Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 4, 2019 - November 10, 2019

A green, tropical theme is apparent in the scale model and rendered images of Nido Gardens, an upcoming mixed-use development in Rawang, Selangor. The lush surroundings, anchored by a cage-like sculpture at the main entrance, imparts a sense of arrival and grandeur in the development by PPC Chye Hin, the joint-venture (JV) of Pembinaan Punca Cergas Sdn Bhd (PPC) and Chye Hin Development Sdn Bhd.

“The word ‘nido’ means ‘nest’ in Spanish. The concept of Nido Gardens revolves around the idea of returning home to the nest,” says PPC Chye Hin executive director Choong Wei Min, pointing at the nest and bird-inspired sculptures and gardens in the artist’s impressions displayed at the JV’s head office in Kuala Lumpur.

For buyers, PPC Chye Hin is banking on the catchment of Rawang and surrounding areas of the capital city.

“There is a catchment of 950,000 [people] in the immediate area. We are targeting owner-occupiers of young couples, upgraders and middle-to-upper-income earners. Our goal is to build good-quality medium-cost homes in Nido Gardens,” Choong tells City and Country at a recent interview.

Occupying a 39-acre tract on Jalan Panggong, Nido Gardens has a gross development value of RM290 million. The freehold, mixed-use development consists of 376 units of two-storey terraced homes, three-storey terraced homes, townhouses, town suites and shop offices, as well as 214 units of state housing scheme Rumah Selangorku (Type B). Set to launch in November, Nido Gardens is the developer’s first project in Rawang and is scheduled for completion in six years.

 

Positive response for first phase

The general earthworks for the first phase, Ava Town Suites, consisting of 108 units of 1½-commercial town suites, have begun, with construction scheduled to start in six months, says Choong. Twenty-six units have been unveiled at the pre-launch held in August. “So far, we have received positive response from interested buyers and investors, in spite of our limited promotion and marketing,” he reveals.

With a sizeable built-up of 1,020 sq ft (22ft x70ft) accommodating three rooms, three bathrooms, a pantry and a hall, Ava Town Suites will be priced from RM388,000 per unit. Select units will have balconies.

“Ava Town Suites will be similar to small office/versatile office, or SoVos, but landed instead of high-rise,” says Choong, adding that the company is confident they will sell well.

The suites are designed to exude a clean, contemporary feel. “The units will be simple, stylish and functional. It will be tailored to suit the residents’ lifestyle. We aim for the layout to require little to no renovation, yet customisable to suit their needs,” says Choong.

As for parking facilities, there will be two bays for each unit and common bays for visitors. The shared facilities are a guarded community with wide, green spaces and wide roads, with plans for future courtyards, playgrounds, a function lawn and activity pavilions for multi-generational usage. Other facilities are a children’s playground, an outdoor gym, spots for sand play, picnic and barbecue, a jogging track, a cycling track, a tai chi and yoga deck, a frisbee and casual soccer field, and a multi-purpose area to host small events.

Next to be launched will be the two-storey terraced homes, with prices starting at RM580,000, scheduled for 3Q2020, depending on market conditions.

“We believe the prices of the units in Nido Gardens are competitive, and we intend to keep it that way,” Choong says.

 

Ideal location

Besides affordable pricing, the other considerations in the planning of Nido Gardens are design, verdant surroundings and connectivity. “We have worked together with well-known boutique firm Pentago Architects to create the masterplan for the entire development. We decided to keep a lower plot ratio for the projects to keep them conducive and to maintain a low density,” says Choong.

The location of Nido Gardens, northwest of Kuala Lumpur in the district of Gombak, is ideal too, he says, pointing out the many amenities nearby such as AEON Rawang, Tesco Rawang, KPJ Rawang Specialist, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Tasik Biru Kundang, a golf club, and fast-food chains McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and KFC. Nearby are several schools SJK (C) Kota Emerald, SJK (C) Kundang, SK Seri Kundang, SMK Seri Kundang, Straits International School and IGB International School.

“Rawang is an established township. We find that many urbanites are moving to Greater Kuala Lumpur areas such as Rawang due to affordability issues, demand for spacious homes and the thriving neighbourhoods in the area. We believe Rawang will be the next up-and-coming area for residential and commercial developments, and gentrification,” says Choong.

The development is also next to Gamuda Land’s township, Gamuda Gardens. Some upcoming landmarks nearby are The Gardens Boulevard, Gamuda Gardens International School, Boutique Waterfront Service Residences and Retail Outlets, GAIA Residences and Serviced Apartment, The Majestic Waterfall, The Lookout Point, Village Homes, The Adventure Playland and The Wetlands.

Nido Gardens has easy accessibility, as it is connected via North South Expressway, Guthrie Corridor Expressway and Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor Expressway. It is well served by public transport through the Kuang, Rawang and Sungai Buloh KTM Komuter stations as well as the MRT Sungai Buloh Interchange Hub.

Stanley Toh, director of real estate and fund management consultancy LaurelCap Sdn Bhd, offers a similar view. “In the last two years, Rawang has gained the attention of many developers such as Glomac, Mah Sing, Bandaraya Development and PPC Chye Hin. This is because the land prices in the northern corridor of the Klang Valley, such as Rawang, have remained relatively cheap compared with the southern Klang Valley. Thus, a number of developers took the opportunity to acquire cheaper land to develop more affordable housing,” he says.

Some of the main property types available in Rawang are terraced houses, factories and shop offices. Shop offices are currently leased for RM1.50 to RM1.70 psf for ground floor and RM0.50 to RM0.60 psf for upper floors, with yields of between 4% and 5%, according to Toh. “The current prices for commercial lots here are between RM400 and RM450 psf.”

Notable developments include Kota Emerald by GuocoLand (M) Sdn Bhd and Anggun City by Hong Bee Land, Toh says. “Over the past five to six years, most developers here registered encouraging sales, especially with two-storey terraced houses. Houses priced between RM400,000 and RM600,000 recorded very good take-up rates, while those above RM600,000 also registered good take-up rates but over a longer period,” he observes.

The main infrastructure developments driving the growth of Rawang are the LATAR Expressway and the Guthrie Corridor. The former links Kuala Lumpur at Templer’s Park to Ijok, creating an alternative road that cuts travel distance and time. There are upgrading works at the Rawang Toll Plaza and the Rawang–Batang Berjuntai trunk road is being upgraded to a dual carriageway to relieve the bottleneck that is the main cause of traffic congestion in the area. The Rawang Underpass will also connect Rawang and Serendah, Hulu Selangor, says Toh.

 

From engineering company to property developer

Formed in 1990 as a civil construction engineering company, PPC has been growing steadily and venturing into property development via subsidiaries PPC Chye Hin and PPC Glomac, a JV with Glomac Bhd.

Choong says the group has several landed properties inside and outside Klang Valley. Its projects are mostly in Sungai Buloh, Cheras and Rawang in Selangor, and Ipoh and Kuala Kangsar in Perak. “We are always eyeing for land in strategic locations,” he says.

The group completed the RM100 million Galleria Commercial Development in Cyberjaya in 2015.

An ongoing project is Aman Putri, a 169-acre township Sungai Buloh by PPC Glomac, first launched in 2011. Straddling a 169-acre freehold tract, Aman Putri has a gross development value of more than RM500 million and is about 60% completed, Choong reveals.

Previous launches of Aman Putri are almost 100% taken up, he says, and new phases will continue to be launched. The current launch is for 20-plus units of 24ft-by-75ft terraced homes, with prices starting at RM697,000.

Choong explains that the focus of PPC has always been projects “of affordable range within mature townships”.

“We plan to continue to launch competitively priced homes while implementing modern features and improving our designs,” he says, adding that the group will have its hands full with future projects in Nido Gardens.

“Generally, we find buyers still prefer to secure landed properties. They may opt to stay slightly further away, but they can buy a larger, better home for the same amount of money. With proper infrastructure in place, the public has grown more accepting of developments that are within a 45-minute to an hour’s drive from town, which is why you can see developments spreading to Kundang in Rawang, Semenyih and Cyberjaya,” observes Choong.

On the challenges in the market today, he says although PPC has not been hit badly by the slowdown “due to our lowly geared diverse asset profile”, home affordability “is definitely a key issue”.

Nevertheless, he adds, “For the group, we believe there is still continuous demand for affordable and practical homes. With our strategies in place, we are confident we will be able to compete in this period of market uncertainty.”

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