In honour of Malaysia’s best managed properties

Properties, regardless if they are big or small, landed or non-landed, a single building or a vast township, residential or commercial, all need tender loving care. And care has been demonstrated in the winning projects of TheEdgeProperty.com Malaysia’s Best Managed Property Awards 2017.

The winners were feted at a glittering event at One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya on the evening of April 3, witnessed by more than 350 guests. Pride was obvious on the faces of those responsible for the success of the winning projects, particularly the property owners and property management teams.

Altogether, 18 projects received recognition and this was spread across three main categories, namely residential, commercial and mixed developments. The residential and commercial categories were further broken down to strata and non-strata segments.

There is no denying that for Petronas Twin Towers in KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, in order to maintain its stature as the country’s main architectural icon and to ensure it continues to sparkle everytime its picture is taken, its maintenance and property management have to be significantly more than excellent.

Hence, it came as no surprise that the world’s tallest twin towers walked away with the Gold award in the non-strata commercial category at the inaugural Awards.

Petronas Twin Towers also received TheEdgeProperty.com Editor’s Choice Award: Iconic Innovation. TheEdgeProperty.com Editor’s Choice Awards recipients were selected by the editors at TheEdgeProperty.com to recognise excellence in a project, building, company or personality that promotes top quality property management practice.

Winning the Silver in the non-strata commercial category was The Pinnacle @ Sunway City in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Wisma Selangor Dredging located opposite the Petronas Twin Towers received the Bronze and Menara PKNS received a special mention. Both the decades-old properties proved that values can grow with age if a property is kept fit and relevant with the times.

The Pinnacle, which was developed and managed by Sunway Property, was also chosen as the recipient of the Editor’s Choice Award: Built for Sustainability.

There were two Gold winners in the strata commercial segment, namely office projects Menara Bangkok Bank @ Berjaya Central Park and Integra Tower, both located in the heart of KL.

Security, accessibility and convenience top the attributes of Menara Bangkok Bank, a Grade A 48-storey office tower with a striking facade that forms part of the Berjaya Central Park development. Meanwhile, Integra Tower is a component of the integrated stratified commercial development, The Intermark.

Queensbay Mall from Bayan Lepas, Penang and Mercu Summer Suites in KL were joint Silver winners in this category.

The Gold winner in the non-strata residential category was Valencia township in Sungai Buloh, Selangor while Duta Nusantara and neighbouring Duta Tropika won the Silver and Bronze, respectively. Riverview Kemensah received a special mention.

The 288-acre Valencia features the first resident-only golf course in Malaysia with 900 units of townhouses, semi-dees, bungalow lots, garden terraces, town villas and SoHo (Small-office Home-office) residences structured into four precincts.

In the strata residential category, luxury condominiums The Binjai on the Park located in KLCC and 28 Mont’Kiara in Mont’Kiara, KL were joint Gold winners.

The eight-year-old The Binjai on the Park commands by far the highest price psf of living space. The dream address houses 171 units in two towers of 44 and 45 storeys, designed to offer unobstructed views of the KLCC development anchored by the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.

Meanwhile, 28 Mont’Kiara, which was completed at end-2012, comprises two 40-storey towers with 460 units.

Madge Mansions in Taman U Thant, KL was the Silver winner while The Oval KL (East Tower) received a special mention.

The mixed development category saw Solaris Dutamas and Solaris Mont’Kiara taking the Gold and Silver, respectively.

Solaris Dutamas is a well-known destination for those who appreciate art and the finer things in life. This artistic DNA of the project has become a catalyst to pull in the crowd to this hip and happening address off Jalan Duta in KL.

UEM Sunrise Bhd, the developer of 28 Mont’Kiara, Solaris Mont’Kiara, Solaris Dutamas and Mercu Summer Suites, also received the Editor’s Choice Award: Exemplary Community Builder. As the master developer of Mont’Kiara, its community building efforts have resulted in making the expat enclave into one of the most wanted addresses in the country.

Organised in partnership with Nippon Paint Malaysia and Panasonic Malaysia, the Awards is supported by the Malaysian Institute of Professional Property Managers (MIPPM), the Building Management Association Malaysia (BMAM), the Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA) and The Edge Malaysia.

More than 50 entries were received during the submission period which opened in Nov 18 last year and closed on Jan 23 this year. Entries were open to all stratified and non-stratified buildings, managed in-house or by property managers. Following close scrutiny of the submissions, 22 entries were shortlisted for site vistis.

The judges were TheEdgeProperty.com managing director and editor-in-chief Au Foong Yee, MRMA chairman Datuk Jeffrey Ng, MIPPM vice-president Professor Ting Kien Hwa, BMAM committee member Dr Suntoro Tjoe, Association of Property and Facility Managers in Singapore president Dr Lim Lan Yuan, Chur Associates managing partner Chris Tan, and The Edge Malaysia deputy editor of City & Country Wong King Wai.

The judging criteria cover maintenance quality, administration of the working committee, collections, financial sustainability, security, community and communications as well as the development’s value or yield.

In her speech at the Awards night, Au said the night marks a new milestone for the Malaysian property sector.

“You are here both to witness and to celebrate the putting in potentially the final and most pertinent piece of the brickwork of real estate excellence in Malaysia.”

The Awards is the first of its kind and was mooted to recognise real estate that is managed with excellence. It aims to raise the bar on Malaysian property management practices, benchmarking it against the best in class globally.

“We would like to congratulate all those who have submitted themselves for this ranking — it certainly speaks well of their desire to be the best in class.

“This Awards was prompted by an understanding of the real estate landscape and what is demanded to take Malaysia forward as a desirable international property investment destination,” she said.

Whether or not a real estate is managed with excellence will determine its future value growth or deterioration, she stressed.

“Property investment is not just about buying a roof over one’s head. Neither is it about merely securing a business address. It is about creating value from one’s investment, especially at a time when prices are creeping up. One of the significant building blocks of value creation in a property lies in its upkeep and maintenance.”

She noted that developers also play an important role in making a building sustainable as a well-designed building will set the foundation for sustainable property management.

In conjunction with the Awards, TheEdgeProperty.com will also be holding a half-day symposium on property management on April 8 with the aim of creating awareness and educating the public on quality property management attributes and their impact.

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For more stories on the Awards, click here.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on April 7, 2017. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.