This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 18, 2022 - July 24, 2022

Parkland Group has become an established property player in the country since its humble beginnings in 2008, with projects in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Selangor, as well as a developed and undeveloped land bank of 2,400 acres. Its flagship Bandar Botani Parkland will consolidate its position as an exciting and visionary township developer.

The group’s journey began on March 17, 2008, when its managing director Victor Tan and his business partners set up TYT Builders Sdn Bhd, a construction company. Later, they established a property development arm.

But before doing so, Tan — a trained civil engineer — cut his teeth in the business by working at his uncle’s property development and construction company. 

“I learnt a lot. There are many things to learn when working in a family-run business. My uncle gave me the task of doing everything, from the development side to the design — from layout design to building design — to approvals, construction and all the way to the handing over,” he recalls.

Then, in 2007, at the age of 31, Tan decided that it was time to strike out on his own. Initially, the going was tough. But luck was on his side as he was able to secure three construction jobs, two of which were from Japanese clients.

The following year, he had the opportunity to level up and become the main contractor for projects. Eventually, in 2010, he and his partners set up a property development arm called Pentagon Realty Sdn Bhd, which was renamed Parkland Group in 2016.

The property developer’s first project was Taman Pandan Jaya, Seksyen 1, located along Jalan Pandan Jaya in Melaka. It offered 16 two-storey terraced houses and 24 one-storey cluster homes that had a gross development value (GDV) of RM7.67 million.

The terraced houses came in two variants: one measuring 22ft by 65ft and the other 22ft by 105ft, with built-ups of 1,892 and 2,185 sq ft, respectively. The cluster homes measured 40ft by 70ft and had a built-up of 1,500 sq ft. The houses were sold for between RM234,000 and RM450,000. 

The company has grown steadily since. Tan attributes this to its focus on product quality. “Back in 2015, we implemented Qlassic for our project in Melaka. We also have followers, which is important as a property developer,” he says. 

Parkland Group was the first developer in Melaka to participate in the Qlassic (Quality Assessment System in Construction) programme.

Customer satisfaction is also a priority for the group. Hence, any complaints are attended to as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Tan also highlights the importance of having good working relationships with stakeholders such as banks, suppliers and contractors. The group makes it a point to pay suppliers first even when it is financially challenging to do so, giving rise to its reputation as a good paymaster.

Bandar Botani Parkland, which sits on 652 acres of freehold land and has a GDV of RM1.6 billion, is located on the outskirts of Melaka town — about a 30-minute drive. 

When completed, the township will have an estimated 3,891 homes, 393 shopoffices and 86 industrial lots. There are also plans for a supermarket, drive-through fast food restaurant and petrol station, among others. 

Tan highlights that there is an emphasis on landscaping and lifestyle elements at the developer’s flagship project. Phase 2, which sits on 51.41 acres and has a GDV of RM280 million, will be launched at a later date.

Phase 2 has a total of 808 units of 1- and ­2-storey terraced houses, 1- and 2-storey cluster houses, 2-storey semi-detached houses and 2-storey bungalows, as well as homes under the Rumah Mampu Milik and Rumah Kos Sederhana Rendah schemes. The selling price of the standard units starts at RM371,000, while the low-cost homes are from RM100,000.

The first precinct, or Phase 1, of Bandar Botani Parkland was launched in September 2021. All the units have been sold. There are 798 units of 1-storey terraced houses, cluster houses, semi-detached houses, bungalows, Rumah Mampu Milik homes and Rumah Kos Sederhana Rendah homes, as well as 2-storey shopoffices.

The selling prices of the houses ranged from RM100,000 to RM600,000, while the shopoffices were sold for between RM500,000 and RM1.25 million. Phase 1 sits on 110 acres and has a GDV of RM165 million.

Tan says one of the reasons for buying this parcel of land, which is outside Melaka town, is so that the developer can charge “reasonable” prices. It also wanted to create a lifestyle product that encouraged residents to enjoy the outdoors. So, about 12% of the land is set aside for greenery and about 30 acres have been earmarked for a recreational park and man-made canal. 

Another quality that differentiates this product from others is that all phases — a total of six residential precincts — will be gated-and-guarded communities. As the buyers will receive individual land titles, the developer will assist them in setting up a residents’ association. It has also included properly planned and designed sheltered guardhouses for each precinct.

“We will provide security services for the first three years. We are the first in Melaka to really demonstrate to our buyers that our gated-and-guarded communities are properly done,” says Tan. 

He adds that eventually all the roads and utilities will be handed over to the local authority to take care of, so residents will only need to pay for the security services. The developer thinks residents won’t mind paying for the services as the cost won’t be very high. 

Phase 1 sold well as the main target market was those living in the Jasin area, which made up 50% of the buyers, says Tan. But for Phase 2, he hopes to attract those from Melaka town, particularly upgraders, young professionals, couples and families below the age of 50.

Tan acknowledges that this may be a challenge, considering that the houses are priced closer to RM400,000, which make them harder to sell to Melakans. 

“To attract buyers, we need to convince them of the township’s lifestyle elements, like how the precincts are gated and guarded, residents get to enjoy the outdoors with good landscaping, and also the reduced travel time to and from Melaka town and other areas,” he says.

To realise the shortened travel time, the developer has invested RM50 million in infrastructure, particularly roads and landscaping. That includes 9.2km of roads that will open to the public this or next month. Travel to and from Melaka town will then take about 19 minutes, and just two minutes to the Jasin Bistari township, according to Tan. 

Tan says the roads have been completed early so that potential buyers can experience the shortened travel time for themselves when they visit the township’s sales gallery. Moreover, with the landscaped gardens ready, prospective buyers will have a better idea of the community they will be living in. 

Tan says that in 2022/23, the group hopes to launch projects with a total GDV of RM1 billion. These include Taman Kluang Perdana, Taman Bukit Perdana and Taman Parkland in Kluang, Johor; Bandar Layangkasa Phase 3 in Masai, Johor; and Parkland Residences @ Kajang 2. It aims to launch projects worth RM1 billion in the subsequent three years as well.

Parkland Group’s current projects are in the Klang Valley, Melaka and Johor, but there are plans to expand to the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia, possibly Kedah. 

“With the mechanism we now have in Parkland, in terms of how successfully we manage the KL and Johor projects from Melaka, the same model can be used in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. With our business model, we can go anywhere, including Sabah and Sarawak,” says Tan.

“Given the chance, we would like to venture overseas. We have been talking about going to the new capital city of Indonesia in Kalimantan called Nusantara.”

Projects that are in the pipeline include a five-star resort, as well as an integrated development in Melaka with a GDV of RM600 million. 

“For [the integrated development] in Kota Laksamana, we are putting a 1-storey shopping centre on the ground floor, an office tower and about 1,000 serviced apartments,” says Tan.

“I am taking on this challenge. If I can demonstrate this model in Melaka, I can replicate it everywhere. Not many people have put up a 1-storey shopping centre because, when people want to put in a shopping component, they usually want to do a big one. The one I am putting up is not very big, about 200,000 sq ft, so it is a niche neighbourhood complex. The main section of this shopping component, about 50% of the space, will be F&B.”

He hopes the office tower will have a population of 500 or 600, who will fill the gap during non-peak hours at the shopping centre, particularly during lunch time on weekdays. As for the serviced apartments, they are more for investment purposes, with units catering for short- or long-term stays.

In the long term, Parkland Group is looking to diversify into other businesses such as plantation, hospitality and trading. It hopes to eventually list on Bursa Malaysia, according to Tan.

Despite its humble beginnings, the group’s goal of becoming a larger property player is slowly taking shape.

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