New township by MKH, Hillpark Shah Alam, focuses on nature and environment

MKH Bhd, an established property developer in Kajang, recently unveiled part of its 550 acre integrated township, Hillpark Shah Alam, to the public.

The new integrated township, with an estimated GDV of RM1.3 billion, comprises double storey link houses, superlinks, semi-dees, bungalows, shop offices, service apartments, mixed commercial component, a proposed school and a police station.

“Due to the overwhelming response, we opened our second phase, Cherry, for sale, which also received an encouraging response from the public,” said MKH managing director Tan Sri Eddy Chen.

“Hillpark Shah Alam is strategically located in the Northern Corridor of Shah Alam, with easy access to six major highways; Latar Expressway, GCE, NKVE, DASH, Federal Highway and the Puncak Alam Highway. The distance is just 20 minutes away from Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur,” added Chen.

The project is near University Teknologi Mara, an existing McDonalds, medical centre and an Econsave supermarket. There are plans for a hypermarket to be built soon for the convenience of residents.

Chen said, besides its strategic location, the township was designed with nature in mind throughout the planning stages and caters for people from all stages of life. For those seeking active lifestyles, there will be mountain bike tracks, jogging tracks and innovative playground among other features.

Thematic parks such as Herb Farm, English Orchard, Spanish Courtyard and Japanese Rock Garden within the development will offer residents havens from the daily grind of working life

KH is keen on making Hillpark Shah Alam a green development.

The company says what set its township apart from other nature-inspired development is the sheer size of its Forest Park and Central Lake Park, providing 50 acres of greenery for all residents to enjoy.

This excludes the neighbourhood parks that will be built in each precinct. As part of the project’s green design, all the units will be built in a north-south orientation to reduce the heat from the sun which effectively lowering the energy required to cool houses.

As safety is also of paramount importance, MKH has incorporated CCTV coverage into the development and perimeter fencing along pedestrian walkways.

The group believes that this latest addition to its growing list of developments will help to meet the high demand for landed properties in Malaysia as well as introducing MKH to a new and wider market in the Northern Klang Valley.

Pines, the first phase of the township, offers 311 double-storey link homes with built-up areas ranging from 20ft by 70ft to 22ft by 70ft. The second phase, Cherry, offers 412 double-storey link and superlink homes that range in size from 22ft by 65ft to 26ft by 80ft. Another phase called Olive consists of 343 22ft by 75ft double-storey link houses.

These units are targeted at house buyers who want larger homes for a growing family. The units in the township start from RM440,000.

“Considering the great value we are offering to the market, the development has attracted young families and first-time buyers,” said Chen, adding that Hillpark Shah Alam has registered over 7,000 interested buyers to date.

Following the successful launch of the Pines phase, Cherry and Olive are now open for sale, with more phases to follow. While both phases will feature their own parks, the more exclusive Cherry phase will have extra greenery in the shape of the Pines Linear Park, Neighbourhood Park, Central Lake Park and the Forest Park.

“We expect Cherry to enjoy quick sales when it is officially launched for sale,” added Chen.

The Star, 5/10/2013

More demand for secondary property

Prices of new homes in primary market too high for most people

Some 70% of residential property transacted in the country today are in the secondary market, while the remaining 30% are newly launched projects.

Raine & Horne Malaysia (Penang) director Michael Geh said more people were going after secondary property because of the pricing which ranged between RM72,000 and RM350,000.

“This market has been very active in the last 12 months and I foresee that it will be very active for the next six months, in terms of sales and rental,” he said at the recent Malaysian Secondary Property Exhibition (MASPEX) Penang 2013 at the Penang Times Square.

“Another reason for its popularity is that the secondary property is already built which means buyers can move in immediately.”

Geh said that in the primary market, many residential units were now being sold at a high price due to market demand and inflation among other factors.

“It is only due to the recent Bank Negara credit curbs that the rise in property prices has slowed a bit,” he said.

“These high price tags for new residential projects has made owning a home a distant dream for the middle class.

 “The rental market will thrive in such circumstances as more turn to renting instead of buying their own homes.”

On the affordability level of new houses, Geh said that according to the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, about 76% of urban wage earners in the country earned RM5,000 or less each month.

“This means 76% of the urban working population can’t afford to purchase their own homes in the primary market,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents president Siva Shanker said between 5,000 and 7,000 people visited the three-day fair.

“We received some 2,000 enquiries, and about 200 of them turned into sales,” he said.

“We are still gathering information on the deals closed at the fair.”

An estimated RM1.5billion worth of secondary property was showcased during the three-day event.

The event featured more than 1,000 units of residential property in Penang and a few in Kuala Lumpur.

The Star, 8/10/2013

Jaya Shopping Centre to open in March next year, 80% of retail space leased

Mall will offer cinema and supermarket as well as retail units as small as 100 sq ft for rent.



Jaya Shopping Centre to open in March next year, 80% of retail space leased

The new Jaya Shopping Centre will open its doors in March 2014 and will feature a mix of retail outlets spread out over seven floors. This will include dining options, supermarket, cinema and entertainment outlets as well as sportswear, fashion, children’s toys and gifts shops. It will also offer beauty and wellness spas, electronics and gadgets shops plus a banking hall.

 

“Jaya Shopping Centre was the first trading post for many local home-grown retailers. It was at Jaya Shopping Centre where they started and had their first big break. Three decades later, many of these retailers have become retail stars. And we have the privilege of having many of them returning to Jaya Shopping Centre,” said Jaya Section Fourteen Sdn Bhd director Ismail Ani Arope.

Ismail added, “We are continuing this legacy by offering smaller units for rent as small as 100 sq ft up to 800 sq ft to passionate young retailers with their interesting and unique merchandise. Due to the compact sizes of these units which translate to affordable monthly rental charges, these young entrepreneurs may be able to manage their cash flows. We encourage young entrepreneurs who have aspirations to have a presence in a retail centre to approach our exclusive leasing agent DTZ Nawawi Tie Leung Property Consultants with their concepts.”

“As a mid-sized and mid-end neighborhood shopping centre, Jaya Shopping Centre is perfect for shoppers who have an aversion to huge malls. As a community based retail centre, we want to inspire and empower entrepreneurs to follow their passion to be part of the vibrant and connected Jaya Shopping Centre,” said Ismail.

There is a dedicated zone located on Level 4 which emphasizes fun and creativity, breaking rules of normal straight shop fronts, tiled floors and lighting in regular arrangements. According to Ismail, the shops, irregular in size and shape will become platforms for young entrepreneurs and retailers.

With 270,000 sq ft net leasable area, the new Jaya Shopping Centre offers almost the double the retail space it  had before.

Built on an island site, the shopping centre will have dedicated ingress and egress lanes built parallel to Jalan 14/17 and Jalan Dato Jamil Rais 15. The most outstanding feature of Jaya Shopping Centre is the prominent five levels of glass curtain wall facing bustling Jalan Semangat which will allow visibility and interactivity between retailers and shoppers. This vibrancy will carry through to the ground floor alfresco dining concepts, says the mall’s developer.

The “boxed-out window frame” spaces on the façade will break the monotony of a plain exterior and showcase “happenings” within.

The verandah seating space on Level 3, in the Food and Beverage zone, meanwhile, is planned to be allow tenants to add alfresco dining options.  Furthermore, the skylight, will introduce natural light into the centre and “enlarge” the internal air-space visually.

“Every design decision was made with the aim of meeting the taste, lifestyle and demographics of the new PJ generation of retailers and consumers. We want the new generation of PJ’s community to feel proud of this new retail centre and we aim to meet its reputation of being a quality lifestyle hub, shopping spot and casual hangout,” Ismail added.

“Our positioning remains– Jaya Shopping Centre will again become the favorite neighborhood shopping place; a home outside home for the PJ population who lives and works in and around PJ and will continue to create strong ties with community and the next generation,” he said.

Jaya Shopping Centre will have four levels of basement parking that can accommodate 780 vehicles.  To date, it has achieved close to 80% take up rate.

The Star, 9/10/2013