IPOH: Andaman Property Management Sdn Bhd recently unveiled the fourth phase of its Taipan metropolitan shop office development in Ipoh, Perak, within the 1,600-acre (648ha) Bandar Meru Raya township.

Dubbed Taipan City, the phase has a gross development value (GDV) of RM100 million. It comprises 25 units of 3-storey semi-detached shop offices measuring 40 ft by 70 ft and 15 units of detached shop offices measuring 55 ft by 70 ft.

The units command a price of RM1 million and above and include parking bays as well as individual lifts. According to Datuk Dr Vincent Tiew, Andaman sales and marketing director, the developer has set Ipoh as its primary focus and has so far received a good response to the Taipan development with the previous three phases achieving take-up rates of 80% and above.

Each of the four phases are being developed on nine acres of freehold land that was acquired from PCB Development Sdn Bhd, the developer of Bandar Meru Raya.

“Taipan City provides a central hub for digital businesses and a hot spot for tech savvy people plus those who have business and entertainment at heart,” Tiew said.

During the unveiling recently, Taipan City received a registration rate of 50%. The first phase, known as Taipan@Ipoh Cybercity, consists of 102 units of three and 4-storey shop offices with sizes of 22 ft by 70 ft and 22 ft by 75 ft. All units were taken up within two months of the launch.

Tiew added that the units are expected to be handed over in 1Q12 and prices have appreciated 100% since they were first launched. Phase two, known as the Festival Mall, is a 2-storey building consisting of 80 units of 2-storey shops with sizes of 22 ft by 70 ft and 22 ft by 75 ft. With dual frontage and an alfresco dining concept, 90% of the units have been taken up.

Phase three, dubbed Taipan 3, comprises 67 two-storey shop units with external lands sold together. The unit sizes are 22 ft by 65 ft and 22 ft by 70 ft and have a take-up rate of 80%.

The first phase has a GDV of RM100 million while phases two and three have GDVs of RM80 million. “We have charted remarkable sales worth RM200 million in the past 18 months for the first three phases,” Tiew said.

“Buyers of phase two and three are bound to enjoy very high capital appreciation as both phases are due for completion at the end of 2012.”

Taipan City is accessible from the North-South Highway. The development is also located near the proposed plot of the new Ipoh Mydin Hypermarket, the proposed Ipoh Sentral bus and taxi terminal as well as the new Casuarina Hotel and Convention Centre that is under construction.

Taipan City will be officially launched mid this year and will be completed in 2014.

This article appeared on the Property page, The Edge Financial Daily, February 3, 2012.