Budding townships in northern KL are bridging the gap between the outskirts and city

DISTANCE is a matter of perspective.

Over the last decade, townships along the Gutherie Corridor Expressway such as Bandar Baru Sg Buloh, Kota Damansara, Bukit Jelutong, Puncak Alam (and further up, Setia Alam) have developed rapidly.

Further up from Sungai Buloh, a new township – 1,000-acre Bandar Seri Coalfields (BSC) – is being developed by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK).

The property player has a landbank of 6,000 acres there, 230 acres of which have been developed into the mixed residential and commercial real estate Desa Coalfields, now home to a middle income population of about 10,000 for the last decade.

For the average denizen of Petaling Jaya and surrounding suburbs, to that region – 25-45 minutes depending on traffic – is considered far although it is about the same distance to the city centre.

While most city residents hesitate to venture out from their ties and comforts in established townships, these new developments appeal to denizens from as far as Seremban, who desire to inch towards the city centre. 

 Rather than uprooting the entire clan, many still opt to live on the fringes to be closer to Kuala Lumpur and yet be close enough to their families in the outskirts.

Low density

The development of BSC, which has a freehold land tenure, is still in its infancy.

KLK has planned for 6,000 units of housing and commercial real estate in the township. Some 900 units from phase one were handed over since last May, and 80 units of commercial lots will be handed over by this December.

“We are converting our plantation into residential real estate to meet demand,” KLK general manager P.H. Lim says.

Phase one comprises the following: The Bromelia (22x75ft; 4-bedroom, 4 bathroom; starting at RM310,000) and Duranta (24x75ft; 4-bedroom, 4 bathroom; starting at RM350,000) two-storey link houses; Banyan semi-detached units (6-bedroom, 5 bathroom, starting at RM688,000); Oleander double-storey link villas (24x75ft; 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom; RM468,000); and Areca (22x75ft; 4-bedroom+4bathroom; RM400,000) double-storey courtyard homes – all of which were fully sold within months of being launched in 2011.

Early this year, KLK launched Senna (4-bedroom, 3 bathroom; starting at RM480,000), a precinct of 261 double-storey terrace housing.

While 90% of these were snapped up within four weeks, Banyan II, the second phase of its semi-detached units launched in 2012, lags behind with a mere take-up of 20%.

According to Lim, most who bought into the township were middle-incomed young families and parents investing in a home for their children.

Taking into account most townships’ emphasis on greenery and the correlation between people and their environment of living, KLK is integrating a small park in each housing precinct for leisure and family time.

On a larger scale, there will be the 50-acre central park in the heart of the township, landscaped and equipped with a full-sized football pitch, jogging track, cycling path and other game courts.

Lim says the company is not keen on developing condominiums (apart from low-cost apartments, which are integral in any township planning) so as to keep density low.

Its varied property is meant to cater to a diverse resident mix.

BSC is planned with 50 ft-wide inner roads, which will hopefully alleviate traffic and promote more room for residential parking.

The township will include comprehensive proposed public amenities such as primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, government health clinic, wet market, petrol stations, food courts, police station, community halls, bus terminal, church, mosque and surau.

An existing police beat base, community hall, surau and primary school are available at the neighbouring Desa Coalfields, which can cater to the residents’ needs when they move in this year.

The advantage for BSC is its accessibility via the Guthrie Corridor Expressway and KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway (Latar), FR 54 and the upcoming Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (under construction), which leads directly into the Pencala Link.

“Towns in those areas are slowly but surely coming up,” Lim says. “To the crowd from that end, BSC is not as far as we imagine. You will see a transformation along the Guthrie Corridor within the next two decades.”

Investors should bear in mind that progress, as with any township development, can only be realised over the long term.

“The rate of establishment will depend on the market and economy. In planning Desa Coalfields, we targeted 12 years but it was established within eight years,” he added.

Understanding BSC’s neighbouring environment such as Puncak Alam, Meru and Kuala Selangor can give potential buyers an idea of what to expect in the coming years.

These sleepy towns are still rather slow-moving but developers and real estate agents say that development is underway.

Puncak Alam, a stone’s throw away, caters largely to the UITM II community.

Catalyse growth

Middle and lower-incomed families and campus residents fuel the strips of roadside stalls and shop lots in the vicinity, and there is a Tesco hypermarket in the area that will be able to cater to domestic needs in BSC’s early years.

A community mall for BSC is also in the pipeline, but until then, residents are just a 15-minute drive from the Setia Alam Mall. Plans for outdoor play facilities for children are underway.

Further away, there is also the Waterfront community mall at Desa ParkCity as well as the uncoming commercial area of Arcadia (slated for completion by 2016), a 11.3-acre freehold project comprising four-storey buildings with retail shops, offices and SoHos (small office/home office) units.

These amenities will add to BSC’s accessibility to leisure and lifestyle avenues.

Ultimately and together, these townships catalyse further growth along the Corridor to connect the outskirts to the city.

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