This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 19, 2022 - September 25, 2022

Sunway Property is set to launch Alishan Residences in October. With a gross development value (GDV) of RM326 million, the 3.34-acre project will comprise 240 condominium units in a 33-storey tower and 15 double-storey link villas.

Sunway Property senior executive director of property development division (central region) Chong Sau Min shares with City & Country the latest developments via a virtual interview.

“We discovered that our target market is looking to buy homes for their own use, so they need a larger space. This is based on the feedback we garnered from our customers,” he says, noting that homebuyers nowadays, especially after the pandemic, look for bigger units.

Situated on a freehold parcel in Taman Mutiara, Cheras, the condominium will have eight units per floor, with built-ups ranging from 1,216 to 1,798 sq ft. The indicative selling price starts from RM880,000, or RM730 psf.

The link villas will have a land area of 28ft by 75ft and built-ups of 3,477 to 4,359 sq ft. The indicative selling price starts from RM2.3 million. The maintenance fee (inclusive of the sinking fund) is estimated at 33 sen psf for both the condominium and link villas. 

“Some homebuyers want bigger kitchens. So, all of our units come with wet and dry kitchens, similar to those at Sunway Belfield. The condo units also come with a yard,” says Chong.

Alishan Residences will appeal to upgraders, he highlights. “The area is an old neighbourhood. There are people who [have been] there for one to two generations. I believe there are many people who [would] like to upgrade and Alishan Residences brings this opportunity with better design, security and lifestyle.

“I believe that [the lifestyle offered by Alishan Residences] will attract the locals who are looking to upgrade. Especially for those who are from landed properties or nearby condos that are older. [They may] want better [and] more advanced features.”

Chong says the development has received an overwhelming response prior to its launch. “The condo has over 10,000 registrants for the 240 units and the link villas have more than 100 registrants for just 15 units. ”

As for the current challenges in the property market, Chong acknowledges that the increase in the overnight policy rate (OPR) by Bank Negara Malaysia may impact some homebuyers. However, he is confident that Alishan Residences will do well as the target buyers are less likely to be impacted by the rate hike.

Chong says that Alishan Residences is on slightly ­elevated land. “It is also tucked away in a very serene environment among the housing developments [in Cheras]. So, homeowners will have fresh air and a [peaceful] environment when they move into the development.

“I think the design is quite modern [in terms of] the façade, facilities and interior design. It is going to be very refreshing. It is not overly done [and] it has been designed with sustainability in mind. We cannot be designing something where the purchaser or owner will have to bear a very high [cost] or frequent maintenance.”

He attributes Alishan Residences’ concept to Sunway Design and Development Architecture’s (SDDA) design philosophy, highlighting its four pillars: sustainability, innovation, health and wellness, and lifestyle and experience.

Sustainable features for each unit will include water taps and electronic sockets for hydroponic planting on the balconies and storage-type water heaters for the bathrooms. In the shared common areas, there will be photocell sensors and lighting timers, as well as rainwater harvesting tanks, solar panels to generate electricity and a recycling space.

In terms of innovation, Chong says Alishan Residences is one of the few projects in the area that provide an electric vehicle (EV) charging isolator for each unit. “The majority of condominiums provide a common charging facility. But each unit here will be allocated two or three parking bays, so at least one of them will have an isolator.

“We also have the Sunway Property mobile app, called the Sunway Property Facility Management  (SPFM) app, for a seamless homeownership journey. The app can be used to pay bills, book facilities and access other digital services. The units will also have keyless home access with a digital lock that requires a password.”

For health and wellness, he says, there will be many wheelchair-friendly features, including ramps and wider doors in common areas and the units. The units will also be equipped with Panasonic Nanoe X air conditioners and built-in water filters. Wellness-centric facilities include a reflexology path, a lap pool, a jogging track, an indoor gym, a co-working space and a multi-purpose hall that comes with a kitchen and preparation room.

Facilities include a car park storage area, covered delivery service pavilion, e-hailing service waiting area and additional parking bays near the entrance to the lift lobby.

Other lifestyle facilities such as the children’s fun pool, barbecue area, yoga studio, indoor playground, games room and karaoke room can be accessed on Level 3 of the condo. Residents of the link villas will also get to enjoy the facilities provided in the condo.

The development is close to malls and hypermarkets such as EkoCheras Mall, Cheras Leisure Mall, Tesco Extra Cheras, Sunway Velocity Mall, MyTown Shopping Centre and Ikea Cheras. Healthcare centres nearby include Pantai Hospital Cheras, Sunway Medical Centre, UKM Specialist Children’s Hospital, UKM Specialist Centre, Hospital Rehabilitasi Cheras and Pantai Hospital Ampang.

Alishan Residences is accessible via the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2), Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas), Grand Saga Highway, East-West Link and Maju Expressway (MEX). Public transport that is within reach includes the Mutiara MRT station, Cheras LRT station and EkoCheras bus stop.

Chong is optimistic about the future of Alishan Residences because he believes the Cheras residential market is still seeing demand. “We are confident that the project will do well as this is a Cheras and Kuala Lumpur address,” he says.

“Also, the most important thing is that it is freehold and low density. You will hardly find high-rise developments with fewer than 300 units in the Cheras area ... I believe there is pent-up demand for low-density residential developments [such as this project] in the area.”

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