Rentak Arena gets busy

If you drive along Jalan Dataran SD 2 in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, chances are you will notice a prominent high-rise structure among light industrial buildings and residential properties. It’s a modern building located just before the busy crossroads in the area.

Named Menara RA, the office tower is a component of One Sri Damansara, the maiden development of Rentak Arena Group (RA Group). The tower was built via its subsidiary Rentak Arena Corp Sdn Bhd.

Completed last December, the RM14-million Menara RA marks the second of two phases of One Sri Damansara. The first commercial phase, comprising 4½-storey shop offices, was completed in 2005. Now, the developer is focusing on a RM99-million high-end residential project called Templer Hills located just before Templer’s Park in Selayang. The project is expected to be launched sometime in end-September or early October.

Who is behind the RA Group? Its main shareholder and chief operations officer is Gerda Chan, who started out in the manufacturing and building construction industry before venturing into interior design and lighting. Chan says moving on to become a developer was a natural transition after more than 25 years of working in property-related industries.

“After years of dealing with clients in interior design, I decided it was time I built something,” she tells City & Country.

One Sri Damansara
One Sri Damansara has a gross development value (GDV) of RM48 million. Its first phase, consisting of 14 units of 4½-storey shop offices and four 5-storey shop offices, was completed in 2005. The units were priced from  RM1.8 million and, according to Chan, recent secondary transactions have breached RM2.4 million.

The second phase, Menara RA, is a 9-storey office tower with a basement car park. There are 36 office suites, with built-ups ranging from 690 to 873 sq ft.

Menara RA is only for lease at about RM2 psf. Chan says it is now 30%-occupied, mainly by contractors’ offices and trading houses, while the RA Group takes up two floors.

Menara RA appears to be the newest high-rise building in the area. Another upcoming development, the RM170-million 8trium by Land and General Bhd in Sri Damansara Business Park, about five minutes’ drive away, is expected to be completed in 2½ years.

Templer Hills
Chan, who hails from Ipoh, says the group is currently busy with its first high-end Templer Hills Signature Bungalows in Gombak, Selangor, located just before Templer Park. The freehold 11-acre tract was acquired in 2005 and the project, now 40% completed, will offer 45 bungalows in five designs with built-ups between 3,400 and 6,400 sq ft. Expected to be officially launched soon, the bungalows are priced from RM1.5 million to RM2.8 million.

So far, according to the developer, 10 bungalows have been sold to buyers from the Klang Valley. The developer is also targeting buyers in the surrounding areas, as it believes the project’s proximity to the Kuala Lumpur city centre will be a plus factor. Besides, two golf courses — Perangsang Templer Golf Club and Templer Park Country Club — and Mah Sing Bhd’s Perdana Residence are close by.

Chan expects work on Templer Hills to be completed mid-2010. The project sits on four out of seven land parcels totalling 19 acres. The developer has no plans for the remaining three parcels, measuring eight acres, except that these will be earmarked for residential developments, too.

Bukit Serdang
Aside from Templer Hills, another upcoming project is an industrial development on a 30-acre leasehold tract in Bukit Serdang, Selangor. Chan says Bukit Serdang Industrial comprises 33 units of 2-storey terraced factories, 21 semidee factories with lifts and six bungalow factories. “It is suitable for corporate offices and showrooms. Work started in August and the project is expected to be completed in 2011. We have sold 30% of it and are looking for the right time to launch it,” says Chan, adding that the buyers are mostly from Bukit Serdang.

The project has a GDV of RM95 million. The 2-storey factories are tagged from RM600,000, 3-storey semidee factories from RM2.44 million and bungalow factories between RM2.5 million and RM5.6 million.

RA Group is also the project management consultant for the design and marketing of Parkview Sunnyside and One SL Sunnyside in Sungai Long, Cheras. The landowner of the freehold tracts for the two projects is Chundi Incorporated Sdn Bhd. Parkview Sunnyside comprises 28 units of 2-storey semidees costing RM750,000 onwards. One SL Sunnyside consists of 14 units of  3-storey shop offices and eight units of 4-storey shop offices and are priced from RM835,000 to RM1.3 million. Parkview is currently 60% completed and is expected to be ready by year-end.

Going forward, Chan says the group will continue to focus on developments in strategic locations in the Klang Valley.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 770, Aug 31-Sep 6, 2009.