QuayWest Residence Penang

FROM its beginnings in plywood production and manufacturing, Penang developer Asia Green Group has become a diversified business entity today with a fast-growing property development business. It currently has projects worth over RM600 million in total gross development value (GDV).

Led by group managing director Tan Boon Huat, Asia Green’s parent Asia Plywood Company Sdn Bhd started in 1964, with its core business in plywood production. It subsequently invested in property development as part of its business expansion plans.

Currently in charge of the group’s property development arm is one of Boon Huat’s daughters, Tan Li Mei, who is the creative director. Li Mei started learning the ropes in the family business when she returned from the US five years ago and has been instrumental in refining the company’s brand and products. She majored in graphic and interactive communications design at the Ringling College of Art & Design in the US, and was with MTV International prior to joining the group. She was directly involved in managing and designing marketing campaigns for various projects and shows at MTV International.

“When I came back and learned about property development and the industry, I found it interesting how my skills and background could complement the industry in terms of marketing and branding. I am trying my best to bring out Asia Green Group in Penang, or at least rebrand ourselves and slowly venture beyond Penang,” Li Mei tells City & Country at the company’s office, a Straits-style, seafront bungalow situated within Millionaire’s Row in Penang.

Along with her ambitions for Asia Green, the 29-year-old talks about the company’s upcoming QuayWest Residence, a mixed-use development project with a RM600 million GDV.

QuayWest Residence to launch early next year

QuayWest Residence will sit on 7.4 acres of commercial land with a sea frontage and a view of the 362ha Pulau Jerejak.

Located just five minutes from Queensbay Mall at Persiaran Bayan Indah, the development offers 1,235 freehold condominiums in two 24-storey towers.

Tower A houses 669 units with built-ups from 1,246 to 3,222 sq ft, varying from 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom units to 4+1 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.

Tower B offers 566 units of various types, with built-ups from 728 to 4,230 sq ft, ranging from 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom to 4+1 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

Small office/home offices (SoHo), duplexes, dual key units, and units with private terraces will also be available.

“While we have smaller units to cater for the younger crowd and professionals, the duplexes and bigger units, as well as those with direct sea frontage, cater for families who want a bit more luxury,” Li Mei says.

Tan Li Mei Asia Green Group“Duplexes are also ideal for parents to live with their children who already have families of their own, so you’re still sort of living with them but at the same time, with their own privacy,” she says.

The selling prices of units range from RM700,000 to RM2.2 million, not including the affordable units, which are priced from RM200,000 to RM350,000.

Apart from its strategic location, QuayWest Residence offers private lifts in Tower A — two units will share two private lifts that open to their individual foyers.

According to Li Mei, the the concept of private lifts was influenced by condominiums in the US, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“It provides privacy to each unit without the need to share a common lift or to go through a corridor. With an access card,  residents would arrive directly at their unit from the lift lobby.

“Initially, we thought of one private lift for each unit but considered that two would shorten the waiting time, especially in situations where one lift can’t be used,” she says.

Li Mei says the developer first started offering private lifts with The Clovers, and while she had not seen it in Penang before that, she notes that a few projects have since followed suit. Private lifts, she notes, is one of the selling points at The Clovers which is about 80% sold to date.

Asia Green launched The Clovers last year and it is currently under construction. Located in Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas, the development has a GDV of RM450 million and offers 892 condominium units across three 42-storey towers.

At QuayWest, residents will have access to four acres of facilities and garden space on the podium level, as well as a rooftop garden. In addition, there will be an infinity pool on the rooftop of Tower A.

“The two towers are not connected and each has its individual facilities to ensure privacy for each tower. Some [buyers] will pay a premium to enjoy the additional facilities. We do provide full facilities at Tower B too, except for a rooftop pool,” says Li Mei.

Other facilities include a waiting lounge, gym, guardhouse, drop-off lobby, rooftop pool deck, Jacuzzi, children’s pool, and private cabanas.

“At Asia Green, we always pride ourselves on greenery and landscape design. With such a good view of Pulau Jerejak, we decided to have the rooftop pool, for which we drew inspiration from Marina Bay Sands in Singapore,” she says.

On entrepreneurship and affordable housing

Having lived in cities where SoHos are more common, and recently seeing more start-ups mushrooming around her, Li Mei believes there will be growing demand for SoHos in Penang.

“We do hope that the number of young entrepreneurs and professionals will grow in Penang. As a young professional, I personally feel there will be an increasing number of the younger generation that would want their own space that enables them to start a business and work where they live. Unlike in cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore, where SoHos are more common, the concept is still new in Penang,” she says.

Of the total units in Tower B, 253 will be affordable SoHo units with built-ups starting from 728 sq ft.

“We are working with the state government on the affordable housing project in Penang. These affordable units are available to first-time homebuyers from Penang,” she says.

She notes that the SoHo units will be housed in Tower B and that there are bigger SoHos as well that do not fall in the affordable category.

QuayWest Residence Penang

Location and market

Apart from Queensbay Mall, QuayWest Residence is situated 2km from the Penang Bridge and 5km from the Second Penang Bridge, 4km from the free trade zone, 5km from Penang International Airport, 8km from the ferry terminal and George Town, 9km from Gurney Drive and 13km from Batu Feringghi.

Peh Yee Seng, Penang-based director of CH Williams Talhar & Wong, says with Queensbay Mall and big parcels of land available, the area can expect major developments to come.

“The area can be a good choice of location for residential purposes due to its surrounding amenities, infrastructure and easy accessibility via the Bayan Lepas and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu highway. However, it has become a buyers’ market due to the more competitive current market,” he says.

Peh notes that there are more owner-occupiers looking to buy residences, following the efforts by the government to filter out speculators and short-term investors.

Penang-based director of Izrin & Tan Properties Sdn Bhd Tan Chai Liang notes that market outlook for Penang in 2H15 is sluggish,  due to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, tightening of housing loans and current state of the economy.

Tan says property investor sentiment has been subdued, while housebuyers remain cautious, and construction activities have slowed with fewer launches.

“Both prices and rents may consolidate further as new residential supply enters the market, with more high-rise residential projects completing this year, including in Bayan Baru and Relau,” he says.

He advises housing developers to review their strategies in the current soft market scenario to market their products and attract buyers.

“Instead of releasing large numbers of units at one go, it is prudent to build smaller-sized units at affordable prices and release fewer units at competitive prices with unique product features.”

Nonetheless, Tan notes that well-located schemes with competitive pricing will continue to attract buyers, adding that Persiaran Bayan Indah is considered a strategic development area that enjoys easy connectivity to the Penang Bridge and the Sultan Abdul Halim Bridge.

“Furthermore, it is located near Penang’s major industrial hub of Bayan Lepas and the Penang International Airport.”

Apart from those working in the industrial zone, Asia Green’s Li Mei says that high traffic in the location also comes from those living in mainland Penang as Queensbay Mall is the closest mall to them.

She adds that many enquiries have come from those living on the mainland who are interested in moving to the island.

“Generally, people in Penang love the convenience of living close to a mall. If you look at Gurney Plaza, there are so many condos around it. You can see a similar trend in Queensbay,” she says.

QuayWest Residence has garnered quite a lot of interest from those in Penang and Kuala Lumpur and a few from China and Singapore, mostly for the SoHo units. Li Mei notes that the company has recorded around 400  registrants of interest pending the project’s advertising permit and developers licence (APDL).

QuayWest Residence Penang

Track record and strategies

Asia Green has shifted its focus from mostly boutique developments to large-scale condominium projects in order to meet current market demand.

“The growing condominium trend in Penang is a good opportunity to venture into bigger condominium projects like QuayWest,” Li Mei says.

She says condominium schemes she has seen abroad can be well-designed and well-maintained, and believes the same can be applied here.

Asia Green’s earliest property development venture was Asia Heights (RM148 million GDV), a condominium development at Bandar Baru Ayer Itam. The medium-cost development, which was an abandoned project by Eternal 8 Corp, was launched in 2006 and completed in 2007, offering 1,316 units including 490 low-cost apartments and 10 shops.

The company has since launched and completed several other projects, ranging from medium-cost to luxury products, including Asia Homes at Raja Uda (RM40 million GDV, launched in 2006) with 115 units of 2-storey terraced homes and shophouses; Asia Hills at Bukit Gambier (RM70 million GDV, 2009) with 50 bungalow units; Hilltop Villas at Batu Feringghi (RM90 million GDV, 2012) with 22 luxury villas; and Mandarin Quarter at Raja Uda (RM40 million GDV, in 2011) with 38 units of 3-storey terraced houses. The completed developments are almost if not fully sold.

Having accumulated a total landbank of about 50 acres in Penang, the company has several projects in the pipeline, such as Green Millennials at Persiaran Bayan Mutiara, U1 (proposed name) at Batu Uban, and Victoria Bay at Persiaran Bayan Indah. In addition to the total landbank is the prime 2-acre Shih Chung land in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, which Li Mei indicates may be the company’s flagship development.

She believes there is always demand for property, especially on Penang island where land is limited.

“Currently, the strategy is to focus on Penang and to grow the company as well as Penang, as we live here,” she says, adding, “Also, my father loves it very much here.”

Li Mei says she will continue to explore different concepts from different parts of the world and to bring them back to Penang.

“As you know, people here tend to live quite comfortable lifestyles and it is a nice place for retirement. We hope to do something different and bring something exciting back to make Penang a bit more different as a city for the younger generations to come.” Together with her other siblings and directors, Li Mei hopes to grow the Asia Green brand and to bring it beyond Penang in the years to come.

There are loads of condo developments in Penang. Click here to check them out.

This article first appeared in City & Country, a pullout of The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on Oct 19, 2015. Subscribe here for your personal copy.

 

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