This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 20, 2017
KUALA LUMPUR: The residential tower of S P Setia Bhd’s latest development project at 308 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Australia, called Sapphire By The Gardens, saw a take-up rate of more than 70% during the launch last weekend that was held simultaneously in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Sydney and Melbourne. The developer will be launching the project in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore this coming weekend.
“We are proud and extremely delighted with the overwhelming response that we have received for this luxury residential project, and we are confident that all the units will be fully taken in the coming weeks,” said S P Setia president and chief executive officer Datuk Khor Chap Jen in a press release.
Occupying a 4,140-sq m (1.02 acres or 0.41ha) tract in the upper-east end of Melbourne’s central business district (CBD), Sapphire By The Gardens is part of the two-tower development called By The Gardens which overlooks the Unesco World Heritage-listed Carlton Gardens. The development is designed by two of Australia’s world renowned leading architectural practices — Cox Architecture and Fender Katsalidis.
Sapphire By The Gardens will have 345 apartment units as well as office space, while the retail component will occupy the lower levels of the development. The built-up of the apartment units range from 50 sq m (538 sq ft) to 660 sq m (7,104 sq ft) and the selling price starts at A$550,000 (RM1.79 million). The gross development value (GDV) is about A$480 million for this residential tower.
The five-star Shangri-La Hotel, Melbourne will occupy the second tower with 500 guest rooms and three levels of amenities, including a sky lobby, restaurant, spa, fitness centre, swimming pool and a ballroom overlooking the gardens.
Construction of the entire project is expected to commence by the last quarter of this year and scheduled to be completed in 2022.
On the same weekend, S P Setia received news that its bid for the 111 A’Beckett Street site, which is opposite Fulton Lane where the developer’s first development project in Melbourne is located, was successful.
The 1,714-sq m (0.42 acres) site was acquired for A$61 million in an international expression of interest bidding exercise by CBRE and it is strategically located in the northern quadrant of Melbourne’s CBD.
A high-rise residential development with an estimated GDV of A$419 million will be constructed on that site and it is slated to be launched in the second half of this year.
“We are truly delighted with this fantastic news. This is another golden opportunity for S P Setia to deliver yet another development par excellence in Melbourne, the world’s most liveable city for the sixth year in a row,” said Khor.
He added that the winning bid reaffirms the developer’s long-term commitment and confidence in the Australian real estate market, and it will remain positive on the property market in Australia.
Moving forward, the developer will continue to look out for more acquisition opportunities in the country, said Khor.
As of March 31, S P Setia had 30 ongoing projects with an effective stake of 5,141 acres in undeveloped remaining land bank and RM75.72 billion in GDV.