Property Malaysia

These photos were taken a few weeks ago, so the works on site have probably progressed a little bit as of the current time.

SunSuria is a commercial development integrated with a sports complex in Kota Damansara, just beside Sunway Damansara. If you exit off the NKVE you will definitely see the massive sports hall on your left.

If you drive along the LDP from Puchong toll towards Shah Alam and USJ/Putra Heights, you would definitely notice a large tract of cleared land, there rfor the last 2 years or so. There is a large lettering sign announcing it to be USJ Heights. We remember reading about the launch some time back, there were advertisement in the papers showing the concept of the different precincts in USJ Heights.

Fast forward to the present, and the very first precinct out of the total of 6 precincts in USJ Heights has been completed and will be handed over next month. While prospective buyers may have trouble envisioning the whole concept of USJ Heights during launch, when all they have to go on are plans and scale models, now you can actually see the units and how they look like upon execution. Part of the reason this is important is because unlike Sime Darby properties’ earlier launches like Putra Heights and Pinggiran USJ, this one places a big emphasis on the overall design appeal of the masterplan. With a distinct design concept and landscaping, they are making USJ Heights more upmarket and with larger more luxurious units compared to their earlier developments. Which is a natural progression if you think about it. This is a prime location, on the northern side of the LDP unlike Putra Heights which is on both sides of the LDP. And its also probably the last tract of large development Sime Darby Property has in the area.

Perhaps when more phases of USJ Heights are visible we may do an overall review of USJ Heights, but today we are reviewing Kayangan Putera.

As mentioned this is the maiden precinct to be launched and completed, if you go to the site now, they can bring you directly to the actual unit for viewing. Kayangan Putera consists of 83 units of super link homes, either two storey or two and a half storey. The plot size is a minimum of 26′ x 80′ and it is freehold.

There are two types of units available, Type A which is a two storey link home and Type B, with and additional half storey at the top. Type A has 5+1 rooms. There are 4 rooms on the first floor, (3 of them are pretty small) and a guest room downstairs, and a maid’s room at the back. There is also a longe beside the living room. The intermediate unit has a build-up area of 2,710sq.ft., and land area of 2,077sq.ft. Some of the end lots have larger designs, additional garden space at the side. It definitely adds value to the end lot compared to the traditional design of having your wall right next to the road. The gross build-up is slightly larger, at 3,140sq.ft. and land area can go up to 4,200sq.ft. Corner units are even larger, nut basically the general design is unchanged. Land area can go up to 6,300sq.ft.

Type B employs a slightly different design to offer some variety. The standard lot size is no different this type does away with the lounge, giving a bigger living area which we like better. The extra half storey is taken entirely by a 2nd master bedroom ensuite with bath. Altogether, there are also 5+1 baths, but due to the larger build-up (3,160sq.ft.) the rooms are bigger compared to the cramped ones in Type A. The other master bedroom is at its usual place on the first floor. While most family rooms on the first floor (especially in intermediate units) suffer from poor ventilation, this one has double volume to improve on circulation. Similarly for the end and corner units, there is larger gross floor area and land area. This Type B has a long bath for the two master bedrooms.

The units are priced from RM798k onwards for the 2 storey units and RM838k above for the larger 2½ version. From we are told at the moment only the 2 storey units are left for sale.

In line with these being luxury homes, the finishing and design reflects this. They have a very contemporary tropical design that emphasizes natural light through the oversized windows. The finishings are also above the norm, and they have provided some freebies together with the unit such as Alarm system connected to Central Monitoring System, automatic gate system and lightning protection system.

Obviously, Sime Darby Properties are targeting the luxury market with this project, and the pricing shows that it is not accessible for most of us. But if you are looking for a landed property in this area and don’t mind owning a home with a larger build up instead of the typical link home, this may be a viable option. The whole concept of USJ Heights is of course, a plus point, certainly a low density and lushly landscaped project that is a welcome departure from some of the competition here. But of course the price is the inhibiting factor, and later phases may prove to be even more so.

For those who know, its located beside Koi Kinrara.

For those who don’t know, well, here it the description of the location. Along Jalan Puchong coming from the massive elevated viaduct interchange at IOI Mall (where you can go to Sungai Besi and Bandar Sunway toll). In a short distance, you will come to a traffic light junction just after a green and white Telekom building (The entrance to Taman Tenaga is on the other side of the road). Manouvre into the internal roads for a distance and you’ll cross the bridge across the KESAS highway and come to hilltop facing Bandar Sunway, populated by a few condominiums (and a few more coming up soon).

The address of the project says Bandar Puchong Jaya, but its actually slightly off the jurisdiction, probably at the edge of what we can term as Puchong. But its not a bad thing at all. Its location works in its favor, with good connectivity to Kesas, LDP (jam notwithstanding) and to Old Klang Road. The surrounding areas of matured landed development (Bandar Puchong Jaya) will provide the shops and amenities, and ensure that there will not be too many more condos in the future. But the access road from Jalan Merbuk is a little narrow, its unsure if it can cope with the future traffic in later years.

That’s for the location. Now for some formalities.

Atmosfera has been in prelaunch mode for a few months now - they were at the MAPEX back in early March, and have been doing quite a bit of prep work at the site recently.

The condo consists of two blocks of apartments, Rosella and Ixora. At the moment they have opened the first one for booking, Ixora. They plan to open up booking for the other block Rosella since the take up rate has been positive during launch. The site is pretty large, covering about 6.5acres, with a lot of space devoted to landscaping, common facilities and ancillary parking structure, in addition to the tower blocks. With the parking structure, there are covered bays for the resident, some open air bays are reserved for visitors.

There are two basic types of typical unit layout designs available Type A and B. Each of these have slight variants (Type A, A1, A2 & A3 and Type B1-B5), but the general layout design is the same. The build-up is at 1,282sq.ft. for Type A and a slightly bigger Type B at 1,455sq.ft. Both employ a slightly more unconventional design, the living room is at the centre of the unit, bedrooms are on both sides. Both designs have 3+1 rooms, and 3 baths. They also have a large balcony, more squarish in shape to make it possible to have a breakfast area there. There are also larger duplex units available at 2,775sq.ft., please check with the sales office for details. They are basically a double up of the typical unit. There are 8 of these duplex units per tower, and at the time we visited the place, they seem to be going fast. With only 2 types of typical unit, and a minimum build up of 1,282sq.ft. its pretty clear which market they are targetting - the serious investor and larger families that can afford a bigger apartment, and those looking to upgrade. Each floor has up to 12 units, in a L shape layout.

Price starts from from about RM290k onwards, the most expensive penthouse unit tops Rm700k (corrected). While the rate is at a competitive RM230psf, the large build up makes the final price tag higher than their competitors around here. But it does have its pros that others don’t, so it will go on its own strengths in this picky market.

The facilities are impressive, due to the space available. Besides the usual pool (which is quite big), playground and security, they have a Jacuzzi, sauna, and sport facilities for futsal, badminton, basketball, squash and gym. Maintenance fee is at 18sen psf, please check with the sales team for details. Each unit comes with 2 parking bays, except for the penthouse duplex units, you get three.

The developers are Villamas a relatively new player who are currently have ambitious growth and expansion plans. Two of their most recent projects reviewed here before are Villa Park in Taman Bukit Serdang and Villa Pavilion in Seri Kembangan. They also have a landed project in Kepong, and another apartment project in Puchong Jaya called Villa Mas.

Atmosfera takes a few risks to be different and it pays off well. We like it, it should have an awesome unobstructed view when completed (if you buy the unit at the correct side, that is) that will add value to the unit. We liked it, hopefully the empty land around the condo (and around Koi Kinrara) will be beautified and not left to be an unofficial parking area as it is now. That would really make a difference to the entrance statement here.

Parkville is another phase that is currently available for sale in YTL’s much talked about Lake Edge development. We have recently reviewed another phase of this development here (Waterville). Since we’ve discussed quite a lot about Lake Edge in general in that post, we won’t repeat ourselves and you are encouraged to check out that post to read our take on the location, connectivity and overall view of the development.

Lake Edge Puchong: Waterville

Parkville consists only of 16 completed units - 8 semi-detached homes and 8 bungalows. They are arranged in two rows, alternating between the two types. There is a narrow strip of linear park between the two rows. This park is lined with trees and contains a spice garden, a reflexology trail and walking path, and a long strip of pond. Because the homes here in Lake Edge are fenceless (the Australian style of living) this park connects with your home seamlessly, giving it a community kind of feel.

The semi D unit is about 4,102sq.ft., built on a minimum of 50′ x 90′ plot size. This is a very big plot size and correspondingly the build-up is also pretty big for a semi-D. On the side and rear there is a 10′ clear setback of garden space. In between adjoining units there is about 8′ between the two houses (which means about 4′ on each side). The two houses are only conjoined by a narrow strip of RC flat roof and roofing, so its not really a semi D unit per se, in the sense that there is no party wall to speak of. Overall the layout design is luxurious and modern - the living, dining and kitchen are at the back of the house, commanding a premier view of the park and pond. A sun room (which is kind of like a second living and guest room take up the front of the house. There is also a large courtyard beside the living. The powder room and maids plus toilet round off the ground floor. Upstairs there are 4 rooms all with ensuite baths, no family room (presumably its now the sun room below). Following the same design concept, the master bedroom is at the back of the house. The view from this room should be excellent.

The bungalow units are of course much bigger, going up to 5,194sq.ft. and built on a 60′ x 93′ plot. The design is almost similar to the semi D, but this unit has a rectangular footprint. The other design details are pretty much the same, except much bigger space all round.

Facade of the units closely follows the style set by most of the other units, mostly white and earth brown. The park is of course the drawing point for these units, and is which lends the name to this phase. Parkville is frequently compared to the Waterville units because the price of the semi D is quite close to Waterville. So which is better? It all depends on which type you like, they both have their pros and cons.

With 16 units only, there is of course an air of exclusivity to it all. Certainly the linear park is a big plus point and will be the main reason why some people are plonking the hard cash for these units, but on the other hand Waterville has its own private pool (albeit a very small and less private one). This is of course, completed and you can move in immediately. The semi-D units cost from RM1.7million onwards, You can also check out the finish quality as it stands before you move in, so you know exactly what your’e buying into. Certainly Parkville here stands to be compared to other units in Lake Edge, obviously it can’t be compared to other projects outside of here - apples to apples.

Incidentally, Bandar Bukit Puchong 2 has a similar project also named Parkville, with almost similar features - units facing a linear park, living room at the back. Of course the price is much much different though.

Well, we gotta be honest, we haven’t been to Selayang in quite awhile, and even before that we haven’t really had the chance to explore Selayang all that much. Most people are most familiar with Selayang wholesale market and the landmark Makro hypermarket (now Tesco Extra) at the MRR2 intersection. And some people may also be familiar with the hot springs here. Its is near this hot spring that the latest condominium in Selayang is located.

To find this place, you don’t need to go deep into Selayang. It is off Jalan Ipoh, you need to take the interchange exit going towards FRIM. Once on the slip road you immediately have to turn off road on the left, into the carpark for the hot springs. Selayang Springs is actually located right beside the elevated interchange, on an existing green area that has been there for quite sometime. While being next to the highway and interchange makes it good from the viewpoint of accessibility and visibility, it does pose some problems for their access. First off we’re not sure its a good idea (if it is even possible) to have the entrance off a highway exit ramp. Secondly, the proposed road leading to the condo (once you turn off the slip road) is now shared with the carpark for the hot springs, and according to the sales people they are under negotiations with the local council to work this problem out. Either way, it doesn’t work in favour of the condo, there simply isn’t enough space to make two separate access roads, and if they share the entrance, it will not bode well for the condo. But that aside, the solution may be awhile coming as negotiations with the authorities on matters like these usually take a long time.

But putting that aside, let’s look at the condo. This is a massive condo project as it consist of 5 towers altogether with over 1100 units when completed. At the moment they have launched the first block of units to a pretty good take up rate. They are also gearing up to launch the second block (called ‘Cedar’) in a couple of weeks. For the first phase, the size of units range from 930 to 1,320sq.ft. mostly with 3 rooms and 2 baths. Because of the different alignment of the building, you can have a choice of KL view, Genting view or forest view from your unit. But because the area surrounding the condo is mostly landed development, you’ll have a pleasant view anywhere you look. There are 16 units per floor. For this first phase prices begin from RM185k for the sub 1000sq.ft units and RM250k onwards for the larger ones.

There are about 20 floors of units for each tower, making each tower having about 300 units in total. All parking is on elevated floors, except one sub-basement level. Actually this plot of land sits on a terrain that is undulating, so you might want to study the location of the tower you are purchasing into if you are concern with these issues.

Looking forward to the soon to be launched second phase, they are introducing even smaller studio apartments into the mix to broaden the appeal. From what we can observe there aree units in the 587 to 762sq.ft. range, which will appeal to the mobile yuppie crowd. But whether this will work in an area like Selayang will depend o the pricing and design. The larger units should be similar to the earlier phase.

For the later phases, not much details are available, certainly they will review the unit numbers and sizes to meet the expected demand of the buyers as and when they are launched. But certainly the pricing will be on the increasing scale, as with any other development.

The smaller units come with one parking bay, while the rest come with 2. We were told that most of the facilities will be completed together with the first two phases. There are two pools and the usual number of amenities for a project of this size. the entrance has a circular fountain area that looks impressive. There will also be a double storey clubhouse.

As we said earlier, Selayang Springs is a massive project. With so many units and unit types available, the appeal is varied and may be quite successful in their marketing, but lacks the low density appeal that others offer. And as we mention earlier, problems with the access in the future will be a factor.

This project is developed by the Masa Group. From what we can remember they were previously a contractor group and this represents their first foray into development.

This is a pretty interesting article about what kind of house USD$150,000 can buy you around the world. They mentioned lots of places (with pictures) like Buenos Aires, Chile, Moscow, South Africa, Australia and even Bali. But no mention of Malaysia unfortunately.

Well, USD$150k = about half a million ringgit, it can buy a pretty nice house in the suburbs or an decent apartment in the city, depending on the location.

(Source)

This is mentioned to be the last phase of land for Mayland here in Sri Hartamas, perhaps as a testament to the two decades plus of development they have been involved in in this goldmine of a district. It started out with the Puncak Prima condo, which is still a landmark right next to Plaza Damas, and followed by other condominiums (like Menara Hartamas) and the Hartamas Shopping Centre (strategically drawing the expatriate market here) and Plaza Damas built atop the shopping mall. In the interim years, too, they have actively development other areas like along Jalan Kuching, landed homes further up from here and also in Johor. Despite how people regard as a developer and builder, there’s no denying the demand for their products and the success of their Sri Hartamas ventures.

And so we come to this last phase of Plaza Damas. Location, very easy to find, its opposite the Hartamas Shopping Centre. As those of you familiar with the area will know, Plaza Damas Phase 1 and 2 is above the shopping mall, actually the 2nd floor of the mall opens out to the ground floor of Plaza Damas. Its a bit complicated, especially if its your first time there and you’re looking for an office, the best way i found is to park your car in the mall parking lot (its a dark place) and then go to the information counter at the mall entrance and ask for directions to the office block. Coming back to Phase 3 across the road from Hartamas Shopping Centre, this plot of land in the past has been used as a sales office and show unit for many of their earlier launches.

The land for this phase is a narrow strip, flanked by the main road on one side and multiple terraces of a high slope on the other. The development consists of 3 blocks of retail / service apartments, one high rise building to be developed in the future (either apartments or office block) and a small clubhouse. There are 3 to 5 levels of retail outlets, as the road slopes up, but there a 5 levels of apartments all throughout. There three blocks of units are Carlton, Chelsea and Cliveden (seriously, who came up with these names?!). At the moment, block A, that is Carlton is open for sale. This block has 185 units, in total there are 595 units.

Most of the units are studio apartments, 500sq.ft. or 595sq.ft. with a long narrow linear design. You enter your unit, kitchen is beside you, there’s a living room, and then you enter the bedroom, and then a balcony. Simple as that. For those who want a little more, the corner units give a variety, up to 940sq.ft. with an extra bedroom making it a 2-bedroom suite. But by and large, most of the units are the earlier mentioned single room suites. They are offering the units fully furnished. So its no secret which niche market they are targeting, with the retail lots and unit types.

Which made us wonder, why opt of service apartments? Wouldn’t a full office and retail block be a better return of investment for them? After all, they could still reserve the last highrise block as a condominium if they wish to? Maybe some of you who had invested in the office units in the earlier phases of Plaza Damas may shed some light on what necessitated this change of strategy. Having said that, they are offering a guaranteed return rate of investment for those interested, it is pegged at 6% for two years. That is rather paltry to say the least, but at least they provided a safety net if lets say the economy suffers a further meltdown come 2012. But we’re thinking most investors would rather do it themselves for better returns.

The average pricing is from about RM413k to Rm512k for typical units, bigger units cost up to RM960k. You have a choice of the green slope view, or main road view. Both aren’t very much more appealing than the other, given the low rise nature of the blocks, but you probably would not opt for the unit facing another block. At a rate of RM825psf upwards, we’re not talking about small pennies here, this is comparable to Mont’Kiara and reflects the value Mayland places on this prime location. But comparably, it’s more favorable to being deep in MK with its high density of condos on both sides of the road. Here, its just off the main road, and near to the exit to KL. But then again, its onlystudio apartments available. So a large segment of the market will not be looking twice here.

Maintenance fee is 35sen psf. No free parking bays allocated to units.

At the small clubhouse, there is a function room, a small lap pool, gym, and um, that’s basically it. But the cascading water feature should look nice.

Pricey, but good freehold location. And pricey. No parking!

Let me see, when did we first visit Lake Edge? It had to be in 2000, when they were still carrying earthworks filling up the 12 acre area - that was long before they launched anything an the name Lake Edge hadn’t been coined yet. Then when the first phase was launched we went again, those days the concept of development hadn’t really been shown fully yet. But the show house was done up, and of course the talking point back then was the Australian style living - glass windows everywhere, super contemporary design and fenceless homes.

Fast forward to 2009, we re-visited the place recently, and the difference is telling. Most of the phases have been completed and residents have moved in, the lake that give the place its name is there for all too see. And the open and modern concept of homes is also the first impression you get when you enter the place. That, and the very impressive security.

Surrounding the area, things have spruced up a bit. Gone are a few of the old factories and warehouses, and they have closed up the access road that leads connects to Lakeside Residence by Glomac, thereby reducing the traffic along the access to Lake Edge. They’ve also hoarded up the other side of the road nicely, obscuring the works going on there to rehabilitate the pond.

As for the entrance and exit into Lake Edge, there isn’t much to change, you still have to go through the shoplots beside Tesco (the landmark is the large furniture centre here along LDP). The slip road entering LDP is still narrow and can sometimes cause a long line of waiting cars. In the interim years traffic along LDP at peak hours has increased tremendously, not only along here all the way up to the Sunway toll (especially in the mornings) but in the other direction in the evenings. What more now that the new shoplots and IOI Mall extension is completed. What more when the massive Setia Walk is completed.

But then again, this is the price Puchong folks have to pay for progress and development in their backyard. But Lake Edge is a little different from all the scores of projects that have sprung up in this locality in the last four to five years. Of course the price of YTL’s project makes it stand out (waaaa-aaaay out) but let’s not forget, not many other projects in the city even at this price has the audacity to execute their masterplan this way. In short, you’re paying not only for the prime location in downtown Puchong (is that a contradiction by itself?) but mainly you are paying for the living environment that they have come up with. To see it, you just have to come to Lake Edge to experience what they mean.

But coming to Waterville, there are a couple of phases to this latest unit available, those who have bought the earlier phase are targeted to move in some time later this year. And they are opening up more units, located closer to the clubhouse and represent some of the last few remaining phases in Lake Edge for sale. They have been promoting this phase quite heavily ever since the show unit was completed in November of last year. The name Waterville (if you haven’t figured it out), doesn’t denote its proximity to the lake although some units are quite close to it, but rather it refers to a small lap pool in your own compound. Actually we weren’t really so wowed by the lap pool, for the price range i believe SP Setia offers a lot better in that sense, but of course its a nice touch if you can indulge some cash for landscaping to make it look awesome.

The basic plot of the unit is on a 40′ x 85′ space, although its hard to envision the space when there are no fences or markers to denote where your land end and where the road reserve (or your neighbour’s plot) starts. But I’m there’ll be some purchasers refering to the plan in their S&P when they get their keys and see their house. Waterville is a two and a half storey unit with a build-up of at least 4,117sq.ft. But the thing with Lake Edge homes is the design concept that sells it, you don’t really see big spaces every where, you just somehow wonder where the 4,117sq.ft. goes to.

As you enter the unit you are greeted by the dining and kitchen (a concept that Bandar Bukit Puchong 2 tried to execute for their Parkville homes, not to mention Putrajaya) and the living room is at the back with a view of the surrounding garden and aforementioned lap pool.

On the first floor are 3 bedrooms, each with their own ensuite bath (and outdoor shower, we might add) and balcony. There is actually no family room here. On the top floor, is the master bedroom, and the other half of the floor is taken up by the open roof terrace.

Most of the walls are covered with full length glass windows, necessitating lots of curtains and blinds if you’re not a fan of natural light or value your privacy. There are isn’t much walls as you can tell from the facade, and if you want to make the most of the design of your unit, there is substantial landscaping to be done, not to mention cabinets and countertop to emulate what they have done in the show unit.

Like we said, you need to see it to appreciate Lake Edge in its fullness of execution, and simply because there isn’t any other development here in Puchong. So we come to the pricing. It starts from RM1.6m onwards up to about RM2m for the corner units. Being so different, there isn’t a yardstick to compare it to, but what you’re paying for as we mentioned earlier, is the location and concept. On the downside you don’t have much space for a two and a half storey unit compared to a conventionally designed layout, but conventional isn’t what they were aiming for. We basically like this design better than the earlier double storey phase, and now you are purchasing into a maturing development where the landscaping is already completed. This project sits of leasehold land.

YTL are a major conglomerate in Malaysia in diversified interests. For review of another project by their property arm, you can check out The Saffron in their Sentul East development.

Mutiara Seputeh isn’t a new development, we first went to see this development at their launch a couple of years ago, at the launch of their very first phase. For those unfamiliar with this development, this project on Bukit Seputeh covers an area of 15 acres with a total of 93 units altogether, comprising of 80 units of three storey semi-detached homes and a very limited number of (13 only) 3 storey bungalows.

The main selling point of Mutiara Seputeh is its location - right near the city, where you’d not think there’d be any land left for a substantial landed property development. And of course its elevated location, and its limited number of units giving it an private enclave that is low density (only 6 units per acre) that most people crave for these days.

Most of the semi-detached units have been snapped up, and owners are awaiting the handover sometime by the mid of this year. Now the developers are pushing the last of the bungalow units in sort of a re-launch, which is actually the third and last phase of the project. The 13 numbers of bungalows are arranged neatly in a curve enclosing the semi-D units, and have an advantage of being the last and most prestigious to be let go.

Another distinguishing feature of the project, especially for the earlier phase of semi-Ds was the number of different layout types that offered the purchasers variety. There were 2 different design types. For the bungalows, there are 5 different types here.

As for the layout design of the bungalows, there isn’t much to comment here. At three floors, and a build up of more than 7000sq.ft. you pretty much can do no wrong. There are large spaces for every room, from the luxurious masterbedroom to living to the kitchen. Each unit has their own private lap pool, and another key feature that catches your attention is the high ceiling design that makes the first impression as you enter.

As for the facade, they’ve veered away from too contemporary a design, we have traditional large roofs and a slight tropical infused facade design to blend with the landscaping. We like it a lot.

The developers are pressing for a high concept development that emphasizes a ‘theme of modern contemporary with water features and lush greeneries’ in addition to it being an exclusive guarded community. Of course with the image of luxury priced semi-Ds and bungalows, the developer can easily find the money to splurge on excesses like this, but from what we can envision it to be, it looks pretty impressive. The theme of good feng shui is also heavily emphasized in their marketing material, so its no secret which market niche they are targeting.

There is a small clubhouse and a playground and much greenery, but other than that there isn’t other facilities in this site. But with the large build up and large garden area for all the units, there is not much point in allocating too much space for recreation within the development. The development boasts top notch security features, besides the guardhouse at the entrance, there is perimeter fencing with security system (like what SP Setia had for the MK project), CCTV for internal roads, and internal security system in the house which includes “Emergency/Panic” button for all floors. In short, the works.

Bottom line - of course its nice. In a three to four million bucks kind of way. But its freehold, its next to mid Valley, very very exclusive.

Hunza are an experience development with many projects in the Klang Valley and in Penang. You can see a list of ongoing and completed projects in their website listed below.

For those of you frequenting the elevated stretch of the Elite highway near the CSR factory in Shah Alam, you would notice that recently there has been a spate of newly constructed condominiums coming up on both sides of the road. You can also see this if you travel along the Federal Highway. Some of them of been recently reviewed here on our site like Crosshill Indarisa.

If you notice another almost-completed condo right behind the Carlsberg factory, beside the little river, that’s Pangsapuri Alam Prima. To access the apartment, you have to turn off the main road (Persiaran Jubli Perak). This is the main road that links the ELITE interchange and the Federal Highway, and is very busy most of the time. Part of reason is because of the industrial area here (where CSR is located) and also it links to the KTM Komuter station. Some years back it used to also flood in this area whenever it rained, not sure if it is still the case.

Be that as it may, because of its connectivity this place is slowly becoming the next condo hub due to a number of reasons. Firstly its near Subang, and the connectivity is excellent. Most of the major highways pass by here (Guthrie Corridor Expressway, ELITE, Federal Highway). The other reason is that the entry cost is cheaper. Compared to nearby Subang, that is. The landed development project seem to be situated slightly further away, near NusaRhu or Bukit Bandaraya areas. But the condos are here.

This project is by SPNB, our national housing corporation, wholly owned by the Ministry Finance. This means two things - it should be slightly cheaper than a private developer’s pricing, and its assured not to be abandoned. I mean, its the MoF, isn’t it? Most people are also aware that SPNB has over the years built thousands of affordable houses across the country, you can see a list of it on their website listed below.

Pangsapuri Alam Prima is nearing completion on site, so purchasers don’t have to wait a full 3 years for their unit. Also since this is a SPNB initiative, they are giving some waivers for purchases, check with their personnel for details. This is, then a pretty much a no-frills project, maybe its all a good thing considering our global economy at the moment.

There are 321 units, with 4 types of layout designs to choose from. The two wings of building form an ‘L’, and since all surrounding the condo there arent any highrise, all units have a decent view. Actually there are mainly only 2 units, the other two largest types have very limited numbers (5 and 1 respectively). Type A is at 850sq.ft. and Type B is the smallest at 771sq.ft. Both these types have a 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, plus a balcony. The other two types are Type C (1,725sq.ft.) the largest and Type D (1,621sq.ft.). These two types have 4 + 1 rooms, with three baths. The extra room is a utility room with its own attached bath.

For facilities they have the adequate but minimum of shops, swimming pool, a function hall and playground in addition to the security facilities.

Prices start from from RM143,673 to RM323,836, depending on the unit type. This is from RM180psf, you be hardpressed to find a midcost condo at these rates if it was by a private developer.