CitiZen@Old Klang Road open for sale next month

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Old Klang Road, which has seen new developments mushrooming in recent years, will soon see another serviced apartment project. Contractor/property developer Binastra Land Sdn Bhd plans to make its project, CitiZen@Old Klang Road, available for sale in the first week of October.

Binastra Land notes that there is still demand for residential properties, and the price tag is in a range considered "acceptable" by buyers.

The freehold project will offer 711 serviced apartments in three blocks on 3.44 acres of land. The units are available in 2 and 3+1 bedroom types. The 2-bedroom option is 852 sq ft, while the bigger units range in size from 1,092 to 1,133 sq ft.

Each unit is priced at about RM600 psf, which puts the average price of a 2-bedroom unit at RM511,200 and 3-bedroom at RM655,200 and RM679,800.

The whole project will have a gross development value (GDV) of RM488 million. It is located in Old Klang Road, a stone’s throw away from the Jalan Templer KTM Station and Sports Arena @ Sentosa (formerly known as Datuk Lee Chong Wei Sports Arena).

Datuk Seri Michael Tan, CEO of Binastra Land, notes that the prices of the serviced apartments are in line with the current market and are acceptable to the public. “We put a price that we think is the value price. It is not a future price, we can’t be so greedy.”

Property agents concur that similar properties in Old Klang Road are generally selling at about RM600 psf, with prices rising the closer the units are to Mid Valley City. On the flip side, CitiZen@Old Klang Road is nearer to Puchong and units there are slightly cheaper.

Nonetheless, managing director at iProp Realty Victor Lim says that while the selling price varies at different areas in Old Klang Road, he notes that the selling price of CitiZen@Old Klang Road is slightly above market value.

“However, as the unit is smaller, the selling price will be lower too. Properties priced between RM550,000 and RM580,000 are more sellable,” he adds. “Old Klang Road is still a popular area and there is still demand for properties there. Projects there might take longer to sell compared with several years ago, but they are still selling well.”

Ricky Teh, property negotiator at Kimfield Properties, says many people don’t like to live in the projects along the main road because of the dust, noise and traffic jams. The problem of traffic congestion is getting worse as many developments have been built along Old Klang Road, especially on the stretch near Puchong. “ However, Puchong also has had the most sales transactions recently,” Teh adds.

According to Binastra’s Tan, CitiZen@Old Klang Road is targeted at single professionals and young couples aged 20 to 40. “We are focusing on families from the surrounding matured neighbourhoods,” he says. “Buyers who are downsizing are mostly from the older generation, whose children have married and moved out. Their mobility is high and high-rise developments allow them to go farther away and for longer periods. It is something you can’t really do when you live in a landed home.”

There will be eight units per floor and each floor will be serviced by four lifts and one cargo lift. The project will have more than 30 facilities,  including a community park, futsal court, mini theatre, picnic area, swimming pool with jacuzzi seat as well as outdoor and aqua gym. The project has received 2,000 registrants and Tan expects about 70% of the units to be sold within six months after they go on sale.

“The units have a practical layout and they are spacious. They will come with built-in kitchen cabinets from Signature Kitchen as well as built-in wardrobes.

There will also be water heaters and air conditioners.

“The package and price is our advantage in selling. Also, the location is in Old Klang Road, which is toll-free, and it is between Sunway and Mid Valley.

This is commercial land but we don’t want to have a retail component for better security. We want to provide a peaceful life for residents,” Tan says.

As part of the project, the company will improve the access road next to the development and build a crossing over the monsoon drain to link it to Jalan Seri Sentosa 2A as an alternative access. The cost of the work has yet to be determined.

Going forward, Binastra Land plans to launch one project a year. “We want to monitor the progress. We want to play it safe and not launch too many projects at the same time,” Tan says. “Our advantage over other developers is that we can control the labour and material cost because we are a contractor ourselves.”

Binastra Land’s revenue contribution between construction and property development is 60:40, with annual turnover from the property development division amounting to RM300 million to RM400 million.

Upcoming projects

The company’s next launch after CitiZen@Old Klang Road will be a mixed development in Jalan Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. Scheduled to launch by the end of next year, this development will be known as ION with a GDV of RM1.2 billion. It will have hotel, apartment, office and retail components on a 4.75-acre freehold parcel Binastra Land recently purchased from Renown Heritage Sdn Bhd. Renown Heritage, a company equally owned by Eastern & Oriental Bhd and Singapore’s Wearne Brothers Properties Pte Ltd, sold the land to Binastra Land for RM96 million or RM541 psf on June 12.

The land, which was acquired by Renown Heritage in 1995, is currently rented out to Volkswagen dealer Wearnes Automotive. It is located opposite the old Sungei Besi Royal Malaysian Air Force Base that is slated for the Bandar Malaysia development.

Tan says that this project will be the next landmark in that area. “There is no new apartment in that area, so there is a demand for such a a development.”

The parcel is just less than a 10-minute drive from mixed development Sunway Velocity in Cheras and international financial and economic hub Tun Razak Exchange in Kuala Lumpur.

Binastra Land also has land in Cyberjaya, Kemensah Heights, Ampang, Puchong Batu 14 and Jalan Haji Taib in Kuala Lumpur. Its initial plan to build City Wholesale, a project consisting of two 10-storey blocks that comprise eight levels of retail lots and two levels of small office/flexible offices (SoFos) in Jalan Haji Taib, has been put on hold because of weak market sentiment.

It is also finalising land purchases in Jalan Gombak and Old Klang Road. Tan says there are many plots of land available for sale in Kuala Lumpur now, as developers are cashing out due to the amendments to the Housing Development Act in recent years. Among the new regulations is the increase in deposit for a developer’s licence from RM200,000 to 3% of the gross development cost of a project.

While the group is eyeing these parcels, Tan says they must be at the right price. The company is also open to joint venture opportunities, with the Klang Valley being the first choice. “We see weakened buying power now but there are still people who want to buy properties. We just need to offer the right product at the right price.”

This story first appeared in City & Country, a pullout of The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on Sept 28, 2015. Subscribe here for your personal copy.