This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 5, 2024 - February 11, 2024

Paramount Property Development Sdn Bhd — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Corp Bhd — has witnessed a rewarding year in 2023, achieving its sales target of RM1.15 billion. “We had a good run last year and we hope to continue the momentum. For 2024, we have set a sales target of RM1.4 billion, 27% higher than last year,” its CEO Chee Siew Pin tells City & Country in an exclusive interview.

According to Chee, the developer is kicking off the year with its first luxury high-rise residential development named The Ashwood, via Paramount Corp’s wholly- owned subsidiary Paramount Property (Cityview) Sdn Bhd. Nestled within the neighbourhood of Taman U-Thant in Kuala Lumpur, The Ashwood will be spread across a 3.59-acre freehold, residential-titled parcel. The development will offer two 49-storey residential towers and 12 units of 3- and 4-storey villas.

Chee explains that the design concept for The Ashwood was inspired by traditional Chinese mansions. “In the olden days, the traditional Chinese mansions centred around a very well laid-out courtyard. The front area before the courtyard was to serve guests and customers while the rear part after the courtyard was for the family. And mansions like that had plenty of natural light and ventilation.

“We’ve utilised this concept by placing an air well in between the two towers and have positioned the towers in a way that there are five different wings to ensure there is ample ventilation between them,” he shares.

As the development is situated in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Kuala Lumpur, Chee says his team had to ensure it blended well with the skyscrapers in the vicinity. “More importantly, we wanted to do something that was evergreen. We didn’t want the building to look dated or out of trend after four or five years.

“We also went for a more resort-themed design for the interiors. It will have a very relaxed feel because we want the development to provide a more hotel- or resort-like experience.”

The project has a gross development value (GDV) of RM758 million. Each tower will have 151 condominium units from Levels 5 to 39 and 20 duplexes from Levels 40 to 47. In total, The Ashwood will offer 302 condominium units that come in five layouts, with built-ups of 1,381 to 1,707 sq ft, and 40 units of 2-storey duplexes that come in five layouts, with built-ups of 2,431 to 3,020 sq ft. The condominium units are priced from RM1.641 million. The 3- and 4-storey villas, on the other hand, will have built-ups of 3,133 sq ft and 3,399 sq ft respectively. The selling price of a villa is about RM4.307 million. 

According to Chee, the condominium units and villas will be open for sale while the duplexes will be available at a later date. All the units are subjected to a maintenance fee inclusive of sinking fund of approximately 39 sen psf. 

According to Chee, what makes The Ashwood different from other developments is its layouts, which provide more space. “During the planning and designing stage, we emphasised a lot on the internal layout. Most of the offerings that you have in the city are normally about 12ft for the living area, where it’s longish. When you come in from the main entrance, the first thing you see are the kitchen and the island.

“When the layout is longish, it’s quite difficult to place your furniture. You can only have certain furniture of smaller sizes. In comparison, our offering is wider, meaning the balcony and windows are bigger, leaving more room for natural ventilation and lighting. So when we try to maximise that, if you were to look at the building itself, it looks a little wider, than how most buildings are today,” he shares.

For the benefit of its residents, the developer will provide several smart features for each unit, including a smart digital lock, smart switches for lighting and air-conditioning control and a smart hub to integrate all smart home appliances. Electric power points for motorised curtains will be available in the living area for all unit types and all controls will be accessible via a mobile app by the developer.

Chee points out that the project will also offer 48 facilities, including a pet grooming space, pet-friendly park, nursery, children’s playground, meeting room, launderette, car wash bay, 22kW electric-vehicle charging stations, 50m infinity pool, Jacuzzi, outdoor gymnasium, sauna, chess terrace, lounge areas, multipurpose hall-cum-badminton court, barbecue terrace and co-working spaces.

For safety and security, the development will offer a multi-tiered CCTV security system, 24/7 security patrol, dual guardhouses as well as visitor screening and management system.

“Since about five years ago, most of our projects have been designed to be green and most also come with green certifications. Similarly, progress is underway towards achieving GreenRE certification for The Ashwood,” says Chee.

Some of the green features The Ashwood boasts for building temperature control according to Chee, include utilising Low-E glass for west-facing units, where heat build-up can be reduced resulting in a temperature reduction of 4°C; integrating a green facade at the podium car park to act as a heat buffer; installing a water feature at the drop-off area to create a cooling effect; and incorporating building facades with ledges or fins as solar shading devices.

For energy efficiency, the developer will install energy-efficient LED lights in common areas and solar-powered lighting for the rooftop and garden landscapes; maximise natural ventilation and daylight in both the units and common corridors; harness renewable energy with rooftop solar panels to power common areas; incorporate energy-saving features in lifts, such as AC Variable Voltage Variable Frequency and sleep mode; as well as integrate a smart home system for energy-saving purposes.

“The use of these energy-efficient features can help save about 5% on energy costs. By providing more open space in the common areas and bigger balconies for each unit, we estimate that the energy savings on air conditioning would be up to 29%,” Chee highlights.

To reduce water consumption, he says the developer will implement rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation, which can help save about 10% on water bills for landscaping and install aerated water taps in all toilets. In addition to that, Chee adds that the developer will use the industrialised building system (IBS) for the formwork of the project; plant more greeneries at the drop-off and facilities floors to enhance thermal comfort and reduce noise; and implement a centralised recycling bin to promote recycling.

According to Chee, Taman U-Thant, spanning 563 acres, has about 4,000 houses or 7.2 units per acre. “In contrast to the more standard vertical living such as in Mont’Kiara and Sri Hartamas, where we have about 21.4 units per acre, and Bangsar with 9.7 units per acre, comparably, Taman U-Thant residents enjoy a lower-density living environment.

“Originally designated for high-end residential purposes in Kuala Lumpur’s urban planning, Taman U-Thant evolved into an upscale enclave with a cosmopolitan flair, hosting foreign embassies along the renowned ‘Embassy Row’.”

Strategically positioned along Kuala Lumpur’s Embassy Row and only 1.8km from the Kuala Lumpur city centre (KLCC), The Ashwood will be a sought-after address among local owner-occupiers and expatriates, Chee says.

“In many cities, the most expensive addresses are normally [located] close to the embassies. Even in Thailand, when we wanted [to obtain] our second piece of land, we also found one very near the embassies. For The Ashwood, being situated near embassies and high commissions, it is a given that safety is always the top priority of the area,” he says, adding that there are a total of 58 embassies and high commissions within a 4km radius of The Ashwood.

Furthermore, he says, the development is surrounded by well-established neighbourhoods and amenities that can cater for the residents’ work, business, healthcare, educational and even leisure needs.

Shopping malls within close proximity include Suria KLCC, Intermark Mall, Avenue K, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, The Starhill, Lot 10, and the latest The Exchange TRX. It is also close to many schools and universities, including Sayfol International School, Kuala Lumpur International Kidsclub and University Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK).

Leveraging its surroundings, Chee says The Ashwood will provide its residents with views of the KLCC skyline, Genting Highlands and Hulu Langat hills, Ampang skyline as well as the Royal Selangor Golf Course.

Prior to deciding to build The Ashwood, Chee says the developer consulted Savills (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to understand secondary market transactions of high-rises in affluent neighbourhoods.

The research focused on areas with significant high-rise residential developments. The area selections were made based on criteria such as a large expat population, an ability to command high residential pricing, and a high-quality living environment. These included Taman U-Thant, Ampang Hilir, KLCC, Tun Razak Exchange-Bukit Bintang, Bukit Tunku-Taman Duta, Desa ParkCity, Mont’Kiara-Sri Hartamas, Damansara Heights and Bangsar.

Interestingly, in all the areas, homes with built-ups of 1,000 to 1,999 sq ft were the most transacted segment. These units are popular because buyers generally buy them to stay, says Chee.

“In this area, people prefer to stay in landed properties. So to cater for that preference, we thought we should put up some villas with a semidee kind of concept and that’s how we started this project. So it’s very much market-driven, where the whole product is centred around people’s preference,” says Chee.

The Atrium serviced apartment development by Paramount Property (Cityview) is located adjacent to the site of The Ashwood. Launched in November 2021, the developer says the project has been fully sold and is expected to be handed over to buyers in April this year.

“Back in 2021, the selling price of a 566 sq ft unit at The Atrium was around RM592,400. We recently checked the price of the same unit and found that it was listed at RM710,000. That’s a 19% increase in price. So the demand is there,” he says.

This year, the developer expects to launch projects with a total GDV of RM2.4 billion. “We will launch at six locations, including two launches that were [deferred] from last year worth RM943 million in GDV … 2024 will be our all-time high in terms of property launches,” Chee remarks.

Following The Ashwood, The Atera transit-oriented development in Petaling Jaya will be launched with a GDV of RM599 million. New projects are also underway in Utropolis Batu Kawan, Penang with a GDV of RM295 million.

In its Greenwoods township development located at Salak Perdana, Sepang, the developer plans to launch townhouses with a GDV of RM217 million. As part of Sejati Residences in Cyberjaya, the developer will unveil 3-storey linked homes worth RM185 million in GDV.

In the mixed-use development of Berkeley Uptown in Klang, Selangor, new blocks of serviced apartments will be built with a GDV of RM160 million. There will also be new additions amounting to a GDV of RM156 million at the Bukit Banyan township in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

Although consultants have raised the possibility of several headwinds that the country’s property market could face, Chee says he remains optimistic that the industry would continue to sustain the momentum it had gained last year.

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