EcoWorld: Award for 449.64-acre land in Batu Kawan rescinded

Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) has agreed with the Penang Development Corp (PDC) to rescind a letter of award dated March 26, 2015 for the purchase and development of 449.64 acres of land in Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan.

Accordingly, their plans to build an 18-hole international golf course on 150 acres of land and a mixed-use development named Eco Marina on the remaining acres of land fell through.

“However, extensive studies undertaken as part of the detailed planning process have revealed that the acreage required for the golf course development will be significantly higher than originally contemplated which adversely impacts the viability of the project,” said EcoWorld.

EcoWorld president Datuk Chang Khim Wah (pictured) said while the group accepts the unavoidable circumstances that led to the rescission of the letter of award, it remains keen on Penang, calling it a “valued market”.

“We are confident that Batu Kawan holds much promise as Penang’s future engine of growth and are keen to play a role in making it a key development hotspot for the nation. Accordingly, we will continue to look for other opportunities to acquire good landbank here to develop more townships. This will enable us to replicate and build on the success we have enjoyed with our Eco Meadows project on the mainland,” he said.

PDC is expected to execute a deed of rescission soon, said the group.

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com.my

A new centre of connectivity is fast appearing….where a new hub for integrated transportation, integrating rail, ferry and bus services, will soon rise in the north.

Serving as the centre of transportation for Penang and the northern corridor, the hub also integrates retail, commercial and residential development within the planned 6 million square feet of development.

This is currently under construction. When completed, it will be the main integrated transportation hub for Penang, combining rail, road, sea and other transportation services – some 200,000 passengers are expected to use the terminal daily when it become fully operation.

Location Map:

Contributed by reader [6 Nov 2017]

Penang-based developer Ideal Property Group plans to launch RM2.723 billion worth of condominium projects, with more than 3,600 units in total, on the island this year.

Having launched the RM378 million SummerSkye Residences in Bayan Lepas, it is now looking to unveil its biggest project in terms of value in the area — Queens Waterfront. Executive chairman and CEO Datuk Alex Ooi says the freehold development sits on 36.53 acres, of which 24.79 acres are reclaimed land.

With a total gross development value (GDV) of RM2.15 billion, the development will comprise an 11.74-acre residential component known as Queens Residences, a 6.1-acre marina, a waterfront promenade known as Queens Waterfront Promenade, the Queens Sports Centre and an international school.

“The sports centre will have a 200m velodrome, basketball and volleyball courts, a Fina (Fédération Internationale de Natation) standard competition pool and diving pool as well as a leisure football field,” says Ooi. “The centre will be given to the state government upon its completion in 2019 and it will be open to the public.”

Queens Waterfront Promenade will be a public pathway with viewing decks, open plazas and a place for gatherings with seating, playground and kite-flying area. It will feature three concepts — marine life, sculpture park and beach habitat.

According to Ooi, Queens Residences will have four blocks of 22, 24, 26 and 30 storeys respectively. They will be launched over four phases.

Phase 1 will have 500 units in a 22-storey tower and will be soft-launched this month. The units will have built-ups of 950 to 1,650 sq ft and be partially furnished. With an average selling price of RM780 psf, the phase has a GDV of RM550 million.

Facilities of the residential component include a seafront garden, children’s pool, infinity pool and sandpit.

“Queens Waterfront will be located next to Queensbay Mall and will face Jerejak Island,” says Ooi. “The residential component will be on part of the reclaimed land and there will be more than 2,100 units. We have already started the reclamation works and will start the piling works early next year.”

For the development, Ideal Property is targeting property investors from Penang and abroad, residents from neighbouring states who are looking for holiday homes as well as expatriates and professionals from the Bayan Lepas Free Trade Zone.

“I choose to develop projects on the island because developments there have higher density and it is easier to attract buyers … some 30% to 40% of my sales come from Kedah, Butterworth and north Perak,” Ooi explains.

Phase 2, meanwhile, will be launched early next year.

“The unique selling point of the development is that it is located opposite a well-known shopping mall, Queensbay Mall, and it is well connected via the Bayan Lepas Expressway, Penang bridge and Penang second bridge,” Ooi says.

“Also, it is surrounded by major amenities such as the Penang International Airport, Penang Golf Club in Jalan Bukit Jambul, Pantai Hospital Penang, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre.”

Phases 1 and 2 will also have two storeys of commercial shoplots that Ideal Property plans to keep for recurring income. There will be a total of 72 units of 1,400 sq ft each.

With a plan to create an al fresco dining area similar to that of Clarke Quay in Singapore, the developer has engaged Singaporean architecture and design studio Lead8 for the commercial design of the shoplots. It has also appointed DTZ to bring in tenants for the shoplots.

The project’s symbolic icon is the regal seahorse that represents “the hope of the future and the promise of today”, says Ooi. There will be five towering seahorses encircling the driveway of the development, representing the unity of the universal elements and the proud heritage of the island, he adds.

Ooi established Ideal Property in 2002 with investment, property development and business process outsourcing as its core businesses. Its investment portfolio includes hotels, serviced apartments, commercial shoplots, development land, palm oil estates and office lots while its property development division is involved in the building of residential, commercial and light industrial properties and office suites.

Business process outsourcing comprises property design and concept service, property marketing advisory, property evaluation and monitoring services and project financing advisory services.

Ooi says the group had completed the construction of more than 10,000 condominium units from 2008 to 2015, and over 3,600 units are under construction now.

He has been the executive chairman of Ideal United Bintang Bhd (IdealUBB), an importer and exporter of used and reconditioned heavy machinery, since October 2013. There is an ongoing corporate exercise to turn IdealUBB into a property development company.

Ongoing projects and future launches

Ideal Property is also looking to unveil Forest Ville, Bukit Ayun Development and Amarene this year.

Scheduled to be launched by the end of this month, the RM495 million Forest Ville will have 991 condos with sizes ranging from 1,000 to 1,050 sq ft.

One of its developments that was launched recently, SummerSkye Residences, is a mixed-use project in Ideal Vision Park, Bayan Lepas. It will comprise 507 condos and 78 shopoffices.

The group’s other ongoing projects include I-Condo @ One Foresta, I-Condo @ I-Santorini, Tree Sparina, Imperial Residences and Solaria Residences. These developments are scheduled to be completed in the next two years.

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com.my

Property developer IJM Land Bhd will start construction of the second phase of The Light Waterfront, a RM3bil joint-venture project, along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway by year-end.

Senior general manager Datuk Toh Chin Leong told StarBiz that the master plan for the second phase had been submitted to the local authorities.

The second phase comprises a retail mall with 1.6 million sq ft of gross floor area, an office tower block with 540,000 sq ft of gross floor area, a convention hall and function rooms with 100,000 sq ft of gross floor area, two residential towers, and two hotels.

Of the RM3bil development cost, RM678mil will be for the residential component, RM270mil for the office tower, RM580mil for the hotels, RM330mil for the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre, and RM1.18bil for the mall and retail outlets.

Toh said IJM would leverage on its Singapore-based partner Perennial Real Estate Holdings Ltd to bring in reputable tenants for the mall and retail outlets.

“The residential and office towers are for sale,” he added.

Toh said that the integrated commercial project’s good location would mean long-term recurring income for the company.

“We can hold on to commercial properties such as retail outlets, hotels, mall and convention centre to generate recurring income. Amid a tough market we don’t have to worry about finding buyers and bank loan approvals.

“With the surrounding lifestyle amenities, the office and residential in the commercial area will appeal to high net worth investors,” Toh said.

IJM Land planned to attract multinational corporations to lease the offices due to the location of The Light Waterfront near the free industrial zone.

“Given the high price of properties on the island, residential units can also be leased to young executives who prefer to rent rather than own a property to stay on the island,” Toh said, adding that the residential units were designed for this market.

He said rental rates for residential units in The Light Waterfront are between RM3,000 and RM8,000, depending on size, location and furnishing.

According to Toh, the projects in Penang will contribute about RM240mil to the company’s revenue for the 2017 fiscal year ending March 30, 2017, compared with RM168mil for the 2016 fiscal year.

“The projects planned for launching this year are The Trehaus with a gross development value (GDV) of RM64.7mil in Bukit Jambul, and The Waterside Residence (RM260mil GDV) for the second phase of The Light Waterfront.

“These projects should help the company realise the targeted RM240mil sales,” Toh said.

The Trehaus and The Waterside Residence would be launched respectively in August and September.

“We are confident that the Trehaus, a low-density condominium project of 46 condo villas, would do well due to its prime location in Bukit Jambul, which is next to the Bukit Jambul hill and close to key amenities such as an international school, the Penang Bridge and Penang International Airport,” he sid.

The Trehaus condo villas would be priced from RM1.4mil.

The Waterside Residence comprised 256 units of condominiums facing the sea in the second phase of The Light Waterfront.

According to Toh, the company used to launch four to five projects a year in Penang before 2014.

“Since 2014, the company has been introducing one to two projects a year, due to the slowdown in the property sector in Penang.”

For this year, the company planned to launch only two projects in Penang. Next year, the company planned three projects for the first quarter, with two on the island and one on the mainland.

The two projects on the island are The Terrace in Bukit Jambul and 3 Residence @ Karpal Singh Drive in Jelutong – both high-rise projects priced between RM550,000 and RM650,000.

“The properties are priced within this range because these are the most marketable prices,” Toh said.

In Seberang Prai, Toh said the company would launch the Senjayu in early 2017, a project with GDV of RM69mil.

The first phase of Senjayu, comprising 140 double-storey terraced houses on an 11.7-acre site in Jawi, would be priced from RM480,000.

To date, IJM Land has developed and sold more than 1,000 houses for the first phase of The Light Waterfront.

“The company still has 100 acres of land bank for the development of the second phase.

“After the second phase, the group still has 85 acres of landbank, which has yet to be reclaimed for future development,” he said.

According to Toh, the strategy will be to develop a broad range of products with different pricing and built-up areas due to the slowdown.

“But what these projects will have in common is their strategic location.

“The projects are always located near interchanges and amenities regardless whether they are on the island or in Seberang Prai.

“The different price range strategy is to allow us to tap into a broader custom base with different incomes and product needs. Not everyone needs a large apartment.

“Thus we have launched products of smaller built-up areas for recently married young executives and those with small families. From our survey, the most marketable properties are those within the price range of RM600,000 to RM800,0000,” he said.

In March, IJM Land received the WoW Property Award for the Most Iconic Development from the Star Media Group.

Source: TheStar.com.my

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Penang Property: Shifting Towards Lifestyle Investment

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New Century of Property in Yi-Ching Feng Shui

Miichael Yeoh (CEO, GM Training Academy)
How to make the bank to say “YES” to you?

Ryan Thong (Head of Agency Sales, Propertygury Malaysia)
Penang Property Market Outlook – The Guru View

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Estate Planning – What ifs?

Stephen Soon (MD, MNP Auctioneers Sdn. Bhd.)
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