Catalyst to Bandar Tasik Puteri

From Star Online: Business

8 June 2013

Garden Heights latest phase, to be launched in June 2013, will have 114 units of link houses. As a mid-range product offered within Bandar Tasik Puteri, the 20’ x 75’ houses are priced from RM400,000.

A CATALYST expected to raise a township’s value by at least 30% – simply music to residents’ ears.

That is what Latar Expressway will bring to Bandar Tasik Puteri (BTP) in Rawang the moment it connects the 2,670-acre township to Kuala Lumpur city in only 25 minutes.

BTP has been around for 15 years, with developer Low Yat Group carefully carving out a wholesome township, playing its ear by market demand.

The group says residents have been waiting for this news as the enhanced acccessibility meant improved quality of life.

The group recently announced that it is investing RM100mil into constructing an interchange off Latar in an agreement with the expressway management. The interchange is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015, benefiting more than 60,000 residents by then. BTP has a population of 55,000.

“We will be expanding our product mix and looking into greater forms of commercial developments that will take advantage of this interchange,” group executive director Low Gee Soon says at the recent media briefing.

The group, known mostly for its hotel and plaza developments in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, has been rather quiet about the township’s development until last week.

BTP, a flagship project targeted to be a comfortable living environment without industrial elements, is 50% completed.

“We have all the amenities for the residents and will be investing RM30mil over the next two years to upgrade the facilities, such as parks, landscaping and infrastructure,” Low says of introducing more lifestyle elements to the township.

Among the rejuvenating initiatives are the upgrading works on the central park in the township, sprawled across 30 acres. It will become an interactive park with improved design and landscaping.

He foresees Rawang’s growth story, having caught developers’ interest in the past five years, to take after Puchong in a span of 15 to 20 years. There has been continuous new launches and more products offered in the premium segment, he notes.

Rawang’s population has tripled in the past few years to 700,000 in 2012.

The expressway will also breathe more life into BTP’s commercial developments, with more businesses such as oil and gas companies, banks and hypermarkets looking to expand into the township, according to project director Lee Kok Wah.

“We are now in talks with a hypermarket to take up space within the township,” he says. “And by the end of this year, we would have Petronas opening its service station near the Latar exit while Bank Kerjasama Rakyat will be setting up a branch.”

Lee says more companies have held talks with Low Yat Group about investing in the township.

The icing on the cake, Low says, will be the commercial hub sited on about 500 acres. “That, we will plan in time, in response to market demand,” he says. Low believes the hub would be a growth catalyst for Rawang in the future.

“We need to bring in the population in order for the commercial hub to flourish,” he says. The group has in mind for the commercial corridor, called the Urban Regional Centre, developments up to RM3bil gross development value (GDV) comprising a shopping mall, medical institution and college aside from the office space.

In the meantime, the group will develop the small pockets of commercial sites around the residential corridors.

Lee clarifies: The Urban Regional Centre development will be later on, but we are adding more three- and four-storey shoplots around the township now as the existing ones are fully occupied.

Starter homes and upgraders

The more immediate growth phase for BTP, however, is in its mid-range segment products. Under this segment, Low Yat Group has developed Garden Heights, comprising link houses, semi-detached and terrace units.

The group will be launching all its Garden Heights phases by 2015. The upcoming one this month is Phase 3, consisting of 114 units of 20 ft by 75 ft link houses.

“Because of the affordability and improved travelling time, more people are considering buying into this part of Klang Valley,” Lee says of products like Garden Heights which is priced from the RM414,000 to RM778,000.

“We have eight phases in this project and will launch them progressively,” he adds. Phase 1 is sold out while phase 2 is 90% sold.

Over the next three years, the largest privately-held group in Malaysia will be developing 1,400 landed residential units within BTP, and another 500 afforable apartments.

Garden Heights alone, a guarded community, will have over 700 units of terrace, semi-detached and cluster houses. The apartments will follow the existing five- to ten-storey format, priced attractively between RM150,000 to RM200,000.

The township has more than 3,000 units of apartments already.

For the affluent and the elderly

BTP, planned with five corridors to cater for different needs, will have high-end houses like semi-detached units, super link bungalows and waterfront villas aside from its mid-range houses and other affordable apartments.

There is the Tasik Puteri Golf & Country Club, enveloping a lake the luxury villas will be facing. The development in this portion of the township surrounding the golf course will be priced above RM500,000 and into the RM1mil territory.

Currently, the 27-hole golf course and clubhouse are publicly-accessible. Low Yat Group intends to dedicate other such facilities to only the township residents.

Aside from houses, Lee reveals that the group also has plans for a retirement home. This will, however, be an aspiration further down the pipeline, perhaps after the Garden Heights growth phase.

“We have had people, foreigners and locals, asking if we have such facilities for senior citizens,” he shares. “So we have put our architects on it, to come up with something.”

He adds that foreign retirees are attracted to the lower cost of living in Malaysia to enjoy their twilight years.

Lee says the concept is to create a serene area of 30 acres to 40 acres for the retirement home and relevant facilities.

“We will include nursing facilities and more to attend to senior citizens’ daily needs,” he says.

The group has delivered RM2.5bil of its original RM7bil GDV for the township. The remaining RM5bil is allocated for future residential developments.

Latar, or the KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway, is linked to Guthrie Corridor Expressway, PLUS North-South Expressway and in the future, West Coast Expressway. Latar is owned 50: 50 by Bina Puri Holdings Bhd and Arena Irama Sdn Bhd.

BTP is surrounded by more than 20 developed townships.

[Source]