12,000 visitors throng Normanton Park showroom despite monsoon deluge

Singapore

NORMANTON Park, probably the last mega project to be launched for a while, saw a heavy turnout during its 13-day preview.

The public preview for the 1,862-unit, 99-year leasehold project was from Jan 2 to 14, and it saw "huge turnout despite the heavy rain over the past two weekends," said Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia research director. The current monsoon surge has led to heavy rainfall since the year began, and Jan 2 saw rainfall that was among the heaviest in 39 years.

"During this period, the Normanton Park show gallery recorded a total number of about 12,000 visitors, or 4,000 groups of visitors," a Normanton Park spokesperson told The Business Times (BT).

Preview was by appointment only, and weekends registered more visitors than weekdays.

"The 12,000 visitors doesn't mean 12,000 prospective buyers, because some visitors are just accompanying the prospective buyers," said the spokesperson.

"The profile of these visitors span upgraders, property investors, as well as prospective homebuyers currently living in the nearby residential estates and/or working in the nearby educational or business hubs," he said.

In District 5, Normanton Park, is by far the most extensive city fringe development in Singapore.

Prices on a per square foot (psf) basis for a one-bedroom unit range from S$1,445 psf to S$1,672 psf. For the one-bedroom unit that ranges from 45-65 square metres (sq m), this translates to a price tag of S$700,000 to S$1.17 million. For the five-bedroom units, which range from 150-167 sq m, indicative prices start from S$2.79 million.

Normanton Park has 1,840 one to five-bedroom units and penthouses across nine 24-storey towers encircling swimming pools.

On the ground floor are 22 two-storey, 196 sq m strata terraces with direct adjoining pool access and a private parking lot each.

They carry indicative price tags starting from S$3.42 million.

In addition, there are eight commercial units: seven 43-44 sq m shops and one 104 sq m restaurant.

Balloting will be conducted on Friday (Jan 15), and bookings on Saturday (Jan 16).

Next to Kent Ridge Park, the development comes with smart-home features.

The developer, Kingsford Huray Development, is a Chinese firm.

Normanton Park 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.

That came after the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) found that some building works such as windows and barriers at the company's other 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, BT reported.

Kingsford Waterbay was ordered to stop building works in December 2017, and that was lifted after rectification works were done.

Separately, the developer was fined S$130,000 in July 2017 for repeated safety lapses at the Hillview Peak work site.

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