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Bandar Sri Sendayan in Negri Sembilan may not have been a familiar name to many. But that changed earlier this year when the government announced that the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Sungei Besi would be relocated to the township.
The Sungai Besi airbase will make way for the Bandar Malaysia integrated development being undertaken by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (IMDB). 1MDB will also develop the new base on a 750-acre tract that was acquired recently from Menteri Besar Inc of Negri Sembilan.
City & Country recently took a drive from Petaling Jaya — which took just over an hour — to view the 5,233-acre Bandar Sri Sendayan township. The developer is BSS Development Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Matrix Concepts Group, in a joint venture (JV) with Menteri Besar Inc of Negri Sembilan, the investment arm of the state government. The township has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM3 billion and is to be developed over 10 to 15 years.
According to news reports, the tract was a Felda scheme that was originally planned to be developed back in 1996 by Malaysian Helicopter Services Bhd (now known as MHS Land Sdn Bhd) via a JV with the Negri Sembilan State Development Authority. The Felda settlers sold almost 4,000 acres of land, valued at about RM557 million, but the project came to a halt during the 1997 economic slowdown.
A new deal has been worked out for the settlers, involving 50% cash payment from their land, a single-storey bungalow with a land area of about 10,000 sq ft and a 2-acre orchard plot. The compensation package is said to be worth about RM600 million. “Instead of just cash, the state government wanted to ensure the settlers not only received monetary compensation, but also get a bungalow as well as agriculture plots for recurring income. This way, there won’t be problems when the money runs out several years down the road,” Matrix Concepts founder and executive chairman Datuk Lee Tian Hock tells City & Country.
Matrix Concepts is no stranger to the state, where it was incorporated in 1997. In March that year, it launched its first project in Bahau — comprising residential and commercial properties with a GDV of RM35 million — in a JV with the landowner.
It went on to develop larger projects including Taman Gadong Jaya in Seremban, Taman Intan Perdana in Port Dickson, and Bandar Anggerik Tenggara in Johor. Since then, it has completed and sold some 18,000 residential and commercial units in Negri Sembilan and Johor worth RM2 billion. Besides Bandar Sri Sendayan, the developer is currently developing a 900-acre township in Kluang, Johor, called Taman Seri Impian, with a GDV of RM1 billion.
The JV with the state to develop Bandar Sri Sendayan was the result of a tender process back in 2006, which involved other big-name developers. Seremban-born Lee says: “We knew from our experience and our network that we would pull through ... So far, whatever we have planned, has materialised. We are very hands-on and familiar with the authorities here. So, while you can say it was a big risk for our company to take on such a big township, it was actually a calculated risk.”
The freehold Bandar Sri Sendayan is not far from the more familiar Seremban 2 township; it is just a short drive from the Jusco shopping centre in the latter, or about 7km from the Seremban toll. On our recent visit, the township was bustling with land-clearing activity and construction work.
Lee, a graduate in housing, building and planning from University Sains Malaysia, says 1,500 units of properties have since been completed and delivered. The township, which will offer mainly medium-cost housing, will eventually have a total of 5,000 units, he says.
Seremban, he says, has always been overshadowed by Kuala Lumpur. “We want to make sure that Seremban grows as a satellite city together with Kuala Lumpur. We have been entrusted by the state government to develop something different so we want to develop Bandar Sri Sendayan to be the Damansara of Seremban.”
Integrated township
Bandar Sri Sendayan comprises industrial (17%), residential (35%), commercial (7%), agriculture (21%), TUDM (15%) and education (5%) components. Leaving aside the tracts allocated for agricultural land for the setttlers, the 750-acre commercial tract sold to RMAF and about 1,000 acres for industrial purposes, Matrix Concepts will still be left with about 2,300 of the original 5,233 acres to be developed.
Lee says the main state administrative offices will be relocated to the township in the next three to five years on a 55-acre site. Under construction is a 5-storey Syariah Court Complex.
Matrix Concepts general manager (corporate division) Teow Kim Siong tells City & Country that a petrol station and a local fast food chain have been built just beside the Syariah Court Complex. “We need to provide some facilities for such a new township,” he says.
Residents and those working in the township can also look forward to enjoying a 26-acre park — the Sendayan Green Park.
Adds Teow, “We are trying to make this an eco-friendly township. There are plans for an amphitheatre, viewing deck, gazebos, fitness centres and many more to come within the green park.”
Commercial component projects include Sendayan Metropark fronting the main road (Persiaran Bandar Sri Sendayan), comprising 2- and 3-storey shopoffices that were launched end-2010 and are currently under construction. There are also 25 units of 2- and 2½-storey shop offices called Nusari Biz, priced from RM508,000, that have seen a take-up rate of 95%.
Also under construction are the Medan Nusari Community shops which includes a food court, in the middle of the residential precinct. Says Teow, “This is a place where people don’t just come and buy stuff ... they can bring their family and there’s a courtyard inside for the children to play while the parents shop.” The food court will be maintained by the developer.
All 46 units of the Medan Nusari Community shops have been sold since they were launched in 3Q2010 at slightly over RM200,000. Recent secondary transactions have seen the units sold for about 40% higher, or over RM300,000. A corner unit sold for over RM400,000 recently changed hands for over RM700,000. The community shops are expected to be completed by the end of this year.
As for the residences, Teow says the current launch features single-storey semidee units with built-ups of 1,800 sq ft, priced at about RM359,000, and 2-storey link homes of 2,300 sq ft at a little over RM300,000.
There are plans for high-end residential homes to be launched next year, with indicative prices of around RM1 million to RM2 million. This marks a strategic move for Matrix Concepts, which is known more as a developer of low to medium-cost properties, into the medium high-end segment.
Close to the 180-acre high-end residential precinct will be the 100-acre Merchant Square. “It will offer boutique shops, small office versatile office (SoVos) and boulevard shops. We will also own and operate a private school here as well as a 2-storey 180,000 sq ft clubhouse called 1Sendayan Club,” Teow says.
Matrix Concepts managing director Ho Kong Soon says construction on Merchant Square will start in 1Q2012. “Details for 1Sendayan Club are being ironed out now. We are looking at offering our high-end residential purchasers free club membership for a few years,” he adds. Facilities include a spa, bowling alley, therapeutic salt-water wading pool and partly covered Olympic-size infinity swimming pool.
Another commercial hub to be developed at a later stage as the township matures is the proposed Icon Park on a 116-acre tract. Plans are for small office home office (SoHo) units, an exhibition centre, two floating restaurants separated by a lake and a cultural village, among other features.
However, the developer hopes to begin infrastructure work on an exhibition centre, called Istrade, within Icon Park by the middle of next year.
“We will build and own the centre and lease it out. We are targeting lifestyle and fashion boutiques, and leather and designer goods, household, DIY, medical and pharmaceutical outlets so we can control the quality of the tenants,” Ho says.
As for the 1,000-acre industrial component, it will be known as Sendayan TechValley, Teow reveals. “We want to make it eco-friendly so people who work there will not find a typical factory area, what we normally see in an industrial area. We will have pedestrian walkways and a lot of green, which will make people feel more relaxed,” he says.
Infrastructure work for the industrial area is expected to be completed within the next six months. The first factory to be built there, on a six-acre site, will be for a pharmaceutical company. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in July. Two international companies are currently in the midst of inking deals to build factories in the township.
Among the pull factors for industries, says Teow, are the good road transport network and proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, low-cost carrier terminal and Kuala Lumpur city.
The industrial development will have its own waste management centre.
On the relocation of the RMAF air base in Sungai Besi to Bandar Sri Sendayan, Teow says: “We understand RMAF is in the midst of coming up with the development plans and we hear work will begin some time next year. Local residents were concered about noise but as reported, it will solely be a training and academic centre, with only helipads.” The developer was unable to reveal how much the 750-acre tract was transacted for.
On the prospects for the property sector, Lee says based on the population growth, Malaysia still needs new homes. The demand depends on locations such as the Klang Valley, Johor and Penang. “So it all depends on your strategy and the reputation of the developer. The property outlook is good and pretty buoyant for the next two years due to the demand, but of course it also depends on the global economy,” he says.
As for Matrix Concepts, while it will be kept busy with Bandar Sri Sendayan, it is also looking at developing landed residential units in the Klang Valley within the next three years.
This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 882, Oct 31-Nov 6, 2011
