The new social heart of Kuala Lumpur offers a visionary glimpse into tomorrow’s urban living
With its strong track record in urban regeneration, international real estate group Lendlease brings together global placemaking expertise to its largest integrated development in Asia — The Exchange TRX. The lifestyle precinct forms the social heart of the city defining Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), Malaysia’s first master-planned international financial district. Within The Exchange TRX are Malaysia’s first Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, six premier residential towers — TRX Residences, and a low-rise large floor plate campus style office, which are all anchored by a 1.3 million sq ft lifestyle destination featuring a range of exciting retail and dining offerings.
Mitch Wilson, project director of The Exchange TRX and head of retail Malaysia, shares The Exchange TRX’s unique retail experiences that are anchored in the future.
What are the features of The Exchange TRX that make it stand out?
Lendlease’s global portfolio includes some of the world’s most iconic developments that have pushed the boundaries of innovation like Sydney’s Barangaroo South, London’s Elephant and Castle and our very own Petronas Twin Towers. These developments deliver some of the finest thinking in technology, well-being, sustainability, design innovation and placemaking and we are excited to bring this forward-thinking approach to The Exchange TRX.
The Exchange TRX will be a showcase of Lendlease’s global partnership with retailers from all over the world, offering both luxury statement stores alongside high fashion, lifestyle and leisure outlets as well as unique dining experiences.
A distinct feature of our retail precinct is its seamless connection to the 10-acre rooftop public park, delivering a multi-dimensional shared community space that offers a unique opportunity to break down barriers between the indoors and outdoors. The park has open green areas with cascading greenery, water features and beautiful shaded zones that allow for anything from quiet contemplation, al fresco dining, community events and sports and children’s play to serving as one of Kuala Lumpur’s most scenic locations to host red carpet galas, festivals, concerts, movie premiers, international exhibitions and more.
“The Exchange TRX will be a showcase of Lendlease’s global partnership with retailers from all over the world, offering both luxury statement stores alongside high fashion, lifestyle and leisure outlets as well as unique dining experiences.”
How do you see the progress of The Exchange TRX as the retail industry emerges from a difficult post pandemic era?
We take a long-term view on the retail space and are curating The Exchange TRX to be a future-ready development with accessibility, connectivity, design and retail mix as our key points of differentiation.
The Exchange TRX’s strategic location in the heart of an international financial district that is modelled after the likes of London’s Canary Wharf, Singapore’s Marina Bay and Hong Kong’s International Financial Centre is an unparalleled advantage.
The TRX master plan has achieved tremendous progress with the completion of key landmarks: The Exchange 106, one of Southeast Asia’s tallest buildings; the new Prudential headquarters; Menara IQ — HSBC’s new US$250 million (RM1.2 billion) Malaysian headquarters; and Affin Bank’s new 47-storey corporate headquarters. The master developer has invested about RM3 billion in infrastructure works, which are now 99% complete. This includes construction of new roads, upgrades to existing roads, and pedestrian links leading into and out of the precinct. Upon completion, the overall development will have an on-site working population of about 45,000 as well as over 3,800 residential units that offer strong purchasing power.
We have received strong interest from potential partners and tenants for The Exchange TRX and will be sharing some of our exciting new retail partnerships in the near future.
What can shoppers look forward to at The Exchange TRX?
The Exchange TRX will be the new social heart of Kuala Lumpur. More than just a shopping destination, it is designed as an experiential lifestyle destination that combines retail, leisure and entertainment to create a vibrant and inclusive social destination for all.
Visitors will be spoilt for choice with over 400 experience stores spanning four retail levels with the largest selection of new-to-market names, independent labels and statement stores showcasing the best international and Malaysian brands. We are excited to have Seibu Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s first luxury Japanese department store as our anchor. Offering exceptional levels of luxury merchandise offerings and service, one of Seibu’s key features will be a Japanese-style premium food hall.
Entertainment will be elevated to a whole new level with Golden Screen Cinemas unveiling an exciting immersive cinematic experience not to be found anywhere else in Malaysia. The Exchange TRX will also play host to a huge range of exciting events, from indoor to outdoor celebrations, red carpet premieres to international shows.
Dining at The Exchange TRX will see a range of highly exciting experiences across five unique F&B precincts: Food Exchange (best of Malaysian hawker fare), Concourse Dining (international food hall), Dining Terrace (scenic al fresco dining) and Park Dining and Premium Dining (luxurious outdoor ambience).
Sustainability has emerged as a driving force in the retail industry. Can you elaborate on the sustainability initiatives undertaken at The Exchange TRX?
Aligned with TRX’s world class vision, The Exchange TRX’s sustainability values and principles form the heart of our unique retail experience. From how we design to how we operate, we engage our tenants at the onset to ensure that our sustainability aspirations are shared and supported by our retail partners. What makes this journey more meaningful is the support we have received from our retailers, who are equally committed to making this sustainability vision a reality.
Examples of our initiatives include waste segregation and recycling as well as energy and water efficiency. The development uses highly efficient and sustainable materials such as top fittings with green labels, LED lights and carpet with recycled content and certified sustainable timber. The Exchange TRX is also the first retail project in Malaysia to sign the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Pact commitment to reduce the use and disposal of single-use plastics in retail.
As an established global urban regeneration leader, our goal is to ultimately deliver places that are more operationally efficient; focus on people’s health and wellness; and are designed and built to enhance value over the longer term.