Centrio at Pantai Hillpark completed

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Land & Development Bhd recently completed Centrio, a mixed commercial development with mainly SoHo (small office/home office) apartments in the Pantai area in Kuala Lumpur.

The leasehold 3.8-acre project -- which has a gross development value of about RM100 million -- is surrounded by condominiums at Pantai Hillpark that have a population of about 10,000. This catchment is a key reason why Centrio was developed, said Karen Tan, customer relations manager of YTL Land.

"We needed to ensure that businesses that operate here are able to sustain themselves," she said in a media briefing on Thursday, July 22.

The handing over of keys to unit-owners has started since July 7. Launched in December 2006, the fully sold SoHo units were priced between RM280 psf and RM350 psf. Now units have appreciated to about RM600 psf.

Designed with a Mediterranean theme in mind, the entire development has five 7-storey blocks housing a total of 305 units made up of 238 SoHo apartments with built-ups ranging from 623 sq ft to 1,536 sq ft; 23 boutique offices with built-ups from 829 sq ft to 2,344 sq ft; 23 units of duplex boutique garden offices with built-ups between 911 sq ft and 1,551 sq ft; and 21 retail units that comprise seven duplexes and 14 single lots with built-ups of 661 sq ft to 2,821 sq ft.

The retail units are kept by YTL Land for lease at RM7 psf. Current rents for SoHo suites and offices are between RM3 and RM3.50 psf.

"We did a focus group and discovered that many of the urban young liked a SoHo development, especially those working in the creative and service industry," said Tan. "It gave them flexibility in terms of working hours and space."

The SoHo units on offer here come in eight designs. Among some of the distinguishing features between units are spiral staircases that lead to a sky deck, private gardens, and direct access to the parking area.

For security and convenience, SoHo occupants and visitors would have seperate parking areas.

The area is accessible to and from Bangsar and Damansara Heights via three major highways, namely the Federal Highway, Sprint Highway and the New Pantai Expressway.

The project is close to a KTM Komuter station near Angkasapuri and the Universiti LRT station.