Property Malaysia

If you have been reading the local business and property tabloids, a few months ago they’ve been touting Jalan Madge as the next hot spot following the spillover effect of the KLCC condo overload. Jalan Madge, off Jalan U-Thant in Ampang, has always been a nice, secluded enclave of bungalows and very low rise apartments, favored by the rich who want easy access to golden triangle, and also expats who want to be near their embassies.

Actually when the publications mention ‘hotspot’, there are only a handful of new but high profile developments in the past year, somehow there is an effort to keep the low density feature of this small neighbourhood, which is commendable.

The projects that we know of in this area is The Katana Residences by a Singaporean developer, Tan & Tan’s U-Thant Residences and Iringan Hijau, The Gallery @ U-Thant (by Nam Fatt Bhd) and another future project by SsangYong, the Korean megacorp that also manufacturers machinery.

The developer for this project is Rodem, a joint venture between two companies - Landlovers (M) Sdn Bhd and Hanil Engineering & Construction Co Ltd of Korea. This plot is located opposite the aforementioned Katana Residences, of land is pretty small, only 0.77acres, so the only real option for them was to build a very small low rise, low density project. Landlovers is the local subsidiary of the another Korean firm, and are directly involved in managing and developing this project.

This plot of land used to be a occupied by a bungalow, those who are familiar with this area will definitely remember it prior to it being earmarked for this condo.

The main selling point of the project is this is a low density, low rise, and exclusive. There are two blocks, up to five storey only plus two levels of basement parking, and it houses a modest 23 units only. The layout is such that there is a common lobby shared by the two blocks of units. With the restriction of space, they still managed to fit a 25-metre lap pool and a children’s pool within a central courtyard, plus some landscaped gardens. All units generally have a good view, looking out into the surrounding homes.

With the low number of units, the designers were free to create units that are spacious and have many different layout designs to appeal to its exclusivity. There are nine layout types available for the single floor units, ranging from 1,888 to 4,242sq. ft., while for the enthouses, they range from 6,036 to a whopping 8,085sq.ft. The penthouse units come with their own self contained private gardens. The single floor units have at least two bedrooms, larger ones have up to 5 bedrooms. Another feature is that the units have exceptionally high ceiling of 3.7metres.

(The marketing folks have kind enough to laod up their promotion video

The price starts from RM2.23mil to RM8mil, selling at an average of about RM800-1500psf. Very expensive? Of course it is. But they aren’t really targeting Malaysians, unlike you’re one of the super-rich looking for a third weekend condo. They’re obviously targeting South Koreans, and with the JV partners based there, they’ll have no problems marketing it there. The attraction is obvious - its so much them cheaper here (for them, not for us), the weather is warmer especially in their winter months, and well, you know the rest.

There will be a minimum of two parking bays per unit, the largest units have up to 6 bays.

From the viewpoint of someone interested in building and homes in general, this is a beautiful project with the creative licence not fettered by cost issues (although space is a slight constraint). But the units are large enough to work some ID magic, and the facade looks great with smart combination of glass windows and earthy coloured walls. Of course we liked it. And of course we can’t afford to buy even the guardhouse.

This is the developer’s first project here in Malaysia. However both partners are experienced developers in S. Korea.