Property Malaysia

Kota Damansara has really taken off in these last five years. Now there is not just one suburb - you have too many smaller areas like Mutiara Damansara, Sunway Damansara, Pelangi Damansara, Damansara Perdana, and many more appearing as fast as people can buy them. If anyone wants to accelerated study growth of an urban area, especially if you are a town planning student, there isn’t a better microcosm example than here.

You have commercial areas that are so happening that traffic is choking the streets, landed houses that double in prices after 2 years of handover, shopping-cum-entertainment centres that are the envy of the entire city, and more obvious to the public is the number of condos coming up in the area. Many developers are rushing to get a piece of the condo pie here. Sunway has long been around this area, and their Opal Damansara is nearing handover just beside the ever busy Persiaran Surian. Then there is Palm Spring @ Damansara, developed by PKNS, the land owner of most of this whole area. There is Casa Indah 1 and 2 which is further up the road. Then there is also the much talked about Cova Villa…

These are just the ones along Persiaran Surian, not including the ones in Damansara Perdana.

MetroKajang is one of the developers who were here early, and they have Pelangi Damansara and Pelangi Square business centre just between Sunway Damansara and Mutiara Damansara. The condo and the shops are on opposite sides of the main Persiaran Surian, and are situated quite near the LDP entrance into the area. MetroKajang have another condo nearby called Pelangi Damansara 2, and the quality of the workmanship is said to be much better than the earlier Pelangi Damansara.

So after building a condominium and a relatively small commercial area (actually it’s only one row of shoplots), MetroKajang is now targeting smaller commercial apartments in the remaining piece of land next to the shops. I doubt that the location is the best on offer in the whole vicinity, but it is near enough to the attractions of the capitalism central at the Curve, Ikano, Ikea, 1 Utama to make it palpable to the younger homeseekers. Why the not-so desirable in the longview? Well, the stretch of road exiting the planned development is really heavy with traffic, even with the traffic lights the road into the shoplots is too short and congested with parking lots to make it effective, anyone who works there can tell you. Right behind the shops are some low-cost flats that add to the traffic coming out of the small junction. And thirdly just behind the proposed site is the powerlines running parallel to the main road.

But demand dictates supply, and a lot of people are demanding homes and retail space around here, so it’s no doubt that despite the above, this will be well-received due to the underlying factors that make this place so hot.

On this fallow 1.7acre piece of land they are planning a development similar to their earlier Saville Residence along Old Klang Road, large retail space on the lower floors, residences on the higher floors. In this case, they have limited units of shops on 3 floors, followed by 4 levels of parking, then the common facilities podium level, and finally 20 levels of units for the residents. This mix has worked reasonably well for them before, so we suppose they are going pretty much the same, except a different location.

I think the retail space will act as individual shops that cater for the open market, not exclusively for the residents as they have a wider choice of where to shop given the proximity. Maybe the shops are meant to be sort of an extension to the existing Pelangi Square shoplots, not merely as convenient stores for the residents.

As serviced apartments go, there isn’t much out of the ordinary here, given the other obvious attractions of the location dictates that you don’t have to stick your neck out to give something extra. Unlike in Mont’Kiara where competition for buyers are forcing developers to push the envelope. But this place has it’s qualities, and lower density is one of them. There are just below 200 units here, limiting the maximum total number of residents, not to mention the volume of cars entering and exiting at peak hours. However, there are 10 units per floor, so exclusivity is not one of the high points.

Choice of units face all directions, the best being the pool view ones. There are some that view the road or Pelangi Damansara 2 (quite okay in our opinion) or you can opt for the ones facing the shoplots (and also the low cost apartments). Or you can pick the less hectic view, away from road, but with a magnificent view of the power lines. Snap to pool views ones fast. Other than the pool, there is a gym, hall, playground and that’s about it. Units are arrange in a long ‘L’ fashion, but there are two lift lobbies at either end. Units each have two long party walls with your neighbours, unless the pick the smaller corner units. There are only two larger corner units, the aforementioned units looking out to the main road.

Small units - that sums the overall concept here. There are 3 types of layout - a studio unit at 674sq.ft., an intermediate size unit at 856sq.ft. (2 rooms 2 baths) and the largest at 1,027sq.ft. with 2+1 rooms. Obviously the target market here is slightly different from the Pelangi Damansara 1 & 2, where instead of families, they are targeting students and younger renters, and of course the investors that will be subletting out to these people. Some units on the podium level have a small attached garden. Don’t flick your cigarette butts out of the window into other people’s gardens, as PCK says.

at RM151k to 256k, it can be said to be reasonably priced, however you are getting small units here (RM220-270psf), and not much facilities, plus average finishing. But then again, it’s called Kota Damansara.

Maintenance fee is at 20sen psf, but check with the salespeople for the latest info.

As far as commercial condos go, they’ve replicated the concept done earlier, as we mentioned above. If you are looking to invest for rental return, go early and grab an attractive unit, furnish it adequately, i doubt you will have much problem getting a renter. As for your own stay, well, there are a lot of other places that you might want to check out first. Busy intersection, powerlines. Small units.

MetroKajang have been around for a long time and have projects all over the Klang Valley.