Puchong's new landmark rising

S. C. Cheah
New Straits Times
04-29-2011
Puchong's new landmark rising
Byline: S. C. Cheah
Edition: Main/Lifestyle
Section: Property
Column: Property eyes

THE recently launched M Square is poised to be the new "heartbeat" of Puchong, Selangor, and will have several "firsts".

Located next to Puchong Perdana, Puchong Indah and near Bandar Tasik Prima, M Square is part of the RM5 billion Millenia City being developed by Millennium Land Sdn Bhd, which built the Vista Millennium apartments within the same vicinity about a decade ago.
The company feels now is the right time to develop its 100-acre leasehold site with portion fronting a disused mining lake and turn it into a modern commercial hub to cater to the growing affluent population of Puchong.

"Millenia City is poised to be the future crown jewel of Puchong," said Millennium Land executive director Benjamin Tan Bock Suan.

"It is in a premium new market location where households earning between RM7,000 and RM20,000 have jumped from just three per cent in 2000 to 87 per cent in six years.

"We believe Millenia City will be a highly significant project and think it will be a major modern, trendy and touristic landmark for Puchong." Tan, 29, the second eldest son of veteran property developer Datuk Tan Jing Nam - who is also the group managing director of publiclisted Tanco Holdings Bhd, developer of the successful Bandar Country Homes in Rawang, Selangor, and Palm Springs Resort City in Port Dickson - said the development will also introduce many features not seen before.

Among them:

Biggest single level subbasement car-park in the country

Understanding how important a role car-parking environment plays in the overall success of a commercial development, Millennium Land plans to have a singlelevel sub-basement capable of holding 3,250 cars - making it the biggest of its kind in the country - as well as a 23ft high double-volume ceiling for a spacious feel. By virtue of being at sub-basement level, there will also be openings for natural ventilation to make the space airier and brighter.

Tan said there are plans to extensively landscape not only the outdoor ground level but also inside the carpark, while to accommodate future expansion, some parts of the double-volume level can be turned into a second level. There will also be billboards to generate revenue for the company.

Country's largest alfresco regional mall

Besides the 380,000sq ft, six-storey shopping mall and the 18- storey Hilton Garden Inn above it, the 25-acre commercial hub will have a trendy 2.1 million square feet Street Mall made up of 13 blocks of six-storey retail and office units.

Upon completion, this will be the country's largest alfresco mall.

In total, M Square will have a gross floor area of four million square feet, of which 2.4 million square feet will be lettable.

Unique retail/office design with bubble lifts

Unlike traditional shopoffices, the first three levels of M Square's six-storey retailoffice units will be usable for retailing while the upper three levels can be used as offices.

Its north-south orientation will keep things cool, while the provision of four lifts per block (two on each end) instead of staircases together with common corridors will enhance accessibility and increase the rental and capital values of the upper floors.

Hilton Garden Inn - Puchong's first international hotel

The fact that Hilton Worldwide has chosen to establish its presence in this development shows the potential of this area.

The hotel will have 255 rooms, free wired and Wifi Internet access in all guestrooms, a 24-hour pavilion pantry providing a selection of food and beverage options, a fully equipped state-of- the-art gym and an outdoor swimming pool among others.

Biggest banquet hall in Puchong

One of the 13 retail blocks is not for sale, and will be a convention-cum-banquet hall capable of holding 1,200 diners, making it the largest and most modern banquet hall in Puchong.

Besides catering to growing demand for such space in the Klang Valley for functions such as weddings, restaurants operating in M Square can also lease the space when they need to expand beyond their units.

Top security features

The entire development will be secured with a Safe Street Concept and plenty of CCTV cameras installed above ground as well as throughout the car-park.

Glass panel lifts will allow lift passengers to see the goings- on outside as well as let those outside see them - a security feature that has been adopted in many major cities today.

Biggest seafood market-cum-restaurant in Puchong

There are plans to turn part of the huge car-park into a fresh seafood market to serve the estimated 20 restaurants in M Square as well as members of the public.

With the presence of Hilton Worldwide, financial backing from Bank Rakyat, a good location and concept, M Square looks like an attractive proposition for investors and businesses.

* S.C. Cheah is a veteran journalist with his ears and eyes fixed on the property scene.

(Copyright 2011)