[New Launch] NORMANTON PARK: Another HUGE Project Comes Alive...At Last!
However, that excitement generally faded as the developer, Chinese firm Kingsford Huray was hit with a "no-sale" licence in 2019 - meaning it was barred by the COH (Controller of Housing) from selling any units - thanks to its dodgy record [read about it here].
Fast forward to end-2020 and Normanton Park's mammoth supply of 1862 units have apparently been granted permission by the Controller of Housing (COH) for sale.
The project will formally be launched on 16 January 2021, becoming the second-largest condominium project ever in Singapore - and the first iconic project to be launched since D'leedon back in 2010.
So What Can We Expect?
1840 residential units housed in 9 tower blocks, 24-storeys each
A mix of 1-bedroom to 5-bedroom unit types
22 "villas"(terrace houses)
8 commercial outlets
Over 100 facilities & recreational features
Unique, unobstructed Sea+Park Views for south facing units
Scale model of the Normanton Park project - on display in the site's glitzy, lavishly decked-out showroom [Photo: UppMarketSG]
From what we know so far, prices at launch are expected to be in the region of $1650-1900psf. This puts the smallest 1-bedroom units into a very affordable range, below $850,000.
Buyers will not need to wait long to get the keys to their apartments since TOP is expected in early 2023 - just 2 years away.
Development Factsheet:
The Site & Facilities
The thing I've loved about the old Normanton Park was the fact that its surrounded by greenery and the hills of Kent Ridge.
The view from Kent Ridge Park Pond - a lovely sight, not often found in Singapore
Aside from the noisy Ayer Rajah Expressway on its North edge, the inner parts of the land plot should provide for a rather serene environment given the absence of any other major roads in the area.
Given the sheer size of the project, its hardly surprising that there are that many features and facilities. The site plan presents itself almost like the map of a theme park which looks fun enough to explore.
Most of the facilities are drawn into the heart of the site, surrounded by the 9 tower blocks.
A row of 16 “villas”... which are essentially strata-terrace houses...have been smartly placed along one edge of the central facilities. The positioning of the villas allows for some breathing space between the towers which is ideal for airflow and good views.
What I Like
The huge 150 metre pool linked to the family & kids’ pool forming a huge lagoon
I’m the sort of guy that loves lazing in the pool to de-stress. I’ve recently bought one of those gigantic unicorn floats and I can picture myself lazing on it while floating around the huge lagoon for an hour. Getting roasted by the sun in the process may not sound great, but well...
The Units
The units spread across the 9 towers are classified according to facing:
Science Park View
City View
Swimming Pool/Landscape View
Sea View & Park View
Units come in 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom sizes.
Their layouts are quite ordinary and squarish without odd corners or useless PES spaces. While some buyers may say the extended doorway (visible in the 1BR & 2BR floor plans below) is "wasted space", I personally find that having that space, rather than having the main door open right into the kitchen, makes plenty of positive difference.
Here are a few floor plans to satisfy your curiosity:
Normanton Park’s Villas are also quite special - if you compare them to the likes of strata-landed house (or “cluster houses”) in other projects like Woodhaven, euHabitat or SeaHill (just to name a few). Very often you’ll find these houses packed like sardines, facing one another or facing the back of tower block barely a few metres away.
Left: Strata-landed terraces in euHabitat Condo - clustered close together indeed | Right: Strata-landed terraces in Woodhaven with frontages facing one another separated by a narrow swimming pool [Photo: UppMarketSG]
In Normanton Park, these houses - called ”Villas” - deliver a more typical landed house feel, with unblocked frontage.
Villas have space in their frontage which includes a small garden - a much better feel than the cluttered cluster houses in most other condominiums [Photo: UppMarketSG/Showroom model of Normanton Park Villas]
What Would I Pick?
Higher Level South facing units in blocks 47, 49, 51, 53 or 55
I live for the hills and the ocean. The south facing units in these blocks give me a gorgeous view of both of that, with Kent Ridge Hill providing a dramatic foreground to the sea behind - a combination of which can't really be found in any other project in Singapore!
South facing units in Normanton Park have a unique view of a hill park flanking a gorgeous sea view behind
Of course these units are likely to be priced at a premium. However, as long as that premium isn't too much, I believe it will be worth paying because past price trends have shown that units with preferred facings (good, unobstructed high floor views) tend to appreciate more.
Commercial units - planned to be opened for public access, facing Science Park Drive, could be a draw for nearby office workers and business groups, whilst also providing convenient access to food and groceries for residents
The Location & Connectivity
What's Nearby
One-North
Science Park
National University of Singapore
Mapletree Business City
Tanglin Trust School (Portsdown)
Anglo-Chinese School Independent
United World College
Alexandra Hospital
Driving
The Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) - right at your doorstep.
For those who drive, that in itself is convenience at its best since the AYE will bring you both towards the city and Jurong area in less than 15 minutes.
In addition, upon exiting Normanton Park you can get right onto Queensway - which ultimately leads up to Farrer Road, Lornie Expressway & Bartley Road - a long stretch road with almost no traffic lights that gets you smoothly to all the central parts of Singapore.
[road distances map to Nex, Raffles Place, Jurong East, Bukit Timah MGS]
Public Transport
The nearest bus stop sits along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) slip road, with a good selection of buses bringing you places.
14 - Orchard Rd (30mins) / Buona Vista MRT (10mins) / Clementi Central (20mins)
33 - NUS Engineering (20mins) / Dover Rd (10mins) / Ikea (5mins) / Tiong Bahru Plaza (20mins)
97 - VivoCity (15mins) / Raffles Place (25mins) / Suntec City (35mins) / Jurong East MRT (20mins)
166 - Dover Rd (10mins) / Clementi MRT (20mins) / VivoCity (15mins) / Chinatown (30mins)
197 - Jurong East MRT (20mins) / Bukit Merah Central (15mins) / Chinatown (30mins)
963 - Clementi Avenue 6 (15mins) / Bukit Batok (25mins) / Hillview (30mins) / VivoCity (15mins)
Perhaps one of the downers is that there isn't a "Normanton Park MRT Station". Then again, how many places actually have an MRT station at its doorstep?
The nearest station isn't far off - Kent Ridge (Circle Line) which sits 3 bus stops, or, a 10-minute walk away.
To make that distance a little less difficult, the developer will be providing a shuttle bus service to Kent Ridge MRT Station for the first two years. Given the future population size within Normanton Park, its likely the shuttle service will continue to be sustained for the long term anyway.
The Developer
It’s no secret that Kingsford Huray has had a blemish on its record stemming from complaints over its past projects in Singapore. I won’t discuss those complaints here (you can read about them by doing a simple google search) but those complaints resulted in them being issued a “no-sale licence” for Normanton Park - a punishment of sorts which was only lifted at the end of December 2020.
Naturally as a buyer you might think twice about putting a million bucks into a project from a developer with a black mark on its reputation. However, let’s get over this bit objectively bearing in mind how strict Singapore’s building authorities are - and in this case we’re talking about the Controller of Housing (COH).
It’s worth noting that Kingsford is not some small-time developer trying to make a quick buck [Read about its owner here]. Given its embarrassing mistakes and the pain which the COH has put them through, they have every incentive to over-deliver for Normanton Park to redeem themselves - and with its size and high profile, this is indeed the kind of project which they will want to use for that purpose.
In addition, the green light to sell Normanton Park’s units comes with certain conditions - including a big one which requires Kingsford to complete a Quality Mark Assessment for all units before TOP can be issued. In short, this means that the workmanship and quality of all finishings in each and every unit must be certified as being up-to-standard by BCA.
It’ll be safe to expect that Normanton Park should be delivered up to or exceeding expectations.
Stroll through lush greenery on your walk home from the bus stop
The MOST Important Bit - Investment Potential
I have always talked about having an Exit Strategy when picking a property to purchase. For that you'll want to be conscious of three things when picking a property hoping it has "investment potential" - Growth Potential, Supply and Entry Pricing - and quite interestingly, Normanton Park looks rather promising on all three fronts.
Growth Potential
If you're buying Normanton Park, you're buying into not one but TWO growth areas on URA's Masterplan:
One-North & Buona Vista
The Greater Southern Waterfront
The government has laid out plans to develop these two areas extensively, with the former well under way.
Normanton Park sits right in the middle and next to business parks, NUS and at the fringes of the Greater Southern Waterfront [Source: UppMarketSG Graphics]
This means higher tenancy demand and greater future interest since Normanton Park sits right between these two exciting areas. (Think of this, as compared to buying into an area like...Tanah Merah...anything exciting coming up in that area?)
Supply
Unlike some other areas in Singapore that are terribly saturated with condominiums (a certain District 16 & 17...) surrounding one small business park, there aren't many private residential developments in the immediate vicinity of Normanton Park.
As a matter of fact, the nearest other condominium to Normanton Park is The Interlace - almost 2km away. If you were to think of selling your unit in future, there's going to be little competition from other projects since there aren't many around in the first place!
Entry Pricing
Let’s compare Normanton Park’s expected pricing with nearby projects which (more or less) share similar location growth prospects.
In the area:
The Interlace - average $1300psf
Stirling Residences - average $2,000psf
Kent Ridge Hill Residences - average $1800psf
Normanton Park’s launch prices are expected to average around $1750psf.
This makes it 12% cheaper than Stirling Residences (launched in 2018). Kent Ridge Hill Residences, another recent launch, has a similar price tag ($1800psf). However, the big difference is that it sits on the other side of Kent Ridge...outside of the One-North zone.
The price differential between a resale and new launch sometimes runs up to 60% - for example: High Oak Condo (TOP 2000) @ $1000psf versus next door Daintree Residences (Launched 2018) @ $1600psf
However, Normanton Park’s expected pricing is barely 30% higher than nearby The Interlace's present day resale price.
With these comparisons, Normanton Park’s entry price appears rather reasonable.
My conclusion - RECOMMENDED
If you’ve listened to enough property agents trying to hard sell newly launched projects to you, you’ll probably be tired of this conclusion.
Yes, yes, every single project is “highly recommended”.
Perhaps. But, not to me. I am one who’s usually skeptical about new launches given their sky-high prices.
For one, Stirling Residences is a project I feel has little potential. Why? Simple. Too many units (supply) in an area which has too many other recently-launched projects which all have lower price tags (and a burgeoning supply of ultra-premium HDB flats along the Dawson Road area which will still be much cheaper).
So alright let me get to the point. Normanton Park sits in a class of its own - it’s the only major project in the area which gives literally direct access to all of One-North and Science Park. It’s directly linked to the AYE and Queensway, (some) units offer unique and spectacular views and it has a price tag which is rather low compared to its peers.
Indicative Prices?
A list of indicative prices for 5th floor units has already been released by the developer (9 January 2021). Unfortunately I can’t list them here (lest I get kicked out from the showroom) but if you’re interested to know, I can share them with you privately.
The showroom is open for preview viewing from now until 15 January 2021 by appointment only.
Booking day is on 16 January 2021.
Interested to learn more about Normanton Park and want to view the showflat?
Get in touch with Me via WhatsApp - Click Here!
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