KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 4): Bangi Resort & Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (BRDC), with services by Henry Butcher Real Estate Sdn Bhd, is selling 49 parcels of prime residential land located within the resort, totalling approximately 26.66 acres in size. 

Henry Butcher Malaysia Chief Operating Officer Tang Chee Meng noted that BRDC has not undertaken any property development projects for a long time, as they have been focussing on running the golf course and hotel in the resort, both of which have been doing very well.

"They have also gone upstream into fruit and vegetable farming, to supply the fresh produce that are needed by the F&B outlets in their hotel and golf club biz, De Wan by Chef Wan, The Loaf and Hisashi restaurant, and they are now in a position to sell the excess produce to other hotels, as well as the public. They are now looking at the remaining landbank within the development and exploring ways on how the land can be developed and enhanced to complement the hotel and golf club. In this regard, BRDC has decided to invite established and innovative property developers to develop the land, instead of doing it themselves," he said.

"BRDC will be able to monetise the landbank, which would otherwise be lying idle and not contributing financially to the company. Secondly, the new developments will increase the size of the population and market catchment for the hotel and golf club, and will also enhance the prestige and overall environment of the development. BRDC will be happy to explore with whomever is coming in to develop the land, on how they can work together to come up with unique lifestyle packages for their buyers/homeowners, eg. special packages/fees for using the golf course, gym, spa, F&B and hotel facilities, including laundry and housekeeping services. This would provide some USPs (unique selling points) to the developers to attract buyers and at the same time, increase the utilisation rates of the various amenities in the hotel and golf club."

He added that there are not many parcels of prime land available of a size suitable for a meaningful development of landed residences within a golf course, and this deal will offer an opportunity to established developers to acquire and undertake.

On Aug 2, Henry Butcher conducted an expression of interest (EOI) exercise to identify an experienced and capable property developer to acquire a prime residential site located within Bangi Golf Resort for development purposes. As this is an EOI exercise, Tang noted that BRDC would prefer to let the market come back with offer prices for their consideration, instead of providing any price targets. 

According to BRDC, the transacted prices for individual bungalow lots in their records over the past five years was around RM90 to RM100 per square feet (psf). 

Henry Butcher revealed that several parcels of the land face the golf course. The zoning of the land is for residential usage and a developer who acquires the land would have the opportunity to carry out a landed residential development on the land.

“The land has been subdivided for building of detached houses but the developer will be able to apply for and convert the land for development of a mix of terraced/link houses, semi-detached houses, or bungalows, subject to the current maximum density of 24 units per acre, as stipulated by the relevant local authorities,” Tang said.

"The demand for landed housing in Bangi is strong and skewed towards owner-occupiers. The target market would be mainly residents, as well as those people working in Bangi, Kajang, Semenyih, Putrajaya, as well as Cyberjaya, and even Seremban, as well as upgraders who are currently residing in these areas. The buyers would be those from the middle- to upper-middle income groups and there would be a strong take up from the affluent Bumiputera community in Bangi."

Founded on Oct 5, 1990, BRDC has been involved in the property development industry for more than three decades. Its principal activities include property development and property investment, and the group manages a portfolio comprising hundreds of acres of land in Bangi. BRDC is responsible for the development and/or management of four residential and commercial projects in Bandar Baru Bangi, namely Kompleks Diamond, Bauhinia Link Houses, Elinia Residences and Alpinia Bungalows.

Tang believes that more development will take place in Bangi, as development continues to spread to the outer parts of the Greater Klang Valley conurbation, and this augurs well for the long term outlook of the Bangi property market. 

"In particular, the infrastructural improvements that are being undertaken in Bangi will improve accessibility to Bangi. The Bangi Putrajaya Expressway (BPE) will be a new highway that connects Putrajaya/Cyberjaya to Semenyih, and the highway will be going through areas such as Southville City, Bangi and Kajang. The starting point is through Putrajaya towards Bangi and ends at the LEKAS highway (Semenyih Toll). The highway is expected to start construction in 1Q2023 up to year 2026, with a total length of 31.25km," he said.

"The opening of KTM Kajang 2 station is expected to be on Sept 30, 2022 and the station is only 5.8km away from Bangi Resort, which is approximately an 11 minutes’ drive from the Subject Property. Land, as well as property prices are therefore expected to go up in the long term but we believe the growth will be more moderate and stable."

Meanwhile, the 600-acre Bangi Golf Resort (BGR) — located in the heart of Bandar Baru Bangi — houses the Bangi Golf Resort Clubhouse, the Bangi Resort Hotel and a championship standard 27-hole golf course. 

The hotel is a five-star resort hotel focusing on MICE activities. There are altogether 256 guest rooms and 28 function rooms, including a ballroom with a generous capacity. F&B facilities there include De. Wan, 1958-owned and run by celebrity chef Chef Wan; Hishashi, a premium Wagyu Yakiniku restaurant; as well as a bakery/café operated under The Loaf. 

There are some completed individually-designed and built bungalows within the resort, and they are owner-occupied.