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Urban living, redefined
ew Straits Times (Property Times), 2 April 2005
TRENDS
By Lim Lay Ying
It started as a desire: To reclaim and recycle land strategic locales and turn them into places that would showcase new standards of living for Kuala Lumpur. It started with a developer’s idea to build a sense of community and encourage interaction among residents.
These were the premise behind Lake Fields, a project in the Sungei Besi area being undertaken on a joint venture basis by YTL Land & Development Bhd (YTLLD) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
A 184-acre master-planned community that celebrates the natural features and amenities of its immediate surroundings, Lake Fields is envisioned to embrace the ideals of urban living: Large, spacious houses set against a pristine lake, lush landscaping, tree-lined streets, linear parks connecting pocket parks and canal greens.
The lake as a centrepiece
Lake Field’s 15-acre lake, forming the centrepiece of this new residential neighbourhood, will be complemented by four landscape elements:
1) A water promenade which will feature a grass pier and pontoon, terraced seating at the edge of the lake and meandering footpaths along the grass edge;
2) A linear park straddled by the Meadows houses, dotted with a variety of interactive equipment meant as educational tools for children in the neighbourhood;
3) A host of pocket parks strategically located for the benefit of all the residents;and
4) Canal greens which will be tree-lined and landscaped paths fringing the waterways.
Exceeding expected demand
YTLLD’s latest venture is designed as a gated-and-guarded community made up primarily of landed houses to accommodate everybody from singles to seniors; first time buyers to empty nesters; and upgraders to investors.
Upon built-out approximately five years from now, Lake Fields will be home to over 7,000 people.
Demand for the maiden launch comprising three-storey linkhouses has exceeded the expected absorption rate and sale prices starting from RM380,000 apiece is setting a new record for the locality.
This won’t be the first time YTL has done such benchmarking. In a previous project called Lake Edge in Puchong, Selangor, it initially offered double-storey terraces with dimensions of 24ft by 85ft in early 2004 for RM380,000. Subsequent .launches in the months that followed were priced higher, with the most recent starting at RM555,000 for a 22ft by 100ft double-storey unit.
Spacious houses
Lake Field’s first batch of 22ft by 75ft houses called Meadows will be super-sized, designed to portray a contemporary style and redefine urban living.
The lounge, dining hall and kitchen (complete with a set of cabinets) will dominate the ground floor while the bedrooms will be above. The topmost level will accommodate a luxuriously-spaced master bedroom complete with an adjoining study, fully-fitted en suite bathroom and two balconies.
Aside from another bedroom also on this level, two more bedrooms will be provided, one flight of steps down.
Among the more outstanding features of the house with over 2,500sq ft of space will be 20ft high double-volume ceiling in the lounge area, column-free interiors and floor -to-ceiling glass panels that will maximise light penetration and views of the exterior.
The houses will be equipped with a central water heating system piped to the bathrooms, seven air-conditioning points and quality finishes such as laminated timber flooring for the bedrooms.
Leasehold status a non-issue
Almost 50 per cent of the 238 Meadows houses, which will have individual titles, have been sold to staff members of the development company.
The 99-year leasehold tenure of the project is a non-issue to these buyers who won’t have to pay monthly service charges for the first three years after it has been completed.
Encouraged by the good response, the developer will be offering another 276 units earlier than planned. Located south of KL’s metropolitan area and adjacent to the Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel at The Mines, Lake Fields is accessible via the Besraya-Sungei Besi Highway where an elevated U-turn has been proposed before the toll plaza to ease ingress and egress.
Alternative access routes include the Middle Ring Road II, the Shah Alam Expressway and the KL-Seremban Highway.
The project’s neighbourhoods are served by two commuter train services with their respective stations, the KTM Komuter’s Serdang station and the STAR LRT’s Sungei Besi station, located nearby.
A working template for urban living
In many ways, Lake Fields exemplifies the total turnaround that YTLLD has been able to achieve in many of KL’s neighbourhoods. Since 1990, it has developed several thousand affordable and market-rate housing, including the Mediterranean-themed Pantai Hillpark at the fringe of the Bangsar suburb; Sentul East and Sentul West (which have helped regenerate the blighted Sentul area); and Lake Edge – a pivotal project that has garnered respect from the Puchong community.
Every phase of launch in each of these developments has created more than just ripples in the neighbourhoods they are in. Besides drawing many professionals in search of properties offering better ways to live, work and play, the success of these projects has also created emulators throughout the Klang Valley.
They have implanted in the national consciousness a working model of neighbourhoods that can address quality-of-life issues and have given development professionals a working template for redefining urban living.
For homebuyers of Lake Fields. YTL and EPF have given them a great place to live and their children, a fun place to grow up.
Factfile - Lake Fields
Where:
Adjacent to the Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel at The Mines Resort in Sungei Besi. It can be accessed via:
Public transportation is available at the KTM Komuter’s Serdang and Star LRT’s Sungei Besi stations.
What:
A gated development on a 184-acre leasehold property with a 15-acre lake. Comprising primarily linkhouses, the development theme centres around a landscape concept featuring a linear park, pocket parks, canal greens and water promenade.
Developer:
Syarikat Pernbinaan Yeoh Tiong Lay Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of YTL Land & Development Bhd). Landowner is the Employees Provident Fund.
On show:
Meadows at Lake Fields (Phase 1A) – Three-storey terrace houses with dimensions of 20ft by 75ft and 2,512sq ft built-up space accommodating four-plus-one bedrooms
No of units: 238
Price: RM380,000 up
Completion: February 2007
Maintenance charge: Free for first three years
Design highlights:
Column-free lounge with 20ft-high ceiling
Powder room for guests
En suite bath in master bedroom, complete with fixtures
Fully fitted kitchen cabinets
Central water heating
Lim Lay Ying is managing director of Research Inc. (Asia) – a company specialising in market research and consultancy for all facets of real estate development. Access past articles and more at www.researchinc.com.my or call 03-2092 4966.
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