Property Malaysia

As complicated as building projects go, this one is quite so. Let’s start from the ground up. Back in 1992, Hong Kong developer Cecil Chao, via his public listed (HK main board) company, Cheuk Nang, and is local subsidiary Martego Sdn. Bhd., bought up this piece of 1.4ha land on Lorong Perak off Jalan P. Ramlee.

This is a review of Martego’s portion of the project, which called Parkview 2-11 Luxury Suites, and DOES NOT cover Mayland’s portion of the serviced apartment, which we did not view. For info on Mayland’s condo, you can call them at 03 - 21480 808.

The 70-year old Cecil Chao is known (amongst other things. Google him and you’ll find out) as a shrewd business and business investor. After holding the land for 10 years or so, Martego has partnered with the Mayland Group to jointly developed a huge commercial project on the land. Why Mayland, you ask, right? We don’t know, but we suppose that Cheuk Nang would have good relations with Far East Consortium, the Hong Kong parent company of Mayland. The subsidiary involved in this project is called Mayland Parkview (Why Mayland?!).

There are two main phases to this project. Phase 1 is the almost completed Parkview Luxury Suites, CF targeted to be issued at the end of the year. The ground floor of this Parkview will have a management office and some shops. The 2nd to 11th floor is owned by Martego themselves, and they are marketing it as Parkview 2-11 Luxury Suites (hence the 2-11). Martego has sold the higher floors to be marketed by Mayland Parkview, and their product is simply called Parkview Service Apartments (minus the 2-11). This portion was launched some 2 years back, currently 70% has been taken up, according to the salespeople. The Martego owned 2-11 has only been launched early July this year.

The second phase is another serviced apartment called Central Tower, with 300,000 sq ft shopping centre on the lower floors. Currently the plot of land is used as a car park and some entertainment spots. The developer expects the project to be fully completed by 2012.

Okay, now that the background of the building is out of the way, let’s talk location. It’s just like less than a kilometer away from KLCC, and next to the vibrant hotspots like Modesto’s and Beach Club. So a plus point only a few other KLCC condo can match. Surrounding it is the Idaman Residence (currently under construction), and some other old buildings. Lorong Perak is known for the mamak stalls directly behind Menara IMC.

The 10 floors of this development houses 95 units, averaging about 9 to 11 units per floor. There are 4 types of units available – studio units, single bedroom, two bedrooms and duplex units. The building footprint is curved and narrow, common corridor in the middle and units on either side. Lifts are on one end of the building only.

Studio units – sizes range from 493 to 789sq.ft. These are located on the 2nd to the 4th floor. A basic unit, with space for living / dining / bedroom, a partitioned area for kitchen and one toilet. Units are either almost rectangular in shape or odd shaped.

Single and double rooms – these are variants of the studio units but the additional with one or two large rooms, achieved by reducing the number of units per floor.

Duplex units – these come in 905 to 1,755sq.ft. Some come without any rooms, similar to the studios, some come with one room at the upper level. There are toilets on each of the levels.

Some units come with a long bath. Developer is providing some finishing and freebies with the unit.

We didn’t like the round fixed windows every unit has. Makes it looks like some of the government buildings built in the 70s. You can’t open them, and with only one small casement window that can be opened, ventilation is bad. No air-conditioning provided by developer. I see a huge problem here. Your toilet and kitchen will be windowless and mechanical ventilated. Bad.

As a serviced apartment, they are providing features like room service, professional maid services, laundry and valet. As for facilities, there are the usual – swimming pool, gym and sauna at the very top. Nothing spectacular.

We’re generally not favourable to the following things - serviced apartments, studio apartment design and poor layout design. This place seem to encompass all the three. But it’s a matter of personal choice.

The thing about selling an almost completed building can make or break the sale – if the quality is good and everything is impressive, people can see it for themselves. However, the opposite is also true. In this case, sad to say we’re of the latter opinion. The workmanship leaves a lot to be desired, plastering is uneven, doors are quite cheap, staircase tiling are all different colour (we assume it’s because they had to replace them), hacking and replastering marks seen on here and there… On the finishing side, we didn’t like the marble tiles and vanity top they are providing.

On the good side, location can’t be faulted. Starting at RM680psf, it’s cheap. And with the completion of the commercial centre, it’ll be quite an attractive place. But it’s on commercial title. And then there’s the ‘Mayland‘ link…