This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 30, 2023 - November 5, 2023

The 19.11-acre parcel on which the Sri Damansara clubhouse used to sit is set to be redeveloped into a transit-oriented mixed-use development with a gross development value of RM1.1 billion. To start things off, Land & General Bhd (L&G) has built a temporary building — consisting of a sales gallery and retail lots — called the FLO on the site in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

According to managing director Low Gay Teck, the site on which the FLO sits is the last of the five-phase redevelopment and is zoned as an office development. The whole project will be completed in 15 years. Incidentally, a covered walkway will be built to connect the FLO to the Sri Damansara Barat MRT station, Low reveals.

“The entire site used to comprise a 2-storey clubhouse with a driving range and facilities such as a swimming pool and tennis court. The clubhouse had been around for about 28 years and we saw declining membership over the years … I suppose the next generation prefers to live in condominiums with full-fledged facilities, rather than having to travel to a clubhouse,” he tells City & Country in an interview.

Kicking off the project is Livista Bandar Sri Damansara, which comprises 25- and 26-storey residential towers.

“Livista was launched in October. Purchasers have started signing the SPA (sale and purchase agreement). The registration and preview was done in May and the response was very good … people started queuing at 4.30am. On the day itself, more than 90% of the units have been taken up,” says Low.

The RM460 million Livista occupies 3.02 acres and will have 700 condominium units in two blocks (Block A: 344 units; Block B: 356 units). These units come in three sizes — 690 sq ft with two bedrooms and one bathroom, and 1,012 and 1,035 sq ft with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The units — which will come with air conditioners, top and bottom kitchen cabinets as well as a hob and hood — are being sold at an average of RM750 psf. There will be eight to 12 units per floor, with each served by 4 + 1 lifts. The project is scheduled to be completed by end-2026.

“In Bandar Sri Damansara, there aren’t any products of this size. We have Damansara Foresta and Damansara Seresta [nearby] that have bigger units to cater for bigger families. Livista is for families who want a more compact unit,” says Low.

“Livista generated a strong response because the Sri Damansara Barat MRT station is just down the road … about 400m away. 

“Bandar Sri Damansara is a mature township, so there are many amenities such as banks, eateries as well as local and international schools.”

The development is accessible via Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), Jalan Kuala Selangor, Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway and North-South Expressway.

Facilities include a reading room, indoor playroom, recreation room, multifunction space, dining pavilion, campfire and barbecue terrace, indoor gymnasium, 50m lap pool, aqua gymnasium, viewing pavilion and sauna. The indicative maintenance fee, inclusive of the sinking fund, is 35 sen psf.

A 5.21-acre park called Senses Park will be built adjacent to Livista. It will feature a playground and sports facilities.

The next phase in the redevelopment is Plot 3, a Rumah Mampu Milik scheme offering 602 apartments at RM250,000 each, says Low. The 2-bedroom units with a built-up of 550 sq ft will be launched early next year.

The third and fourth phases are still in the planning stage. Low says the product offerings will depend on market needs. “It is very important to know the market demand … all our products emphasise internal design and layout. The façade aesthetic is objective but the internal layout has to be efficient, practical and functional. We don’t want to give you a space that is not functional. We also make sure the units have cross ventilation so that residents use less air conditioning.”

For example, the towers are designed in the “I” shape to promote natural cross ventilation and lighting, which minimises the use of energy.

With Damansara Foresta and Damansara Seresta offering bigger units of 1,500 sq ft and above and Livista smaller units, Low believes L&G has a good mix of products for a wide spectrum of buyers.

The developer has two more phases next to Damansara Foresta and Damansara Seresta, which will be developed over the next 10 years. The upcoming one, which will offer bigger units, will be launched at end-2024 or early 2025.

Damansara Seresta, which is currently in the handing over vacant possession stage, is 90% sold. Low believes the remaining units will be sold in six months.

Also in the pipeline for L&G is the RM630 million The Wyn Residences in Puchong. A transit-oriented development, it is just 200m from IOI Mall Puchong and Puchong Jaya LRT station.

Low says the 55-storey residential tower, slated to be the tallest in Puchong, will have three wings (Blocks A, B and C) connected to the lift core, creating a Y.

In total, there will be 1,546 units: Block A, 566 units; Block B, 489 units; and Block C, 491 units. The Rumah Selangorku units are 550 sq ft and the rest are 700 and 850 sq ft.

The 700 sq ft units will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, while the 850 sq ft units will have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There will be 12 to 13 units per floor on each wing.

“The unique selling point of this project is the lift zoning system. There will be low, middle and high zones, where each zone will be served by 4+1 lifts so that residents don’t have to wait too long,” he explains.

“Lifts are an important element in high-rise living and that’s why we do this. The low zone is from Levels 11 to 25, the mid zone is from Levels 26 to 40 and the high zone is from Levels 41 to 55. Therefore, one zone is about 15 levels. The service lift goes by wing.”

In addition to an express car park ramp, there are a myriad of facilities, which are divided into three zones: active, semi-active and passive. The active zone will have a gourmet glass house, playground, futsal court, basketball court, fitness area and 350m jogging track. The semi-active zone will offer a swimming pool, aqua lounge, Jacuzzi and aqua yoga area. The passive zone will have a canopy walk, lawn and reflexology path.

Currently open for registration, The Wyn Residences is scheduled for launch in December.

“The three wings are designed so that the units will not be blocked by opposite blocks … none of the units will face each other. Compared to Livista, we think The Wyn Residences will have more investors, but there will still be predominantly owner-occupiers. It is targeted at younger people as it is more affordable, priced from RM400,000 to slightly more than RM500,000. There are over 400 units with 550 sq ft layouts and they are for first-time homebuyers.”

Other than IOI Mall Puchong and the Puchong Jaya LRT station, the development is also near amenities such as IOI Boulevard, Setia Walk Mall, Lotus’s Puchong, Monash University, Sunway Medical Centre and Giant Hypermarket. It is connected via the LDP, Maju Expressway, New Pantai Expressway and Lebuhraya Shah Alam.

After The Wyn Residences, L&G plans to launch Aria Rimba, a 112-acre township in Shah Alam, by end-2024. This township will offer mostly terraced homes.

The developer is looking to launch a serviced apartment project near South Lake in The Mines Resort by end-2024.

“We are building mostly products that suit the mass market, which is the M40. We are only in the Klang Valley now … We have some land in the north and south [of the peninsula] but we have yet to develop them as we are focusing on the Klang Valley first. At the group level, we have a project in Melbourne — Hidden Valley — but it is at the tail end. Perhaps another two years to go as there are only about 30 bungalow lots to be sold,” Low explains.

Commenting on the property market, he says sentiment on the ground is that there is still demand and there are still buyers looking for products. “FDI (foreign direct investment) is still coming in and this augurs well for the nation. GDP (gross domestic product) growth is 4% and that is positive for developers. However, developers have to put in a lot of thought into the units. Things are getting more expensive and buyers may not be able to afford big luxury units, so we need to make sure the space is efficiently designed.”

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