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THE leafy road leading to the exclusive address of Gita Bayu in Serdang provides cool respite from the sweltering heat experienced on the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Highway that runs beside the development. With its manicured lawns and shady trees, the enclave is indeed a sanctuary for those coming from the concrete jungle of Kuala Lumpur city.
We find out that the temperature in Gita Bayu is, in fact, about three to four degrees cooler than in the surrounding areas.
Thus far, there has not been much publicity for Gita Bayu as the developer preferred its exclusivity to spread by word of mouth. However, says its CEO Andre Keller, it is time more people knew about the development hidden away in the old rubber plantations of Seri Kembangan in Serdang.
“We have been extremely silent since 2005. It has been some time since Gita Bayu put anything on the market but now that we are moving into the second phase of our development, we want the public to know that Gita Bayu exists. And from there, we will further build the brand,” he tells City & Country.
Keller, 51, who came on board as CEO this year, has been tasked with promoting the development. “The brand is not nearly as strong as we would like it to be. We want to strengthen it into something more upmarket and sustainable.”
Developed by Yee Seng Heights Sdn Bhd, Gita Bayu is a gated and guarded enclave that covers 120 acres of freehold land and offers a mix of individual and cluster bungalows, low-rise apartments and villas as well as a clubhouse called Kebun Mimpi. The entire development has a gross development value (GDV) of RM1 billion.
Its facilities include a swimming pool, a tennis court, barbecue pits, a dining pavilion, gymnasium, reading room and children’s playground. Its properties boast a modern and tropical Southeast Asian architecture that promotes the open concept.
Gita Bayu’s maiden launch in 1996 comprised 200 bungalow lots whose sizes ranged from 5,817 to 19,117 sq ft and prices from RM35 to RM45 psf. A number of the owners have built beautiful homes on their plots that are in keeping with their green surroundings.
Then in 1999, 100 town villas with built-ups of 1,270 to 1,860 sq ft were launched. These were priced from RM255,000 to RM360,000. Three years later, 31 garden villas or cluster bungalows with built-ups of 3,187 to 4,381 sq ft were put on the market at RM980,000 to RM1.78 million. The final component of the development’s first phase, launched in 2005, comprised 54 two and three-storey bungalows with built-ups of 2,960 to 3,950 sq ft, that were offered at RM660,000 to RM1.1 million.
Gita Bayu completed its first phase just before the 2008/09 global financial crisis and put the rest of the development on hold.
The second phase
Now, with the global economy on the road to recovery, Gita Bayu is rolling out its second phase with The Quintet — five differently designed bungalows with a total GDV of RM40 million.
The built-up of the bungalows is from 7,556 sq ft onwards while their indicative price is from RM7.5 million to RM8.5 million. The units feature an open-plan layout, in line with Gita Bayu’s overall concept.
“The units have three floors. The first houses an open-air dining area with a common room and a study while the top floor offers a swimming pool,” says Keller.
The press preview of The Quintet will be on Sept 11 while the official public preview will be from Sept 22. According to Keller, a few parties have already expressed interest in the bungalows.
He says there are still a few parcels of undeveloped land in Gita Bayu, among which is a 22-acre elevated tract at the centre of the development called The Peak.
“We are looking to develop either houses or condominiums on this site, maybe 150 to 200 units of them. We have not decided,” he adds.
The final plan for The Peak will be announced in 12 months.
Another upcoming component of Gita Bayu is the Shop Village. The developer is in the process of seeking development approval from the local council for its plan. Shop Village will comprise 11 two-storey retail units that will be kept and managed by the developer. According to Keller, each floor of the units will be rented out separately. “We haven’t decided on the tenant mix, but we know it will be convenience stores, restaurants and clinics. Maybe a kindergarten and other services as well.
“We expect to receive the approvals by the end of the year. We will be inviting tenders early next year and starting the construction of Shop Village in March. Construction will take 20 months, so we will be able to begin operations within two years.”
Living close to nature
“Gita Bayu is a well-kept secret and its residents appreciate the privacy it provides. They are happy to live here,” says Keller. But the brand needs to be strengthened, he adds.
Gita Bayu’s theme of living close to nature is something the residents enjoy. “People who live here see it as a natural garden. In the morning, you can see them walking, jogging and walking their dogs,” says Keller.
With their activities motivated by their lush surroundings, residents constantly interact with each other, creating a close community in the enclave.
“It’s our vision to let everyone wake up to the singing of birds in this natural environment. Our residents live side by side with nature,” Keller says.
In fact, in the first phase, Gita Bayu preserved as many of the original trees on the site as possible. The idea is to maintain at least 30% of the existing trees so that the developer does not have to replant and then wait for up to 10 years for the trees to mature. Besides that, rainwater is harvested to water the plants on the grounds. Keller says, moving forward, all the buildings will meet the requirements of the Green Building Index (GBI).
The Shop Village, for instance, has been designed to conform with the GBI. The developer will ensure The Quintet and all other future buildings meet the criteria of a green building.
“We will develop the Shop Village according to the GBI,” says Keller. “We want to maintain nature as much as we can and leave it as it is as much as possible. That’s what will attract future investors and the people who live here.”
Added services
Some 75% of the homes in Gita Bayu belong to owner-occupiers. According to Keller, 90% of the owners are Malaysian while the rest are from Asia, Australia and Europe. Over 290 families live in Gita Bayu at present, with Keller himself being one of them, and addressing their needs can be a challenge.
Keller says he is currently doing a resident’s survey. “We want to know what our residents want. We will improve our services based on what the residents tell us. We would like to know if we are meeting their needs.”
Over the next five years, steps will be taken to enhance the services offered to the residents. “We believe that with the existing lifestyle of our residents, they will require added services. They might include someone to help them with their shopping, a driver, a business centre or a cleaning service. Also, some of the residents stay in Gita Bayu for only three to four months at a time. We see the need to take care of their homes while they are away,” says Keller.
He adds that in the future, Gita Bayu will be offering a mix of hospitality and community services. There are also plans to provide concierge services and to expand the clubhouse facilities.
“We would like to establish these services on a pay-by-need basis. If they want it and need it, they will pay for it. They should not have to pay for it if they don’t use it.”
The developer, says Keller, is constantly upgrading the facilities in Gita Bayu. For example, a new reflexology centre and football pitch were set up while proactive activities like yoga lessons and swimming lessons were introduced. There is even a plan to open a bar in Gita Bayu.
Prospects
While Gita Bayu has not launched any new product since 2006, the existing properties have been enjoying good demand on the secondary market.
The value of the properties, says Keller, has doubled or even tripled. According to him, the town villas that were launched at below RM300,000 are being transacted at RM600,000 to RM700,000 today.
At Gita Bayu’s launch in 1996, the bungalow lots were going for RM35 psf, but the last transacted prices of some of them were RM280 to RM300 psf. Keller says there has been steady growth in Gita Bayu in the last 15 years despite the economic downturn and other uncertainties.
Spurring its growth is the fast maturing southern Klang Valley corridor. Keller says among the projects coming up in the area are IOI Properties Bhd’s IOI City Mall in Putrajaya and new international schools that are expected to bring in more foreign expatriates.
“We observe that there is a lot of development going on in this area. There is not much land left in the northern parts of the Klang Valley. A lot of people are starting to develop here and a lot of middle and higher-income groups are starting to see the potential of the area and are moving in,” says Keller.
He believes that Gita Bayu is a sustainable product that will be “functioning like a well-oiled machine well into the future”.
“Even years after we finish, we don’t want to walk away because Gita Bayu is a brand. We want to ensure that this brand keeps to the character of the special diverse community here and that the quality of the development is maintained.”
This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 926, Sep 3-9, 2012
