Mayland evolves with Hampton Damansara

AFTER a hiatus from launching new projects, Malaysia Land Properties Sdn Bhd (Mayland) had introduced a very different product from its usual offerings in the form of Hampton Damansara serviced apartments at Country Heights Damansara in Kuala Lumpur last November.

“Hampton Damansara is a new product of Mayland after a long gestation period without any launches for the past three years. [Hampton Damansara] is our evolution from the past,” says Mayland managing director Datuk Kevin Woo.

In the past, the developer had focused on building small units including studio apartments of around 500 sq ft. After a while, it realised that the profile of buyers who came in were mostly investors rather than owner-occupiers.

“But now, with Hampton Damansara, we hope to shift from the investor market to a hybrid of both investors and owner-occupiers by building bigger units,” says Woo.

Spanning across a 3.2-acre freehold site in Country Heights Damansara, Hampton Damansara has a gross development value (GDV) of over RM700 million. It comprises 700 serviced apartment units spread over two 43-storey towers, with prices starting from RM750 psf. The majority of units will have 2+1-bedroom layouts with built-ups of between 924 sq ft and 1,426 sq ft.

Based on feedback from Mayland’s customers, the developer found that 2-bedroom units are the preferred type as smaller 1-bedroom apartments may be a bit challenging to live in.

“Hence, we are now not only focusing on bigger units, but also on the facilities to promote better living and a healthier lifestyle. For the first time in Mayland, we are spending RM5.8 million on landscaping,” he tells TheEdgeProperty.com.

Among the 46 lifestyle facilities residents can enjoy is the first crystal salt sauna in a serviced apartment development in Malaysia, along with an Olympic-sized salt water swimming pool and an aqua gym.

Each unit at Hampton Damansara will also come equipped with home appliances including a refrigerator, washing machine, air-conditioners for all bedrooms and living room, a kitchen hood and hob, plaster ceiling, built-in microwave oven and kitchen cabinets.

“Another thing that we want to prioritise at this development is security. So, we are attempting to do a seven-tier security system for our residents at Hampton Damansara,” says Woo.

The construction for Hampton Damansara has begun and the project will take four years to complete. The project, adds Woo, will adhere strictly to Singapore’s Construction Quality Assessment System to ensure its construction standard.

Besides being conveniently connected to established roads and highways, Hampton Damansara is surrounded by many amenities including IKEA Damansara, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, The Curve, SJK(C) Puay Chai, SMK Bandar Utama, the British International School, KPJ Damansara Specialist Centre, ParkCity Medical Centre, Bandar Utama Golf Course and Valencia Golf Club.

Dorsett Hartamas

Meanwhile, on its other upcoming projects, Woo reveals that Mayland is looking to launch Dorsett Hartamas in May 2017. The serviced apartment project located in Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur has an estimated GDV of RM600 million.

According to Woo, the 5.42-acre plot is the last one in the Hartamas area to be allowed for projects of up to 27 storeys high.

“This development was originally planned to be marketed as Hermitage. However, due to the keen interest of international hospitality enterprise Dorsett Group to take over this development, we decided to develop it under the Dorsett brand,” Woo discloses.

The strategic location, which offers an amazing view of Istana Negara, has given Dorsett the confidence to undertake the construction of the project even without putting up any units for sale up to now.

Woo says Dorsett Hartamas is targeted at young professionals who are looking to live within the vicinity of Sri Hartamas and Mont’Kiara. The serviced apartment units will have built-ups ranging between 474 sq ft and 1,378 sq ft. He adds that the super structure of the building has been completed and the interior design works have already been assigned. It is slated for completion by this December.

In the near future, Mayland plans to develop more high-rise residential projects in collaboration with Dorsett Hospitality International, says Woo.

“We are not the first developer to do this. Through the hotel network, we can leverage on getting guaranteed rental returns for our investors and buyers. With repeated customers who are benefiting from good guaranteed rental yields, this will help orchestrate better sales for us,” he says.

More to come

As a forerunner in building serviced apartments, Mayland was incorporated in 1995 with property developments across the Klang Valley and Johor. It is planning to launch properties worth RM2.3 billion in GDV this year.

In August, Mayland will be looking to launch phase 4 of Royal Garden comprising 600 condo units at Sri Putramas, Jalan Kuching, and Solaris Esplanade comprising 426 units of three-storey terraced homes in Semenyih. In October, it plans to launch Sierra Green (which is next to IGB International School) which comprises 405 condo units in Sungai Buloh.

On the One Stonor serviced apartment project at Persiaran Stonor near KLCC, Woo notes that this project is being marketed in China and Hong Kong while domestic sales are expected around May.

With homebuyers getting smarter and more discerning when it comes to evaluating investment returns, Woo says he is attempting to ease property ownership by reducing the maintenance fee to its minimum.

“If you look at our past records, most of our projects sold have exceeded capital gains of more than 50%. So, in terms of capital gains and value creation, we are very good,” he declares.

This story first appeared in the Special Report on High-Rise Living in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on March 31, 2017. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.