By Sharen Kaur
KUALA LUMPUR: ALMOST a year after an official announcement to redevelop the former Pudu Jail, a consortium known as BBCC Development (BBCCD) Sdn Bhd has been formed to turn the 7.85ha site into a masterpiece called Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC).
The BBCCD shareholders comprise UDA Holdings Bhd and Eco World Development Group Bhd with a 40 per cent stake each, and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) with the rest.
The market is quite positive on BBCC, as it is with the Battersea Power Station regeneration project in the United Kingdom, where SP Setia Bhd is a partner.
The key players behind SP Setia, led by Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, are now with Eco World.
UDA, being the landowner, invited Eco World last June to be part of the RM8 billion redevelopment project due to the expertise of the latter's key personnel, who were involved in the Battersea project when they were with SP Setia.
The "Liew factor" has somehow become an important element in any redevelopment project, be it in Klang, Semenyih or, in this case, the site of the former Pudu Jail.
BBCCD is now focused on selling residential and commercial units on a site with a colourful history.
Pudu Jail was built in phases by the British colonial government between 1891 and 1895 on the site of a former Chinese burial ground. During World War 2, the Japanese occupation forces incarcerated many Allied prisoners of war there.
The prison complex was closed in 1996 and demolished in 2010.
Liew, who is Eco World non-executive director, is bullish on BBCC's prospects.
He expects a strong take-up rate for the 2,700 apartment units to be sold in phases starting early next year, as well as leasing of the office space.
He believes there will be no negativity attached to the project despite the site having been abandoned for many years.
"Obviously, we are going to 'cleanse' the place before we start any work. Nevertheless, this will be a great landmark project in Kuala Lumpur. The location is strategic and there is great connectivity. There will be interesting concepts and ideas," he told Property Times after the signing of a joint-development agreement between UDA, Eco World and EPF recently.
BBCC will include an 88-storey signature tower (encompassing serviced apartments, hotel and office space), three apartment towers, and a 40-level strata office building.
The project will also have a transport hub complementing Pudu Sentral (formerly Puduraya Terminal), which is operated by UDA. The transport hub will provide monorail and light rail transit services.
It is already off to a good start, having attracted the interest of investors from Europe, Japan and China.
BBCCD has so far inked agreements with Japan's real estate conglomerate Mitsui Fudosan (Asia) Pte Ltd and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc's unit Zepp Hall Network Inc.
The deal with Mitsui is to co-develop the 1.2 million sq ft lifestyle mall that will feature a Malaysian Grand Bazaar, food and beverage outlets, and entertainment components that include a 2,500-capacity live event hall.
Zepp will help manage the hall. UDA chairman Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said the system for the live event hall alone would cost RM100 million.
He said the next step would be to look for investors in the hotel component.
"It is UDA's hope that the BBCC initiative will be similar to the high-profile Battersea project, with its bold brand presence, coupled with proven financial capacity," Johari said.
En bloc deal talks with foreign investors
BBCC Development Sdn Bhd (BBCCD) is in talks with investors in Asia and Europe, including London property buyers, for potential en bloc deals in the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project.
Eco World Development Group Bhd executive vice-president for strategic projects, Datuk Richard Ong Kek Seng, said marketing for the RM8 billion BBCC has commenced and he is upbeat on sales and progress of the development.
"We are talking to many foreign parties for the sale of apartments and some corporate suites in BBCC," he told Property Times in an interview, here, recently.
Three apartment towers and a 40-storey strata office building will be built on the field adjacent to the former Pudu Jail complex, which was demolished in 2010.
The site will see the development of a 1.2 million sq m mall, an 88-storey signature tower, and food and beverage outlets.
He said BBCCD would retain the mall while UDA, which is the landowner, will acquire some of the strata offices for investment or its own use.
Ong said one third of the signature tower will comprise corporate suites, while another 25 floors will house a fiveor six-star hotel.
"Above the hotel, we will have 21 floors of serviced apartments. The selling price will be from RM2,000 per sq ft. For the 2,700 units of apartments, we expect to start selling them from RM1,400 psf," he said.
Ong said BBCCD was targeting local investors as well as those from Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Europe for the apartments.
For hotel management and operation, the company is talking to a Europe-based operator.
"We target to secure the approval for development order for the project within six months. Tenders for infrastructure work and to build the mall, strata office building and one apartment tower will be called in the third quarter. Work is envisaged to start in the fourth quarter," Ong said.
KUALA LUMPUR: ALMOST a year after an official announcement to redevelop the former Pudu Jail, a consortium known as BBCC Development (BBCCD) Sdn Bhd has been formed to turn the 7.85ha site into a masterpiece called Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC).
The BBCCD shareholders comprise UDA Holdings Bhd and Eco World Development Group Bhd with a 40 per cent stake each, and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) with the rest.
The market is quite positive on BBCC, as it is with the Battersea Power Station regeneration project in the United Kingdom, where SP Setia Bhd is a partner.
The key players behind SP Setia, led by Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, are now with Eco World.
UDA, being the landowner, invited Eco World last June to be part of the RM8 billion redevelopment project due to the expertise of the latter's key personnel, who were involved in the Battersea project when they were with SP Setia.
The "Liew factor" has somehow become an important element in any redevelopment project, be it in Klang, Semenyih or, in this case, the site of the former Pudu Jail.
BBCCD is now focused on selling residential and commercial units on a site with a colourful history.
Pudu Jail was built in phases by the British colonial government between 1891 and 1895 on the site of a former Chinese burial ground. During World War 2, the Japanese occupation forces incarcerated many Allied prisoners of war there.
The prison complex was closed in 1996 and demolished in 2010.
Liew, who is Eco World non-executive director, is bullish on BBCC's prospects.
He expects a strong take-up rate for the 2,700 apartment units to be sold in phases starting early next year, as well as leasing of the office space.
He believes there will be no negativity attached to the project despite the site having been abandoned for many years.
"Obviously, we are going to 'cleanse' the place before we start any work. Nevertheless, this will be a great landmark project in Kuala Lumpur. The location is strategic and there is great connectivity. There will be interesting concepts and ideas," he told Property Times after the signing of a joint-development agreement between UDA, Eco World and EPF recently.
BBCC will include an 88-storey signature tower (encompassing serviced apartments, hotel and office space), three apartment towers, and a 40-level strata office building.
The project will also have a transport hub complementing Pudu Sentral (formerly Puduraya Terminal), which is operated by UDA. The transport hub will provide monorail and light rail transit services.
It is already off to a good start, having attracted the interest of investors from Europe, Japan and China.
BBCCD has so far inked agreements with Japan's real estate conglomerate Mitsui Fudosan (Asia) Pte Ltd and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc's unit Zepp Hall Network Inc.
The deal with Mitsui is to co-develop the 1.2 million sq ft lifestyle mall that will feature a Malaysian Grand Bazaar, food and beverage outlets, and entertainment components that include a 2,500-capacity live event hall.
Zepp will help manage the hall. UDA chairman Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said the system for the live event hall alone would cost RM100 million.
He said the next step would be to look for investors in the hotel component.
"It is UDA's hope that the BBCC initiative will be similar to the high-profile Battersea project, with its bold brand presence, coupled with proven financial capacity," Johari said.
En bloc deal talks with foreign investors
BBCC Development Sdn Bhd (BBCCD) is in talks with investors in Asia and Europe, including London property buyers, for potential en bloc deals in the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) project.
Eco World Development Group Bhd executive vice-president for strategic projects, Datuk Richard Ong Kek Seng, said marketing for the RM8 billion BBCC has commenced and he is upbeat on sales and progress of the development.
"We are talking to many foreign parties for the sale of apartments and some corporate suites in BBCC," he told Property Times in an interview, here, recently.
Three apartment towers and a 40-storey strata office building will be built on the field adjacent to the former Pudu Jail complex, which was demolished in 2010.
The site will see the development of a 1.2 million sq m mall, an 88-storey signature tower, and food and beverage outlets.
He said BBCCD would retain the mall while UDA, which is the landowner, will acquire some of the strata offices for investment or its own use.
Ong said one third of the signature tower will comprise corporate suites, while another 25 floors will house a fiveor six-star hotel.
"Above the hotel, we will have 21 floors of serviced apartments. The selling price will be from RM2,000 per sq ft. For the 2,700 units of apartments, we expect to start selling them from RM1,400 psf," he said.
Ong said BBCCD was targeting local investors as well as those from Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Europe for the apartments.
For hotel management and operation, the company is talking to a Europe-based operator.
"We target to secure the approval for development order for the project within six months. Tenders for infrastructure work and to build the mall, strata office building and one apartment tower will be called in the third quarter. Work is envisaged to start in the fourth quarter," Ong said.
No comments:
Post a Comment