This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 14, 2022 - November 20, 2022

Winner | Skyarena, Setapak | SkyWorld Development Bhd

SkyWorld Development Bhd’s 28-acre SkyArena development in Setapak serves as a distinguished and vibrant silhouette against its surrounding backdrop of mature landed homes with its sky-high condominium towers, namely Ascenda Residences and Bennington Residences; SkyWorld Gallery and Quality Centre; and the multi-level, multi-facility SkyArena Sports Complex, which is said to be the largest of its kind in the city.

Notably, SkyArena is SkyWorld’s maiden property development. “I can say that SkyWorld started out at Setapak,” remarks the affable CEO Lee Chee Seng during an interview at the SkyWorld Quality Centre.

“In fact, Setapak, which is a former tin mining area and rubber plantation, used to be known for its hot springs, which are located at Taman Ayer Panas, hence the name, and is where SkyArena is located. We had a vision for this development as its location is very close, just 5km, from the KL city centre; so we see opportunities.”

He adds: “We also decided to do this because this area in Chinese is called a lao ren cun, or old people village. Most of the younger generation doesn’t live here with their parents; they would rather move to other city fringes like Taman Desa. So, we thought of doing high-rise living here to make it more attractive. At the same time, we wanted this to be a healthy community as the older generation also needs exercise.”

SkyArena was introduced in 2014 with the launch of the 3.41-acre Ascenda Residences, which was

Phase 1. With a gross development value (GDV) of RM360 million, the leasehold residential parcel, which comprises 650 units in two 28- and 37-storey blocks with built-ups ranging from 903 to 1,470 sq ft, was completed in 2017 and fully sold.

Simultaneously, the 9.4-acre SkyArena Sports Complex, which has a four-storey sports complex, a three-storey car park and an 84-room hostel, was completed in December 2019 and handed over to KL City Hall in March this year.

Partially opened in October and slated to fully open by March next year, the sports complex features an impressive range of state-of-the-art facilities, including a 10-lane FINA-certified Olympic-standard heated swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna, diving pools, two standard-sized futsal courts, a hall with 10 Badminton World Federation standard courts and a standard basketball court with retractable seats, four international standard squash courts, a football field surrounded by a 400m synthetic-surfaced International Amateurs Athletic Federation standard running track, a 20,000 sq ft gym and fitness area, a soaking pool and kids wading pool, three studio rooms and a 40,000 sq ft multipurpose hall.

“The entire SkyArena’s theme centres around active, healthy living, where the relationship between outdoor space and an active life is celebrated. For instance, the football field also serves as a green lung and the running track can be where people go to have their evening walks,” says Lee.

The sports complex’s 40,000 sq ft multipurpose hall can serve the surrounding community. “It’s quite big and has a high ceiling. People can book the hall for activities or events like weddings,” he adds.

Following the success of Ascenda Residences, SkyWorld launched Phase 2 — the RM437 million Bennington Residences — with bigger units in 2016. The 2.69-acre leasehold development, which comprises 580 units with built-ups ranging from 1,092 to 1,570 sq ft, was completed in 2019 and is more than 97% sold.

While SkyArena has been eight years in the making, work continues for the developer. Construction works are ongoing for Phase 3, the 4.43-acre leasehold Curvo Residences, which is slated to launch in January next year. Meanwhile, the final commercial phase, comprising retail and SoHo, which will sit on the existing gallery and quality centre, is on the developer’s drawing board.

The upgrading of the infrastructure, done by both SkyWorld and the city council, also continues. “Part of the main Jalan Ayer Jerneh has already been upgraded from 40ft to 66ft, or from two lanes to four lanes. This has benefited the whole community and has further elevated the area,” says Lee, noting that the infrastructure works will take another five to eight years to complete.

For its ongoing efforts to rejuvenate the area, SkyWorld’s SkyArena is a recipient of the inaugural The Edge Malaysia Excellence in Place Regeneration Award, which recognises catalytic development that has rejuvenated an area.

A major challenge in developing SkyArena was getting the locals to understand strata living, Lee shares. “When there are risks, there are opportunities. When we started developing the area, it was still a bit suburban and the people were not used to the idea of high-rise living as their surroundings were all landed properties. We understand that living in a landed home comes with its own space and greenery, and so we put in even bigger green spaces at SkyArena for them to enjoy.

“Another main reason why they don’t like staying in a condo is the maintenance charges. And so, we made sure not to over provide the facilities and kept the maintenance charges to around RM300 monthly. For instance, security is a must, and the landscape that we chose is composed of forest species, so they last longer. We also created jogging paths within the developments for their enjoyment without needing to step outside of the property. We made sure that people were paying for value,” he explains.

Lee also attributes SkyArena’s success to the building’s quality. “Since Ascenda Residences, which is our first project, we’ve benchmarked our quality against Qlassic (Quality Assessment System in Construction). Ascenda Residences has a Qlassic score of 76%; Bennington Residences, 78%; and the SkyArena Sports Complex, 81%.

The company also took up the challenge and built the 13,000 sq ft SkyWorld Quality Centre, which has a Qlassic score of 85%, to educate buyers on the difference between Qlassic- or Conquas-compliant finishing and a non-compliant one. “Not many developers would do this, but we feel this is important. We want to make sure that whatever we do is transparent, and this is the only way to give our purchasers confidence in us,” he says.

So far, the majority of purchasers at SkyArena are upgraders from the area, notes Lee. “We are proud of that because I think the locals quite appreciate us. We’ve been here for over eight years and are very happy with their support.”

In addition, SkyArena also benefits from being close to educational institutions, such as Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, University Technology Malaysia and the Malaysian Institute of Art. “Many parents of the students bought units for their children. We also have a lot of professionals working in the KL central business district, including young couples and newlyweds. We also have some investors, but we are still very focused on the end-user,” Lee says.

The development is connected to the DUKE (Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway), DUKE 2, Middle Ring Road 2 and Jalan Genting Klang. It is also located 3km from the Wangsa Maju LRT station. “People like it here because there is a lot of good food in the area and it is easy to get groceries. It is a convenient location,” Lee remarks.

To build a healthy community, it is also important to have healthy buildings, says Lee. “We put a lot of emphasis on environmentally friendly passive designs, which cut down on mechanical equipment usage such as air conditioners.”

“For example, we plan our buildings based on the wind direction, which helps to lower the internal temperature. In addition to having the windows face the wind direction, we also add screens for shading. We are also very particular about natural sunlight and air ventilation within the units. At Ascenda Residences, we incorporated a single-loaded corridor design to optimise ventilation, whereas at Bennington Residences, we made sure the dryer or yard is placed near the balcony,” he explains.

“We are very passionate about design. We have implanted this DNA since our very first development,” he adds.

A unique design feature at Bennington Residences, Lee says, is its swimming pool. “The swimming pool is not the standard rectangular shape, but is like a ring with a void in the middle. This can help swimmers train as they [are able to] continue swimming many rounds without reaching the end.”

The residential blocks are also sports-inspired, in line with the theme of the entire development, says Lee. “Ascenda is derived from the word ascender, a device used in rock climbing; Bennington sounds like badminton; and Curvo is derived from cuervo, a type of vault in gymnastics.

“We cannot keep doing the same things, so we have to create something different each time. For example, Ascenda Residences is a bit more conventional in terms of layouts, design and facilities. Bennington Residences comes with dual-key unit types to cater for the student market. These units are popular for parents as their child can occupy the smaller dual-key unit while they rent out the bigger unit to a family,” he explains.

The price points are also different. Ascenda Residences was launched at RM400 to RM500 psf whereas Bennington Residences was RM500 to RM600 psf.

As for Curvo Residences, Lee says there will be 830 units in total, with prices ranging from RM500 to RM600 psf. “It is on a nicer piece of residential land in the whole SkyArena development as it will face KLCC.”

SkyArena has also helped elevate the property values of the area, notes Lee. “This is due to the infrastructure we have upgraded. The landed houses here were around RM300,000 before we came in. Today, they are at least RM600,000. Prices have doubled.”

“When the commercial component is ready, it will further elevate the area and make it even more vibrant,” Lee remarks.

“By then, the sports complex would be fully operational and the landscape would have been transformed as the infrastructure upgrades [would have been] completed. This will take another five to eight years. We look at this development as one of the jewels in the city,” he adds.

Plans for the commercial components are still under wraps, but Lee is planning to focus on sports retailers. “This will probably be a few years from now as it also depends on the market environment, which will take time to pick up. We will wait until the market is right.”

Nonetheless, Lee says the company has plans to hold and maintain the future commercial asset. “We already have our own asset under management (AUM) team set up as some of our other retail developments are coming up very soon. We are ready.”

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