Property Malaysia

Before any confusion starts, the name of the project is as above, although in the brochure, the word ‘Puteri’ is missing. Strangely, all three projects under construction by this developer is similarly prefixed as Taragon Puteri.

This place has been launched for sale since end of 2006, at that time the sales office was located in Megan Avenue II along Jalan Yap Kwan Seng. Recently, they completed an actual show unit on site, and we dropped by recently to check it out.

Its located near the junction of Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, next to the older Jelita Courts. On the other side is an old bungalow which currently houses a law firm, and on the plots behind are actually 2Hampshire (by Benneton) and Hampshire Residences (by Zelan group, review here). Across the road are mainly old bungalows and used car sales lots, but as you go towards Jalan Ampang, there are lots of highrise high density offices. Yap Kwan Seng usually choked with traffic during peak hours, seeing the number of offices along the road and also that it is an important link between Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Ampang.

On this empty land, about 0.5acres in size, the developers have opted for a low density development of about 12 floors of units. There are only forty units available here, and up to 70% has been taken up, so do check with the sales people in regard to which units are available.

Each floor has a maximum of 4 units per floor, making each unit a corner unit. With this alignment, it is important to choose a view you are comfortable with. Because the building is very near the next door building, the view for some units are partly obscured because of this. Alternatively, there is also a view of the Ampang-KL Elevated Highway (AKLEH) slightly at distance, or you are looking out the two aforementioned condo projects along Persiaran Hampshire. But if you’re not too concern of what you see outside your window (or else you’d get a condo with a better KLCC view) then this would not be a concern.

By KLCC standards, a lot of what’s available here is meager, from the common facilities to the entrance foyer. The entrance isn’t grand by any measure, and the developers have even squeezed parking slots on the ground floor to maximize space. In fact, this place is reminiscent of a lot of similar class condos found in Singapore and Hong Kong, where lack of space is a main issue (as a matter of fact, the development is managed by Bluestone Capital, a company whose track record in other countries is in this niche). There is a small indoor swimming pool, gym, pool deck, children play area and sauna, open deck for parties. With the proximity to a lot of city centre leisure attractions like golf courses, pubs, bars, shopping, and parks around here, we think the lack of facilities here won’t figure much, besides, more amenities means higher price and fees.

There are 4 basic unit types, from 1,797 to 1,895sq.ft. all with 3+1 rooms, and with at 4 baths. Only the smallest unit (Type D) has 3 baths, and the layout is much akin to the traditional mid-sized apartment design. Sub-2,000sq.ft is pretty small for a luxury condo, so there the target market here is mainly expatriate renters or couples without large families. The developers are throwing some freebies, including air-conditioning to some rooms, Jacuzzi and shower screen.

Just below the penthouses, they have what they term as a ‘sub-penthouse’ which is basically a one-and-a-half storey duplex unit. The only difference with the typical unit is that is an extra half floor with a master bedroom and attached bath, that’s all. This provides a larger alternative for those who find the typical units a little tight in space. What happened to the space for the rest of the upper floor? Well, it forms part of the penthouse. So actually the penthouse isn’t really a duplex, more like one and two-third floors. Well, floor space is pay-what-you-get-plus-premium anyway. We thought they should they have just done away with the sub-penthouse, and made the penthouse larger, giving it a more exclusive feel, and larger space, as what a penthouse should have.

Maintenance fee is at 40sen including sinking fund, please check with the salespeople for the latest info. Street parking is virtually impossible, unless it’s on the open air car parks around here. There are only 2 passenger lifts servicing the condo.

Price is set at about RM465psf which is affordable considering the competition and is pretty much in line with what is on offer here. The cheapest unit goes for about RM780k.

Taragon YKS offers an alternative to those looking to stay in the vibrant and much touted KLCC area, but do not prefer a high density tower block. All the other condos launched in the area have been high density, some even up to 8 units per storey. Perhaps it is not solely by choice that Taragon YKS is low density, but with this final design it looks appealing in its own way - low density, slightly away from the other condos and almost fully developed neighbouring plots.

Taragon have two other projects, one in Cheras and another in nearby here KL.

That having said that, there are few disadvantages this place faces – being a small plot of land, it has resulted in tight spaces all round the apartment, and smaller build-up for the unit (the plot of land is about half an acre). The traffic here is very slow moving during peak hours. Plus there isn’t much view any way you look.

Low density plays a big part in the attraction here, so we feel it has an advantage that the appeal is much different from the many other KLCC condos out there. Besides with only a few of the 40 units remaining, it should have no problems selling out.