Tall & Urban News

Chinese developer Kingsford Development opened Normanton Park’s 12,000 square feet (1,114 square meters) sales gallery for VIP preview on Jan 1, 2021, followed by a public preview. The project is scheduled for launch on Jan 16, 2021. As the first project to be launched in 2021, the 1,862-unit Normanton Park is also the biggest residential development since the 2,203-unit Treasure at Tampines was launched in March 2019.

“Normanton Park is the last of the big, privatized HUDC estates that were sold en bloc in 2017,” says Nicholas Mak, ERA Realty head of research. “It’s the only project of such a scale – with more than 1,000 units – to be launched in 2021.”

The "Normanton Park" name was retained “to pay homage to the rich history and heritage of the former condominium with the same name which was previously built as a home to military commanders and officers in 1977 on the same site," says a spokesman for Kingsford Development.

Construction of the 1,862-unit private residential development by Chinese construction and engineering firm, MCC Singapore, is already underway and scheduled for completion sometime in 2023. In Normanton’s sale license issued on 30 November 2020, URA’s Controller of Housing (COH) has stipulated that all units in the residential development are to complete the Quality Mark assessment before making an application to the Building and Construction Authority for the issue of the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP). “With that, Normanton Park will possibly be one of the largest residential developments in Singapore to achieve 100 percent Quality Mark certification,” says a Kingsford spokesman.

The sale license is a shot in the arm for Kingsford’s development company for Normanton Park, Kingsford Huray Development, which had been saddled with a no-sale license from COH since January 2019. Kingsford had swooped in to purchase the former Normanton Park en bloc for SGD$830.1 million (US$629 million) in October 2017. This was the first en bloc purchase by the privately-held Chinese property developer, which landed in Singapore in 2012.

Kingsford’s maiden residential development in Singapore was the 512-unit Kingsford Hillview Peak at Hillview Rise, followed by the 1,157-unit Kingsford Waterbay at Upper Serangoon View. Kingsford Hillview Peak was completed in 2017, followed by Kingsford Waterbay in Nov 2018. Both these projects were developed on 99-year leasehold sites purchased in government land sales.

Normanton Park sits on a 99-year leasehold site of 660,999 square feet (61,408 square meters) "the equivalent of nine football fields”, says Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia. The 1,862 residential units comprise 1,840 apartments and penthouses spanning nine, 24-story blocks and 22 strata-titled, terraced houses. The apartments range from one-bedroom to five-bedroom units as well as penthouses. Eight of the nine towers will have 207 units, with 184 units in the ninth tower.
 
Despite the scale of the residential project, the built-up area occupies a footprint of just 21 percent of the site. This frees up almost 80 percent of the site for landscaped greenery, water features and residents’ facilities.

There are also eight strata commercial units within the development, which Kingsford is also offering for sale. Seven are shop units and one is a restaurant unit. In addition to residents living in the development, the commercial units which are located near the main entrance of Normanton Park, are also open to the public.

Located in the city fringe area of District 5, Normanton Park is near two growth areas – the Greater Southern Waterfront and one-north, says Huttons’ Yip.

To jumpstart sales, Normanton Park will be offering 10 Mercedes-Benz A-Class 180 Hatchback Style cars as Lucky Draw prizes. The Lucky Draw is open to both homebuyers and marketing agents of the first 800 units sold, although eligibility conditions apply.

“Being the first new private residential project to be launched in 2021 will give Normanton Park a head-start in sales,” comments Cui Zhengfeng, shareholder of Kingsford Huray Development Pte Ltd in Chinese.

Kingsford has appointed the five biggest real estate agencies in Singapore for the marketing of Normanton Park, namely ERA Singapore, Huttons Asia, OrangeTee & Tie, PropNex and SRI. “We seek to create top-of-mind market presence for Normanton Park in the new launch market,” says Kingsford’s Cui. “As the Chinese saying goes, ‘The best plans are set in spring’.”

For more on this story, go to Edge Prop.