Share
Dijaya Corporation Bhd, the master developer of the Tropicana Golf and Country Resort development in Petaling Jaya, is looking to launch two new freehold townships in the southern part of Klang Valley this year — one in Cheras and another in Balakong.
Targeted at the middle to upper income group, these two projects will have a combined gross development value (GDV) of more than RM500 million, says its managing director Datuk Tong Kien Ong.
The developer has in recent years focused on its developments in Petaling Jaya. Its flagship Tropicana Golf and Country Resort is almost fully completed, with only about 20 acres of the 625-acre site left undeveloped.
The award-winning mixed resort residential development comprises 497 bungalows and over 3,800 residential units, a business park and smart schools, together with a 27-hole golf course and a 380,000-sq-ft clubhouse. The sales value stands at US$374 million (RM1.14 billion).
Dijaya made its foray into the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia last August when it formed a joint venture (JV) with Global Corporate Development Sdn Bhd to acquire two parcels of prime land totalling 37 acres in Danga Bay in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, for RM308 million. The JV is to develop properties expected to generate a GDV of about RM3.8 billion. The master plan is still on the drawing board, says Tong.
Tropicana Sg Long
Back in the Klang Valley, a township project in Taman Rakan in Cheras is scheduled for launch next quarter. Known as Tropicana Sg Long, the first launch will feature semi-detached homes and zero-lot bungalows. The project is currently pending building plan approval.
Located adjacent to Bandar Sungai Long, the guarded project will comprise three-generational homes including 3-storey semidees, 3-storey zero-lots, 3-storey superlink homes and apartments on a 26.8-acre site. It will be developed over two phases in four years.
Dijaya had entered into two sale and purchase agreements with several individuals to acquire the previously freehold agricultural land in February 2008 for RM18.67 million. The land has been converted for residential purposes.
“The semidees, zero-lots, bungalows and superlink homes are middle-upper-end developments. We do have an apartment component of 180 units but that will be in the later phases. The whole project will have a GDV of RM180 million to RM200 million,” Tong tells City & Country.
When completed, the project is expected to have seven bungalows with built-ups of between 5,000 and 6,000 sq ft; 66 semidees (land area 3,200 sq ft; built-up 3,500 sq ft); 22 zero-lot homes (land area 3,600 sq ft; built-up 4,100 sq ft) and 85 terraced houses (land area: 1,650 sq ft and 1,920 sq ft).
Tong says the bungalows are indicatively priced at RM360 to RM370 psf, semidees and zero-lots from RM320 to RM330 psf, and terraced homes from RM280 to RM290 psf.
The project is accessible via various highways like the SILK Highway, North-South Expressway, Sungai Besi Highway, KL-Seremban Highway, SKVE, East-West Link Expressway and Middle Ring Road 2.
The landscaping will be exceptional to add value and make the project stand out, he says. Landscape consultants and architects have been roped in for the master plan.
“Besides quality, we intend to focus on the landscaping and ambience in all our developments. The selling point is greenery and nature, unlike those days when you just built houses. Purchasers are more demanding nowadays and we have to create more than just a house,” Tong explains.
“We now focus on landscaping in all our projects. We will get mature trees and plants with trunks of about 4cm to 6cm, and not scrawny trees, so that buyers can have lush surroundings in one to two years. After all, we are selling the property now and not 10 years down the road, so the effect has to be seen now,” he adds.
Dijaya has come up with themes for the landscaping in Tropicana Sg Long, which will feature a man-made lake. There will be a rendezvous corner, a recreation park, two linear gardens and a cosy park.
Tropicana Bayou
Less than a 10-minute drive from Tropicana Sg Long and diagonally opposite Jade Hills by Gamuda Bhd is Dijaya’s other mixed residential project in Balakong, tentatively named Tropicana Bayou. The first phase of this mixed development is slated for launch by the second half of this year. The 66-acre freehold site was acquired at end-2007 for RM47.46 million.
The first phase, covering 12 acres, will consist of 90 units of 3-storey residential units. The whole project will be developed in three to four phases over seven to eight years. Some 4.1 acres have been allocated for a linear park, a linear garden and a central park.
Dijaya plans to combine the concepts of Bukit Gita Bayu in Balakong and Desa ParkCity in Kuala Lumpur in this RM325 million project, with the emphasis on landscaping and security features in a gated and guarded community.
“We are going to keep some existing trees, maintain them and put in nice landscaping. We want to create our own niche here and it is going to be a middle to middle-upper cost development. We are about to finalise the product mix,” Tong says.
Bukit Gita Bayu, also known as Windsong Heights, is an award-winning gated residential community development in Seri Kembangan. Sited on a 118-acre tract, this development comprises a residential mix of bungalows and low-rise apartments, as well as a clubhouse. It is landscaped with lush greenery and won the Selangor District’s Best Landscaping (Hotel/ Resort/ Tourism Complex Category) 2003 awarded by the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
Desa ParkCity is another award-winning township. This 473-acre freehold high-end master-planned township development is the first landed strata development in the country.
Dijaya Corp has lined up four other launches this year worth a total gross development cost of RM747 million, including Link Villas and Golf Villas in Tropicana Indah, Selangor (16 units of 3-storey linked home and 12 units of 3-storey semidees), Tropicana @ Danga Bay (800 condominium units in two blocks) on the site acquired last year and Tropicana Avenue in Tropicana Golf and Country Resort in Petaling Jaya (446 units of commercial property in three blocks).
This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 844, Feb 7-13, 2011
