Property Malaysia

This site has quite a long history with interested parties and developers, before the current development took shape. The site in question sits on prime land just off Jalan Ampang, in a rather secluded enclave but very accessible to the city.

We are talking about the 60-acre site now developed by Acmar International, as a high end project called D’Rapport. We were actually part of a team that took a look at this site some years back on behalf of an interested client, but at that time there were some conditions regarding the status of the land. But let’s talk about the here and now. The developer has managed to get the a huge parcel of land, and with it planned an ambitious large scale project that is prestigious and set to be a major landmark along Jalan Ampang.

To get to this site, you need to turn off Jalan Ampang at the South Korean Embassy near the MRR2 interchange. Other than the embassy, this small enclave is made up of the a Korean school, some low rise apartments, and older bungalows. The proximity with the Korean embassy and school is not coincidental, the developer has brought in some heavyweight Korean investors to take advantage of this, and have started the marketing process in South Korea itself, and have reported to have done brisk business. Little Korea is quite nearby, up at the next traffic lights. They have recently just started to open up to local buyers and investors.

Let’s take a look at the development. There is 60 acres of land here, although it didn’t really seem that big when we surveyed the site after viewing the sales gallery. From what we can tell, there are four portions to the development. The first phase, called Complex 1 or Festa (!) is the current launch and is nearest to the entrance. The second phase, Complex 2 and also known as Heroes (!?) is on the other end of the development. This phase will be launched in the future, so details are quite sketchy although development concept will be similar to the Complex 1. Between the two complexes, is a large Lake Park which consists of the SMART tunnel overflow pond (yes, THAT particular SMART tunnel), surrounded by a recreational park with landscaped areas. This whole lake park actually accounts for about half the 60-acres, which partially explains why the scale of the development space is not that evident.

The 4th part of the development is some public buildings like a school, shopping mall, clinic & education centre and pre-school that is located beside Complex 1. These facilities will be open to public, but the other areas such as the lake park will not be.

Since the current launch is on Complex 1 Festa (!!), we will concentrate on that only.

Complex 1 is a massive development by itself, make no mistake about it. We are talking 1,099 units, 5 tower blocks spread over 10 acres here. On the ground floor, there are the retail outlets. On the 1st and 2nd you have extensive facilities, from sports courts, indoor driving range, gym, cafe, and even guest houses (always a great idea if you have lots of expats living here). The third floor is where the podium level is, and there are more outdoor facilities like tennis courts and numerous swimming pools and landscaped areas. The parking is located in a basement level, and on part of the commercial facilities floors.

There are 6 tower blocks, each with 34 floor of units, Block E has 35 floors (because of the penthouse at the top). Each floor has 6 units per floor, Block E has 8. So on the average there are about 200 per tower. Excluding the penthouse (4,496sq.ft.), there are 7 unit types, ranging from 1,100sq.ft. to 2,230sq.ft. The units are spread across the different towers, but each tower has only 2 to 3 unit types, typical from the first floor up to the highest.

The largest units at 2,230sq.ft. are designed as ‘elegant and spacious’, and is laid out in a almost 2:1 rectangle layout. There are 3+1 rooms, large living, no balcony (which we like) and a spacious entrance foyer. The second tier of units are from 1600 to 1800sq.ft., which are basically slightly smaller options of the above. And then there are the smaller range, which are quite interesting. You have angled units, and also a studio units with a guest area. At 1,100sq.ft. they are as large as normal condo, but here they have emphasized the concept differently, and we think it’s a refreshing use of space. Good for those single expatriates on the go who do not want to pay for space they don’t need.

The prices start at RM700psf. They reflect the intended market, and is about the going rate for a KLCC condo, although this is not as near as the condos that are marketed as such. Not for the average local investor. This is quite an interesting situation, actually. The local market, especially in the KLCC can be said as saturated, with most of the rich folks who are looking to buy have already bought any of the condos launched in the last 3 years. But some folks are already flipping their first luxury condo, and now with more buying power, this may seem an attractive investment. But again, it should be noted the pricing is on the high side.

The units come with freebies and built in items, please check with the salespeople for details. Maintenance fee is 25sen psf.

The developers are marketing as close proximity to KLCC and embassy row along the Jalan Ampang area. Actually more than half the units have been booked overseas, so the locals are not getting the prime units but this seems to be the prevalent trend in recent luxury. As we mentioned, this is a pretty massive development in what used to quiet enclave. Taking into account Complex 2, there are about 2000 units, imagine the number of cars pouring out onto the already congested Jalan Ampang. There is only one entrance / exit (beside the Shell station).

We think we should be asking some pertinent questions about foreign buying power (both Middle East and Far East) in our local property market, but that’s probably another discussion for another day. As for the condo alone, we don’t fancy the shopping strip at the ground floor. With flooding becoming a recurring concern in the city centre, an associate of ours wondered about the lake that’s used for the SMART tunnel. We’ll try to get more info from the salepeople. But i bet there’ll good kimchi around here soon, though…

Our blog reader Tan Kok Choong has sent in some photos of the almost completed Mutiara Bukit Jalil Phase 2 units. There seem to be some defect rectification works in progress, as you can note from the living room.

Thanks to Tan for the excellent shots. If you guys have any site progress photos of any project, do send it in to us.

You can find the original Property Malaysia review here.

Access road loading into site:

Internal road (jalan Tiara 7):

Backlane:

One of the units:

Living room:

Staircase:

Dining:

kitchen:

2nd Floor:

2nd floor living area:

The construction of this project has been in progress for more than two years at the site, and with their huge billboards around the site, it has attracted a lot of queries over the long period. The long construction period so far is mainly due to the earthworks and site preparation, due to the very steep condition of the site. The show house is nearing completion, and will the official launch will be soon.

The site is along Jalan K5 of Taman Melawati, near the top of the small hill behind the rows of existing bungalows. This small parcel of land was a left over from the early development of Taman Melawati in the mid-80’s, and is identified as Phase 7B. In the interim years, this area of Taman Melawati has become a nice, rustic area at the edge of a jungle overlooking the natural limestone hills. The area is popular for jungle trekking, and if you had driven past there a few years ago, you can clearly see the granite outcropping at certain stretches along K5 going up to more than 2m. From the formation, it can be seen that the blasting was carried out those days to form the platform we see at the moment.

Now, this area has become a hotspot for luxury homes, with a few developers moving in during last 3 years - namely, this project by Pembinaan Asmegah, 20 Trees by SDB Properties, Riverview by Loh & Loh and a 60-acre project by Mutiara Goodyear further in. To get to this project, turn right the MRR2 at the Zoo Negara interchange and follow the signs up the hill. Approaching the site you can see some massive slope terracing works using retaining walls, it can be imposing bordering on trepidation.

There are only 50 units in this development, the land is a tear shaped enclave. There are basically only three rows of homes, with the 20 bungalows at the highest row, and the semi-Ds are facing the main road. There is one odd bungalow at the corner of the development at the lowest point that is especially large, but with a very high and imposing retaining wall behind it. Perhaps it would have been better to have a clubhouse or community hall there rather than squeeze in another unit in such a location.

Each unit has a large land area, although most of them are on terraced slopes due to the inclined, and every unit also comes with a private swimming pool and built in Jacuzzi.

The bungalows are of a very traditional façade and layout design. They have a big build up of about 6,500sq.ft., and all 3-storey. Most bungalows have extra space in front, and corner units come with extra land. With so much space, 6+1 and 7+1 rooms (depending on the type you choose), you can’t really ask for more space, although the footprint is minimal to enhance the design concept. The façade and colour scheme takes a bit of getting used to, though, we found it to be too conservative for our liking.

The semi-Ds, however, in totally different with their contemporary design. Here you have double pitched roofs (very trendy and popular these days) and a grey white colour scheme probably to attract a younger crowd. They are all 2 and a half storey units, you have 3,400 to 5,050sq.ft. of space. There are 6+1 rooms, and depending on the type you choose, you either get an indoor courtyard or a rooftop garden. Families with small children will have extra careful with the slopes in your garden. The footprint employed here is quite simple, almost rectangular.

Price of a unit start pretty steep, from RM1.6million up until RM4million. Driving by the site you can see why this is so – there is a lot of infrastructure work that has been done (and still in progress) prior to the superstructure being erected, like retaining walls, granite rock breaking, soil strengthening, etc. From the pricing it looks like its pretty exclusive to a tee.

As part of the sales package, they are offering RM48k to RM80k worth of freebies with each unit, please check with the salespeople for details.

Overall, you probably need to see the site yourself appreciate the view and see the actual terrain of the site. Choosing the right unit might be important, too. We would choose the semi-D units over the bungalows, but having said that, the pricing makes it inaccessible for most of us, anyway.

This is the Kuantan developer’s first major project in the Klang Valley. They are also known for the D’Embassy project in Bukit Pelindung, Kuantan.

Reader Lee Wei Li sent in these Hijauan Residences photos some time back, we apologize for the delay in posting them up, we’ve been a little pre-occupied recently…

Lee notes the patching work / workmanship issues in the 3rd photo.

For the original review of Hijauan Residence, read here.

Michael Dell of Dell Computers - 33,000sq.ft. castle in Austin, Texas, 20-acre compund.

Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison has $100 million home, a 23-acre, 10-building Japanese-inspired imperial villa in Woodside, California. Also has $200 million snapping up a dozen commercial and residential properties in the ritzy beachside enclave of Malibu, Calif.

Bill Gates? 66,000sq.ft. in Medina, Washington.

George Lucas.

Sean Penn.

Donald Trump.

You can see their billion-dollar homes here.

Yep, it’s now April and its tax time. February and March breezed past us, and we’re wrapping up the reviews for both month together, since for most of February we were away on other assignments, plus a two week Chinese New Year break. In total we had 5 reviews in the period and as usual, the reviews page is updated.

The 5 projects reviewed in the last 2 months were:
184.Meranti Condominium, Taman Raintree, Batu Caves
183.Casa Idaman Condominium
182.PT19 Residency, Puchong
181.Hijauan Saujana
180.Amaya Saujana, Petaling Jaya

Last week we ran a poll entitled ‘Service Apartments Above Shopping Malls’ to gather feedback from the readers.

The results of the polls are as follows:

401 votes were collected.

10% of the voters thought it was a great idea, and would consider buying or staying.

22% quite liked the idea, but would consider other factors before buying such units.

42% were neutral on the matter.

11% were quite skeptical about it.

while 15% did not like the concept at all, and would not consider it.
(you can see the results here)

All in all just below half of the respondents took the ‘on the fence’ view, which is the neutral view. Slightly more people were more positive on the concept (10 + 22 = 32%) compared to the negative opinion (11 +15 = 26%).

But that aside, the concept is really booming in Klang Valley, with no less than another 5 such projects planned to be launched this year, mainly concentrated in the suburbs with high population density.

Perhaps we will finally see the end to some of the issues regarding the approval of hillside projects in the Klang Valley. Currently in the news are some ‘hot’ for projects that have come under vocal protest from surrounding residents. Some of these were highlighted in the press recently:

Development projects approved by the DBKL, which disregard the rules in the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 and the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982.

Case 1 - Federal Hill

2.1ha (6.2 acres) of land at Lot 55 Plot A, Section 70, Jalan Travers. This prime land belonging to the federal government has been categorised “institutional” use, which basically means that it is land for the police to build their quarters and offices and not for commercial use.

Despite the fact that the DBKL will be holding an objection hearing with residents on April 4, the residents are questioning the relevance of the hearing when construction on the site has already started. By right there should not be any form of construction before the objection hearing.

Case 2 - Bukit Gasing

15.4ha (38 acres) of privately owned land on the KL side of Bukit Gasing, which does not come under the green belt area.

The residents also said that the DBKL had not acted in accordance with the principle of Local Agenda 21, requiring partnership between the DBKL and the public.

The residents have since gone to court to compel the DBKL to hold an objection hearing.

Case 3 - Jalan Gallagher in Taman Duta

In 2005, the developers submitted an application to the DBKL to build 13 blocks of five-storey apartments with a total of 188 units at Jalan Gallagher.

The new development will increase the density in the area by 750% from 10 people per 0.4ha to 84 - that is in violation of the laws.

(source)

The above 3 are under DBKL’s jurisdiction, and another two high profile projects under MPAJ are in Bukit Antarabangsa, which have recently drawn comments from the new MB of Selangor:

State Executive Councillor Ronnie (Liu)… said the developers of both the projects were not allowed to carry on with development until further notice.

Liu said the state was wary of carrying out hillside development especially at Bukit Antarabangsa which was under constant threat of landslide.

(source)

It looks like it won’t be as easy for developers to get hillside projects approved anymore, which is a good thing considering the diminishing green lungs in city and in view of the landslides that has happened recently. Well, at least for the next 4 years…

You’ve seen the concept before, a serviced apartment (or condominium), built on top of a shopping mall. Usually, they’re found in the city centre or dense commercial areas, to take advantage of the convenience of services and retail outlets ‘at your doorstep’.

They usually come with a commercial title, and are sized smaller or studio units to target the young, urban and mobile crowd.

So the question is, how do you feel about the concept of Service Apartments Above Shopping Malls?

Do you think it’s a great concept that will bring better than average returns to the investor? Are you looking to buy one of them yourself?

Or do you think it’s a concept that does not suit you at all?

Have your say and vote. Please only vote once, and tell all your friends to come here and vote, too. This poll will run for one week until 31 March 2008.

(You don’t have to register to vote, just click ’skip’ to see the interim results)

We’ve reviewed many of such projects, here is a list of some of them to jog your memory:
The Axis Residences, Pandan Indah
Beverly Tower @ Plaza Medan Putra
The CapSquare Residences, KL (Capital Square)
Impian Meridian, USJ1
K Residence, Jalan Ampang
Kuchai Avenue, Kuala Lumpur
Pavilion Residences, Bukit Bintang
Pelangi Damansara Sentral, Damansara

Gone are the days when Batu Caves was a place far off from the city, best known for the landmark temple and Thaipusam festival. These days, thanks in part to the expanding KL city edges, and the MRR2, Batu Caves is a hub of business and residential activity. It has sort of become that much nearer to Gombak/Melawati on one side, and Selayang / Kepong on the other side, and it has always been seen as an extension to the Jalan Ipoh area.

Many developers have been active here in recent years, and one of them being Sunway. The rapid development is evident as you drive along the elevated stretches of the MRR2, and you can see the new areas are slowly encroaching to form a part of the older, more established areas that once defined Batu Caves.

Impiana Land and Development have launched a mixed development in the area, and Meranti condominium is the first launch from that project. This forms part of their Taman Raintree, and there are some landed units planned in the mix, too. Altogether there are three blocks of condominiums in the project, the other two are named Penaga and Semarak, and are not launched yet.

The location is actually quite attractive for those looking to stay in this area. The actual site is just beside the limestone hills of Batu Caves, just a few minutes off the main road of MRR2. The developers are banking on the completion of a proposed new KTM station here, plus a proposed dedicated flyover connecting to the highway, as part of their marketing plan. The salespeople are expecting the KTM station to be completed in 2009 before the completion of condo. If the infrastructure is successfully completed by KTM on time, it will be a definite boost to the not only the project, but the surrounding areas as well.

Being the first block of units to be open for sale to the public, the units are designed and priced to cater for a wider market appeal. There are 18 floors of units, with 216 units in total. Units either face Batu Caves, or face the faraway Genting Highlands. There three unit types - Type A1 at 926sq.ft. (60 units), Type A at 1,098sq.ft. (84 units) and the largest Type B which is 1,227sq.ft. (with 72 units).

All units come with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and with a small balcony. They are the ’semi-D’ design, each unit shares a party wall with one other unit. For the largest Type B, the party wall is quite short, and there is slightly more privacy afforded to the living room.

The facilities provided are standard, like swimming pool, security, shops, sauna and steam bath, etc.

Units start from onwards RM145,000, which is about the same as some of the other condominiums offered around this area. With the right unit, you can get a nice ‘green’ view that would not be obstructed. The price is below RM150k, and is definitely accessible to a wider market, especially first time buyers looking to stay in this area.