Property Malaysia

This project was launched sometime towards the end of last year, we visited them while they were promoting in nearby Nikko hotel. Last week, while we were in the area, we dropped by again to check them out for this website. First off, it is commonly mistaken with the nearby Binjai by KLCCP.

The building is right smack in the centre of KLCC condo central. It’s surrounded by Nikko Hotel/Menara Citibank, Wisma MCA, Menara TR, the recently launched Troika (by BRDB) and the existing Corinthians & Suitestay apartment. Access is via a narrow road off Jalan Binjai that ends directly at the Binjai Residency.

The layout of the units are typical for all levels, there are four identical units per floor. Each unit is about 2,000 to 2,200sq.ft. depending on the unit orientation. On the 24th up till the 29th floor, the units are slightly bigger (2,326sq.ft.) due to a cantilevered overhang, which give the façade of the building a slightly top heavy, not-so-prismatic look.

The ground until the 4th floor is for parking, and the common facilities are at the 5th floor. They have a large pool, pool deck lounge and severy, childcare centre, laundry, multi-purpose hall gymnasium, etc.

There isn’t much to fault the location, being a KLCC condo and all. It’s just walking distance to the Ampang Park LRT station, and the taxi stand at the Nikko Hotel. And there’s the KLCC thing. And shopping. And access to the golden triangle, and the works.

And so we come the view, the so-called ‘selling point’ of most KLCC condos. Being clustered together with a few other high-rise buildings, they have cleverly marketed the apartments with a choice of two views, ‘KLCC view’ (a pretty good view… for the moment), and a ‘Nikko Hotel pool view’ at the other side of the condo. Why people would be greatly attracted to looking at a hotel pool is still debatable at the moment. But the management should be commended in coming up with a strategy to make the most of what their project can offer.

At the time we viewed it last week, both sides of the apartment were selling quite well. In our opinion, one of the biggest advantage of the Binjai Residency is its excellent location, at a reasonable price. Averaging at RM700psf, it is not too extravagant, while offering no less facilities and luxuries than the other nearby condos. The prices of below RM1.0mil to RM1.8mil is decidedly attractive to the local and foreigner buyer.

Now, for some drawbacks. Each unit has only one parking lot allocated for standard units, and more are available for sale. In total, there are 200 bays only, which comes out to less than 2 bays per unit. With families and tenants having 2 or 3 cars these days, what we’ll have at the end of the day is cars parked on the already narrow and congested access road and Jalan Binjai. Already Jalan Binjai is always jammed up with double parking at peak hours due to the LRT station, Citibank and Lotus Restaurant. This may be a cause of concern for the potential buyer.

With all units being almost standard, there is really not much choice, unless you’re going for the penthouse. The internal layout of the standard unit gave us the feeling of being cramped, but it was due mainly due to the wall configuration. Furthermore, the living room is small, with an additional ‘AV room’. We suspect most buyers would want to remove the AV room to get a bigger living/dining. The powder room would most probably go, too. The layout also struck us as traditional, too, rather rectangular-ish compared to others around.

In conclusion, we liked this place. It’s suitable for families and investors, and jetsetting yuppies. It doesn’t have the frills and extravagant luxuries of other nearby more condos, but its reasonable pricing works to its advantage. So, do you prefer the ‘KLCC view’ or ‘Nikko Hotel view’, sir?