Viva Home to open end-2010

KUALA LUMPUR: Viva Home, a one-stop centre for home products and related services, is expected to be unveiled on Jalan Loke Yew here in a year’s time.

The lifestyle mall that is to be complemented by F&B and entertainment outlets as well as a hypermarket, will have a net lettable area of 660,000 sq ft, of which 50% has already been leased so far, according to its developer, Viva Mall Sdn Bhd.

Among the tenants who have signed up so far are MBO Cinema (nine-screen cineplex), ICT Gadgets (50,000 sq ft) and Old Town Kopitiam (10,000 sq ft).

Viva Mall Sdn Bhd is part of Kha Seng Corp Sdn Bhd, which is also behind Kuala Lumpur’s famed Central Market and the Kenanga Wholesale City.

Kha Seng Corp managing director Bernard Bong told a press conference today the initial response to Viva Mall had been very good. “We are trying to get a good mix of tenants,” he said.

Viva Home is a feature of the RM200 million two-phase redevelopment of Plaza Uncang Emas UE3. Phase one of the project involves a refurbishment of an old mall that will be renamed Viva Home. It will offer retail lots that will be typically sized from 300 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft. Mini anchors will occupy bigger spaces of up 15,000 sq ft.

Phase two will boast a 260-room boutique hotel with a gross development value of RM70 million. The hotel will sit atop the mall. Work on second phase will start in May, said Bong.

Meanwhile, DTZ’s regional head of retail, Southeast Asia Ungku Suseelawati Ungku Omar said a major hypermarket operator had signed on as an anchor tenant. DTZ is the exclusive leasing agent for the Viva Home project.