This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 13, 2019 - May 19, 2019

Located in southeast Kuala Lumpur, OSK Property’s latest offering and first transit-oriented development (TOD), You City III in Cheras is poised to become a thriving, strategic development.

“You City III is our first pure TOD with a covered bridge that will link it directly to the Taman Suntex MRT station. We did not expect the Taman Suntex MRT Station to be built when we bought the land many years ago, hence, we are making sure to utilise this feature in our latest development,” says OSK Property CEO Ong Ghee Bin.

“Our target market is young professionals, couples and young families, aged from their mid-twenties to forties. Most would prefer to commute to and from work in the Kuala Lumpur city centre (which is only seven stations away) to avoid the traffic. It takes about 15 minutes to travel to the city,” Ong tells City & Country at the You City show gallery. “Construction will commence in the next two months.”  

“Our aim is to have a good mix of owner-occupiers and investors. We also think You City III will appeal to empty nesters,” says OSK Property chief operating officer Seth Lim.

Launched on May 12, You City III will be built on a 5.5-acre freehold parcel in Cheras (9th mile) and is scheduled to be completed in 2023. With a gross development value of RM488 million, the project comprises two 39-storey towers housing 800 serviced apartments with built-ups of 678 to 1,776 sq ft. The layouts include 2 and 3-bedrooms, 4 and 4+1 bedrooms as well as 5+1 bedrooms. Prices range from RM350,000 (after early-bird discount and bumi discount) to RM1.04 million. “Our pricing is affordable and strategic to fit the Cheras market,” says Lim.

You City III forms part of the 20-acre, RM1.2 billion You City township in Cheras 9th mile, which will have a population of 5,000 once it is completed. The township’s previous launches, You Residences and You Vista, are fully sold. You City III is its third and final phase.

“We are confident You City III will perform well, just like the previous launches. The lifestyle here is constantly changing and connectivity is becoming more important to buyers and investors. We definitely see an upside in terms of investments in this project,” says Lim.

Connected to a hybrid mall

OSK Property is amping up the features at You City III to ensure the development’s sustainability.

It will have a 2.4-acre facilities podium (on Level 10) that will include swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, library, function hall and half-court basketball. “We are being selective when it comes to the facilities. We believe it is best not to include those that are seldom used in order to keep the maintenance fee reasonable. Our indicative maintenance fee is about 30 sen psf,” says Lim.

You City III will also be attached to a hybrid mall called You City Retail. “We are introducing a hybrid mall. What we mean by that is that the mall will be a combination of shoplots, hyper markets and retail spaces,” says Ong.

“It is not a traditional mall like Mid Valley Megamall. We are not trying to compete with that type of mall. This is just a way for us to provide more conveniences, food and beverage outlets and supermarkets for the future residents of You City III,” says Ong.

You City Retail will comprise about 200,000 sq ft of gross floor area (GFA), with 140,000 sq ft of net lettable area (NLA). “We plan to own and operate this mall through Atria Management Team, which is also the operator of our other mall, Atria Shopping Gallery in Petaling Jaya,” says Ong. “We are trying to create something different but we cannot reveal much at the moment because we are still in the process of planning and discussion.”

Meanwhile, the developer has upgraded the Taman Suntex wet market last year. “Historically, this wet market has been popular among commuters from Bangi and Kajang. We have upgraded and built a new wet market to replace the old one,” says Lim. “It is now well ventilated and cleaner. We have seen good response from local residents and we feel this wet market will compliment the entire You City development,” says Lim.

Functional layouts and well connected

The towers and apartments of You City III will have a clean, modern and energetic feel. “We want  the units to appeal to our younger target market, hence we have kept the layouts modern and clean,” says Ong.

“The layouts are cleverly designed and designated [in terms of the bedrooms, with nothing less than 2 bedrooms] to ensure ample space,” says Lim. “There will also be sufficient parking bays for every unit. We will offer one to four bays, depending on the unit.”

You City III has a desirable location in the mature neighbourhood of Cheras. Nearby amenities include Cheras Leisure Mall, IKON Connaught, Cheras Sentral and AEON BiG [Bandar Tun Hussein Onn],” says Lim.

Schools in the area include Cempaka International School, Sri Sempurna School and University UCSI, while medical institutions include Pantai Cheras Hospital, Columbia Asia Hospital, Hospital Taman Mewah and Hospital UKM.

In terms of accessibility, You City III will be connected via the Cheras-Kajang Expressway, Shah Alam Expressway, East West Link Expressway, KL-Seremban Highway and Maju Expressway. “We are in the process of upgrading roads and building a flyover that will be connected to the Grand Saga Expressway, also known as the Cheras-Kajang Expressway,” says Lim.

OSK Property is planning more launches this year. “Apart from You City III, we plan to launch 1-storey semi-detached homes at Bandar Puteri Jaya, in the Sungai Petani township in Kedah by next month. We are also planning to launch some low-cost housing in Butterworth this year as well as new phases [of 1-storey terraced houses] at Iringan Bayu, in the Seremban township in Negeri Sembilan in 3Q2019,” says Ong.

OSK Property has a total land bank of 1,731.5 acres: 31 acres in the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan (456 acres), Kedah (1,221 acres), Penang (15 acres), Pahang (6 acres) and Australia (2.5 acres), with a total GDV of RM11.3 billion.

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