Lumi Tropicana’s Wellness Tower draws serious buyers

PETALING JAYA (June 18): Wellness Tower, the third serviced apartment block at Lumi Tropicana by Thriven Global Bhd, has already received tremendous response from prospective buyers ahead of its upcoming launch planned for end-July.

According to the developer, it has already sold most of its 150 “VIP Passes” on offer, which reflected the strong interest from keen buyers. The VIP Pass gives its owner top priority in unit selection scheduled for July 1. An official launch is slated for July 29.

The gross development value (GDV) of the tower is estimated at RM220 million. It consists of 186 serviced residences with built-ups ranging from 862 sq ft to 1,509 sq ft.

Wellness Tower is one of four blocks of serviced residences at the Lumi Tropicana mixed development in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya which was first launched in 2015. The four 35-storey towers are above a 3-storey podium featuring the commercial retail segment known as the Marketplace on the ground floor and 62 Small-office Home-office (SoHo) units on the first floor. The second floor houses a 3-acre facilities deck. Both the Marketplace and the SoHos offer double-ceiling heights.

As many as 372 serviced residences in Play Tower and Action Tower were launched at end-2015 and 1Q2016 respectively, while Lumi SoHo was launched in June 2016. To-date, all the non-bumiputera units from these launches have been sold.

Lumi Tropicana sits on a 6.4-acre leasehold plot next to the upcoming Lien Hoe LRT station. The development is a Green Building Index Gold-certified development carrying a GDV of RM886 million.

“We have been receiving many queries about Wellness Tower after the successful sell-out of all the non-bumi units in Play Tower and Action Tower, as well as for the Lumi SoHo units in Phase 1. This made us decide to preview Wellness Tower slightly earlier than scheduled. To keep this exclusively to serious buyers only, the marketing team came up with the idea to sell the VIP Passes,” Thriven’s Lumi Collections sales and marketing advisor Tan Justin told TheEdgeProperty.com.

He attributed the good response to the direct view of the Tropicana Golf and Country Resort’s golf course from the Wellness Tower, as well as its price point.

“Selling price starts at RM930 psf while the average selling price in the vicinity is around RM1,200 psf to RM1,300 psf. We also provide all the fittings like storage space, kitchen cabinet, wardrobe, and home appliances such as air-con, microwave, water heater, washing machine and even lights and plaster ceiling,” Tan said.

Thriven group managing director Ghazie Yeoh Abdullah said this is in line with the developer’s corporate value.

“As a listed company, we need to ensure there is profit from every project that we do. However, we never want to earn and go. We want to build, sell and stay to ensure the value of our product and brand. We always leave some money on the table so the buyer can gain profit too. And from there, we can build the brand following,” Ghazie told TheEdgeProperty.com.

Besides the 3-acre facilities deck, each of the four towers will have its own Sky Terrace with themed facilities for all residents. For example, in Wellness Tower, there is a gym, yoga and Pilates area, self-spa zone with steam baths and sauna room while in Play Tower, there is a music room, theatre, study room and children jungle zone, Ghazie shared.

He stressed that all the facilities will be fully equipped. Maintenance fee is at 30 sen psf.

“We will also provide hotel-like services, such as housekeeping, gym tutor, and event catering services, so it will generate income for the Joint Management Body (JMB) in the long term,” he said. “What we are trying to build is not mere buildings — it is an ecosystem of an international full-fledged serviced residence.”

Meanwhile, the developer has also come up with a novel way to manage the Marketplace. Rather than renting or selling the space, it will be partnering F&B companies and retailers instead.

“Not only do we want to control who and what businesses to bring in but also the overall design of the Marketplace. We will be sharing profits with our partners; this is also a way to increase income for the JMB,” he shared, adding that Thriven is currently in talks with a restaurant chain.

He added that the Marketplace will serve not only the residents but also the neighbourhood as well as LRT riders to the area.

Lumi Tropicana is slated for completion by 2020, with the first two towers and the Marketplace expected to be ready and operational by June 2019.

“We plan to launch the last block, Business and Lifestyle Tower, in 1Q2018. However, if Wellness Tower is sold out early like the first two towers, we may push the launch date forward,” Ghazie said.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on June 16, 2017. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.