Sceneca Residence condo launch delayed by no-sale licence issued to MCC Land
SINGAPORE – MCC Land (TMK), the developer of a mixed-use development in Tanah Merah Kechil Link, has been hit with a no-sale licence, The Straits Times has learnt.
Developers with a no-sale licence can begin construction, but cannot sell units off-plan without approval from the Controller of Housing (COH).
Sceneca Residence, a 268-unit leasehold condo in Tanah Merah, is being built on the 99-year leasehold government land sales (GLS) site awarded to MCC Land (Singapore) in November 2020 at $248.99 million.
Sources say the new project would have been launched by late 2021, but had been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and then the no-sale license, which was issued by the COH on May 12 this year.
The no-sale licence to MCC Land was published on the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) website.
It states that the developer “shall not, in respect of any unit in the development, grant any option to purchase, or enter into any sale and purchase agreement, or dispose of it in any way, without first obtaining the approval of the Controller in writing”.
Representatives of MCC declined to say on Tuesday why it was hit with the no-sale licence. ST has contacted URA for comment.
ST understands that the developer may reapply for the sale licence if it fulfils all its conditions by October this year.
To date, MCC Land has developed about 10 projects here, including the One Bernam condominium in Tanjong Pagar.
Entities related to MCC Singapore and Kingsford Group are also acquiring leasehold condominium Chuan Park via collective sale for about $890 million.
For the 8,880 sq m site in Tanah Merah Kechil Link, MCC Land beat out 14 other bidders in a hotly contested GLS tender that closed in October 2020.
Its $248.99 million bid translates to a land rate of about $930 per sq ft per plot ratio, analysts said.
MCC Land is developing the site, which is slated for residential with commercial use on the first storey, with Singapore-listed developer The Place Holdings and Malaysian developer Ekovest Development.
Sceneca Residence is not the first project to be hit with a no-sale licence.
In January 2019, a ban on sales was applied on the 1,862-unit leasehold condominium project Normanton Park.
It came after a raft of complaints from owners about shoddy workmanship and poor amenities at the developer’s other projects, including Kingsford Waterbay.
But the ban was lifted on Nov 30, 2020, and a sales licence for Normanton Park was issued to developer Kingsford Huray Development after it “completed the Kingsford Waterbay with certificate of statutory completion and titles issued”, URA told ST.
Its launch was delayed for nearly two years but Kingsford managed to sell all its units by June this year – in just 18 months since its launch in January 2021. This is ahead of its deadline to finish selling by early 2023 or risk incurring additional buyer’s stamp duty.
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