Property Malaysia

We reminded clearly the very very first time we viewed Metropolitan Square in Damansara Perdana for their maiden launch of apartments and retail units. This was something like five to six years ago, when Damansara Perdana was in its initial stages of development, then seen as a fringe of the existing Bandar Utama bordering Bandar Sri Damansara. Now the area has becomed a full-fledged township that has seen its commercial area almost fully developed. These days, the commercial area is synonymous with the double (and even triple) parking scourge on all the streets, a testament to its success. The local population is ever increasing, thanks to the highrise both highrise and landed homes further in the area.

Location wise, Damansara Perdana has its known issues. There is only one major entry and exit point, that is twin box culvert below the LDP and Sprint highway. Another short cut runs through to Mutiara Damansara, but generally the lock of mountains generally inhibits easy access out to Sri Damansara or Sg. Buloh.

The flagship development of Damansara Perdana is undoubtedly Metropolitan Square, envisioned as the all in one place to work, stay, shop and dine (as it is often touted by those sales brochures). Located on the lower slopes of a hill, it is a split level complex that has 2 levels of retail space on the ground and up to 6 levels of office space above it. Above that is the common facilities for the residential blocks.

Block D has recently been launched, but it is on commercial title, hence it is called Service apartments. It is launched together with another residential tower (Block C, which will be reviewed soon). The marketing moot point for them here is that this offers a better investment opportunity for buyers, and it can be converted to office units. With that end in mind, the units here are designed to be smaller, and there are more studio units than any other type. Not surprisingly, the sales are very encouraging for this commercial vehicle, especially the aforementioned one room unit.

The Serviced apartment is located western end of Metropolitan Square, and it is nearest to the main road. Its a massive block, housing more than 500 units, and up to 20 units per floor. The units are arrange either facing the main road / Mutiara Damansara, or facing the other apartment blocks and pool. If you choose the right units you can have a view of the green hillslopes. There are five unit types for sale: the smallest studio apartment (Type R) at 450sq.ft. has been quickly snapped up. Following that is Type P, a 1+1 room unit at 650sq.ft. Type O and Q are 725 and 888sq.ft. respectively, both with 2+1 rooms. The largest unit available is the Type S at 1,166sq.ft., also with 2+1 rooms.

The facilities are all shared with the other residential blocks of Metropolitan Square, and is completed and already in use, so purchasers can literally see for themselves what they will be getting. The facilities include a glass-edged swimming pool (actually there are a few pools here, including a kid’s pool), multipurpose hall, tennis courts, a meandering stream (eh?) playground and a clubhouse housing the indoor facilities like gym, sauna, and meeting room.

500+ units add quite a load to the burgeoning population of Metropolitan Square. On the one hand it will contribute to the vibrancy of the area but on the other hand exerting even more pressure on the traffic here. The units are priced from an average of RM280psf to RM490psf. But due to the small unit sizes, the price sum is from RM149,900 to RM664,300. A typical two bedroom unit at mid height should set you back at about a quarter of a million. Sales since the launch has been good, mainly the smaller units are the better sellers.

The maintenance fee is set at RM0.275psf, all units get one parking bay except Type S (they get two). The developer is offering 10% discount at the moment with no downpayment, and they have a 100% loan facility with a few banks (please check with the sales people for the latest details). Looks like they are very eager to sell out this project at the earliest, which is to the advantage of the buyers.

With this being one of the later launches in Metropolitan Square, the facilities are completed so you can see what you are getting. Buyers can also gauge the success of the retail and office lots on the lower levels to ascertain if this investment will be viable or not. With brand new development, this is not possible. With this Block D being a commercial title, it adds a different dimension to the investment opportunity and is markedly quite different from the other phases of Metropolitan Square. Since the price is more accessible compared to the other condos offered here (in Metropolitan Square itself and by other developers) it has a distinct advantage, although unit sizes are small and some people are adverse to the concept of serviced apartment. In addition to that, we don’t forsee that many units being converted to office space or SOHO units. But having said that, it adds a very vibrant aspect to the whole development and will have no problems with the sales

The developer is a subsidiary of MK Land, an experienced developer.