titles, and the developer "has also taken steps to resolve the issues previously raised by the homebuyers", URA added.

For Normanton Park, one of the sale-licence conditions imposed is that all its units must pass the BCA's Quality Mark assessment before Kingsford can apply for a TOP.

Kingsford noted in its statement on Thursday that Normanton Park will seek to obtain the Quality Mark certification, which measures the quality of workmanship in every dwelling unit of a newly completed private residential project, after which it may become one of the largest residential developments in the country to achieve this for all its units.

URA told BT last year that in general, such a requirement is "so that homebuyers can be assured that their housing units are constructed and finished to a reasonable standard of quality".

Normanton Park has 1,840 one to five-bedroom units and penthouses across nine 24-storey towers encircling swimming pools. Of the one and two-bedroom units, 230 include a study.

On the ground floor are 22 two-storey strata terraces with direct adjoining pool access and a private parking lot each.

In addition, there are eight commercial units, comprising seven shops each spanning 43-44 square metres (sq m) and one restaurant with a size of 104 sq m.

The indicative prices begin in excess of S$700,000 for the condominium one-bedroom apartments, S$1 million for the two-bedroom units, about S$1.5 million for the three-bedroom units and S$2 million for the four-bedroom units.

The five-bedroom apartments' indicative prices range from nearly S$2.8 million to S$3.2 million.

The strata terrace houses carry indicative price tags starting from around S$3.4 million, while the commercial units are priced from S$2 million onwards.

Kingsford said the development has about 110 lifestyle facilities providing a wide range of recreation and relaxation options.

It is near the Southern Ridges green corridor, which includes Kent Ridge Park, HortPark and Mount Faber Park.

Also in close proximity to Normanton Park are business centres such as Singapore Science Park 1 and 2, Mapletree Business City, Fusionopolis, Biopolis and Mediapolis.

The five marketing agencies for the mega project are ERA Singapore, Huttons Asia, OrangeTee & Tie, PropNex and SRI.

The sales gallery and show suites are located at 1 Normanton Park. Visits are by appointment only.

Kingsford is owned by Chinese-citizen-turned-Singaporean Cui Zhengfeng. The company bought the Normanton Park site in October 2017 for S$830.1 million, in one of Singapore's biggest en bloc purchases at the time.