Living by the forest at Setia Eco Templer

The forest, fresh air, waterfalls, and everything else one loves about the great outdoors — all at your doorstep. Life at Setia Eco Templer offers all that and more.

For city folks in Kuala Lumpur, living amidst nature is something they could only dream of, but just wait until you step into Setia Eco Templer, S P Setia Bhd’s township development located in Templer Park, Rawang, Selangor, just 23km away from the Kuala Lumpur (KL) city centre.

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With the majestic hills of Bukit Takun as its backdrop, the development lies within a green sanctuary embraced by the rainforest at Templer Park and the Kanching Eco-Forest Park.

The 194-acre modern township development launched its first phase in 2016, offering English, Peranakan and Balinese-inspired bungalows, semidees, link villas, two- and three-storey shop offices and a Rumah Selangorku affordable housing scheme.

Notably, the design concept of Setia Eco Templer was drawn from local history — that of the former British High Commissioner Sir Gerald Templer and his journey to Malaya in 1952.

Hailing from Essex, a small town in the UK, Sir Gerald Templer arrived through the Melaka Straits via Bali, Indonesia. His origin serves as the inspiration for the name of Setia Eco Templer’s first residential phase — Essex Gardens with its English-inspired design concept. This was followed by the Peranakan culture-inspired phase 2A called Peranakan Straits and the Balinese-themed phase 2B called Amantara.

“This project is based on the story of Sir Gerald Templer’s journey to Malaya. The natural reserves at Templer Park was named after him. Even this clubhouse, which was built 30 years ago was named after him. This is the real history of this place and we wish to remind people of this through this development,” says Setia Eco Templer Sdn Bhd general manager Dianne Chan at the refurbished colonial-design clubhouse.

Instead of tearing down the former Templer Club House as it was known then, S P Setia forked out RM15 million to refurbish the 150,000 sq ft clubhouse, turning it into Setia Eco Templer’s sales gallery and office cum event space for many usages. It will eventually be a clubhouse for future residents.

As a nature lover, Chan’s first experience during a visit to scout the site with Datuk Koe Peng Kang, S P Setia senior executive vice president, took her by surprise when they discovered the rich flora and fauna.

“We also encountered a total of nine creeks on the land which flowed from the forest reserves. Some of them were mini but they were all-natural. We also saw many birds which we later found out —through research that we sponsored— that there were a number of rare bird species there.

“So we decided to minimise construction interruptions to the natural life there and decided to build houses around the natural setting instead of just flattening the land and using every inch of it,” explains Chan.

The developer’s decision resulted in the preservation of the majestic old trees at Essex Gardens located next to the forest reserve north of the township and the nine creeks that run through the entire development.

Each creek was preserved and named after existing creeks near and around Essex, namely Carson Creek, Alresford Creek, Bramble Creek, Oakley Creek, Cedar Creek, Benfleet Creek, Turtle Creek, Flag Creek and Lawling Creek.

S P Setia also allocated more than half a million ringgit to transplant 380 trees from the former golf course land. Aged but healthy trees were left where they were while houses were built around them.

“Those giant mature trees alone make the place iconic. You hardly see full grown trees in a new project. Yes, we sacrificed a number of units because we want to maintain the natural environment. But we are happy to do so simply because it is a shame to chop these full grown, healthy old trees just to build more houses,” says Chan.

Mist in the mornings

Completed and being handed over gradually since end of June 2019, Essex Gardens comprises 234 homes including bungalows, semidees and link villas, set amidst English- themed pocket parks and landscaped gardens.

Take a stroll through Essex Gardens today and you can hear the water bubbling through the creeks, birds chirping and the breeze rustling through the leaves and branches while the endless green of the forest can be admired in the background.

The best thing is, residents of the whole of Setia Eco Templer, and not just those at Essex Gardens, will get to enjoy living in such a natural environment.

The green and serene environment calms the mind and has attracted many nearby residents to come here for a walk at the lakeside (which will be reserved for the exclusive use of the township’s residents eventually) daily, especially at the dawn of the day when the place is covered by morning mist and the air is freshest, even more so following a heavy downpour of rain.

It is no wonder then that the temperature at Templer Park is one to two degrees Celsius lower than in the KL city centre, which can be easily accessed from the township via the toll-free roads of Jalan Rawang and Jalan Kuching.

Setia Eco Templer is also connected by the North-South Expressway (NSE), Guthrie Corridor Expressway and Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway (LATAR).

The recently completed Rawang-Serendah bypass also cuts the journey to Serendah, Selayang and KL city centre from two hours to about 30 minutes during peak hours.

Besides being able to enjoy nature’s bounty, the gated-and-guarded Setia Eco Templer also has common facilities for its residents such as a clubhouse with an Olympic-size swimming pool, gymnasium, jogging track, playgrounds, parks and 24-hour security.

Amenities nearby include Tesco Rawang about 5km away, retail shops, medical facilities and primary, secondary and international schools.

Limited units available

Also launched after Essex Gardens in 2016 was the sole commercial component in Setia Eco Templer called The Grove @ Templer. It consists of 40 exclusive 2- and 3-storey shop office units with built-ups from 2,996 sq ft to 7,262 sq ft. They offer highly coveted main road frontage and ample parking bays.

The shop offices at The Grove offer versatile layouts, high ceilings and sophisticated glass facades making them ideal for a diverse range of businesses such as F&B outlets, showrooms, clinics, salons, laundromats, banks, boutiques and others.

Most of the units have been snapped up with only a limited number of bumiputera units left, priced from RM1.8 million.

S P Setia then launched phase 2A called Peranakan Straits in 2017, featuring 168 units of Malay Archipelago and Peranakan era-inspired villas and semidee homes. These units have unique design features such as stained glass windows, high ceilings and large balconies.

Built-up areas of the Peranakan Straits units range from 2,292 sq ft to 2,797 sq ft and is priced from RM888,000 onwards. Some 80% of the units have been sold so far.

This phase is 35% completed as at July 2019 and is slated for completion by end-2020.

Meanwhile, phase 2B or the Balinese-themed Amantara homes have seen a 50% take-up since an official launch a few months ago.

Amantara comprises 155 units of link villas, semidees and bungalow homes with built-ups ranging from 2,598 sq ft to 4,516 sq ft and prices starting from RM1.06 million.

One of the most eye-catching design features of Amantara homes is the integration of Balinese-style stone carving art on some of the exterior walls.

The design concept of the homes are in keeping with the township’s rustic environment and it is this wonderful homage to nature that makes Setia Eco Templer an extraordinary place to live.

This story first appeared in the EdgeProp.my pullout on Aug 23, 2019. You can access back issues here.