It has been over a year since Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur won The Edge Malaysia Excellence in Place Regeneration Award at The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards 2023, and a lot has changed since then. Spread across 19.4 acres, BBCC is a mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) comprising residential suites, offices, hotels, a mall and entertainment offerings. It is being developed by a joint venture (JV) company, BBCC Development Sdn Bhd, formed in February 2015. The JV company consists of UDA Holdings Bhd, Eco World Development Group Bhd (KL:ECOWLD) (EcoWorld Malaysia) and the Employees Provident Fund. To date, about 50% of the master plan has been developed, says BBCC Development CEO Sri Ram Sivasambu. The entire master plan has four phases, and construction is currently in its second phase. Although much work has been done, the developer has shown no signs of slowing down. In Phase 1, the developer delivered the BBCC sales gallery; Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport BBCC, a Japanese lifestyle mall; an entertainment hub formerly named Malaysia Grand Bazaar (now rebranded as The Labs), comprising a retro-themed cinema by Golden Screen Cinemas, the 2,500-capacity Zepp Kuala Lumpur concert venue by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc and the recently opened Andaman Grand Ballroom Kuala Lumpur; the 45-storey Menara EcoWorld office tower (formerly known as The Stride); as well as Lucentia Residences with 668 units in two apartment towers. For Phase 2, the developer delivered the 45-storey Mitsui Serviced Suites BBCC comprising a total of 269 units while the SWNK Houze serviced apartment with a total of 441 units is slated for completion in 2025. There is also a hotel under construction, which is expected to be open in 2027. “Lucentia Residences is almost 90%-occupied, while Mitsui Serviced Suites BBCC, which opened in October, is about 45%-occupied. SWNK Houze is currently about 60% sold,” Sri Ram says. Phase 3 of BBCC will consist of another serviced apartment block and an office tower. Phase 4, which is the final phase, will consist of a signature tower. To make the development more vibrant, Sri Ram reveals that BBCC will house Tuah 1895, which is a dining and lifestyle hub, and an immersive art museum called Immersify KL. The two new additions will be revamps of the BBCC sales gallery and part of The Labs respectively. Tuah 1895 will open its doors in early January while Immersify KL will welcome visitors in February next year. Tuah 1895 “Tuah 1895 is situated at the former [BBCC] sales gallery as we decided that we didn’t need such a large space for a sales gallery. We gave it a thought and decided that one of the main things we need to do is improve the frontage of BBCC along Jalan Hang Tuah. That’s where Tuah 1895 will be positioned,” he adds. Concurring with Sri Ram, BBCC Development chief operating officer Azril Rashid says, “Starting from the former fountain area, all the way up to the monorail station, it’s going to be a whole new view because obviously, Jalan Hang Tuah is one of the busiest streets in Kuala Lumpur, especially during rush hour. Hence, the frontage really has to represent what we offer.” Named after the year the former Pudu jail was commissioned in 1895 and the street in which BBCC is situated in Jalan Hang Tuah, Sri Ram says Tuah 1895 is a tribute to what the place used to be. “Tuah also means luck in Malay. So it is a mix of what we want it to be and also a bit of the origins of this site. That’s how the name came about,” he adds. With a total net lettable area of 45,000 sq ft, Tuah 1895 comprises eight lots. Sri Ram says seven lots already have confirmed tenants such as Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Crab, Thailand’s as i am, Chinese cuisine Ting Shan, a Peranakan Nyonya restaurant called Pak Tok and local food Hock Kee Kopitiam. On the second floor of Tuah 1895, a fitness centre operator will occupy 6,500 sq ft. “MORPH by Kamileon will be the operator and it is bringing in a new form of pilates, called microformer pilates. This will be the first fitness centre in Kuala Lumpur to offer this form of pilates,” Azril says. “That was actually what we were searching for as well. We didn’t want it to be just another normal gym that you can get anywhere, so it had to be something different. So when we spoke to Kamileon, they offered this and we felt that it represents our vision as well.” Opposite Tuah 1895, there used to be a quaint 700 sq ft cafe, serving coffee and pastries. That space is now being transformed into a 4,075 sq ft full-fledged cafe for a single tenant, Chef Kecik Cafe. Sri Ram says the owner of Chef Kecik used to be a home baker, who opened his first cafe at EcoWorld’s Eco Majestic township in Semenyih. The owner’s subsequent cafe named Chef Kecik Boulangerie was also opened at one of EcoWorld Malaysia’s developments, Se.Duduk Square in Kajang. The new branch at BBCC will be Chef Kecik’s third cafe. “We encouraged them to come here. We’re building a new single-storey purpose-built lot just for Chef Kecik. This is our way of giving back to the community and supporting local entrepreneurs, somebody who has worked with us for quite a long time already,” Azril adds. As BBCC already has its own F&B hub — the Gourmet Street, Sri Ram explains what makes Tuah 1895 different from existing offerings. “The Gourmet Street comprises more alcohol-based bars and Japanese restaurants. We don’t feel that we are competing with them because our offerings are totally different. Tuah 1895 is going to be more diverse and will serve all sorts of meals from breakfast to dinner.” The Labs and Immersify KL The idea to revamp the former Malaysia Grand Bazaar was already in place when City & Country met Sri Ram last year. This time, the plan is being finalised. “We were trying to bring in more entertainment components to the development because we already have a mall, residences, offices and hotels. What we lacked was the entertainment bit, since we only have GSC [cinema] and Zepp KL,” Sri Ram explains. Hence, the idea to create a space that both locals and tourists can enjoy came about. Renamed as The Labs, the entertainment hub of BBCC is now equipped with all sorts of lifestyle and edutainment components. These include GSC, Zepp Kuala Lumpur, Andaman Grand Ballroom Kuala Lumpur and the upcoming immersive art museum named Immersify KL. Azril reveals that the developer travelled to Japan and South Korea to get inspiration for Immersify KL and that is when they stumbled upon immersive art museums. “To share a little bit about this immersive art museum, it is similar to the pop-ups that were available in other developments, for example the Van Gogh pop-up immersive museum. But Malaysia has never had a purpose-built immersive museum; it’s a first for our country,” Azril says. After surveying many immersive museums, the developer settled with an operator from South Korea. However, the content of the museum will be localised, promoting Malaysia’s art and nature. Immersify KL will be jointly operated by EcoWorld Development and Bitgrim Immersify Group. “This has already been in the works for the last nine months and now we’re coming to the final stages. For Immersify KL, we’re not only focusing on foreign tourists but also looking to drive local tourism because we see a lack of places for young families to go to. “The content of the museum will not only be aesthetics and whatnot, but there will also be educational elements to it as well. The zones will not only highlight artists from the past but also animals, sea life and nature. So children can actually spend a good two to three hours here. We foresee families coming and also schools making Immersify KL one of their educational destinations as well,” Azril says. A growing development Besides the new additions to BBCC, Sri Ram reveals that there have been some changes to some of its existing developments. As part of efforts to improve and revamp the overall look and feel of the masterplan, Sri Ram says the main entrance of Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport BBCC is currently undergoing renovation to create a grand drop-off area, something that the development lacked. Meanwhile, Menara EcoWorld and is about 50%-occupied by EcoWorld’s staff, he adds. “We’re aiming for an occupancy rate of about 70% by end of 2025. So far, we have a few other tenants who are coming in. We’ve got several firms from sectors like legal, finance, fintech, tech and more. We are also working closely with the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry to identify start-ups and new businesses, to establish their offices here.” Elaborating on the development’s performance, Sri Ram says the mall’s footfall has increased from about two million per month last year to about three million per month this year. “The mall’s increase in footfall has also improved occupancy. It’s about 80%-occupied now. “The mall is now also going through a phase where the first-term tenants [will see their contracts expiring] in January next year, and are renewing [their] tenancies. We have [also] identified new tenants as replacement. I think we [can] see the footfall continuing to increase over the next term, which is the next three years, and probably with more occupancy. Maybe, we might hit about 85% by end of 2025.” For the office tower, Sri Ram says the developer has seen about 10% to 15% increase in rental rates over the last two years. Similarly, the rental rates for residential units have also increased by 10% to 20% over the last year. “The market was a bit weak when we opened BBCC because of the pandemic. But we see it improving now. I think the trend of short-term rentals after the pandemic has also contributed to better performance in rentals. “Tourists don’t necessarily want to stay in hotels anymore. They tend to look for places in good locations, with good amenities, offering short-term stays for like a month or couple of weeks. And we found that our residences are tourists’ picks for short-term stays,” Sri Ram elaborates. With the Merdeka 118 precinct taking shape nearby, Sri Ram expects BBCC’s footfall to increase as he foresees a spillover effect. “Those working there would drop by here as we have an array of F&B choices. We’re also strategically located near two train stations and other tourist hotspots such as Bukit Bintang, Pasar Seni and Tun Razak Exchange.”