TALKING EDGE: JKG Land wants to give homeowners sanctuary

The Edge TV

[BRANDED] Boutique developer JKG Land is looking to create a sanctuary for its homebuyers with its flagship project The Era @ Duta North surrounded by its award winning Wetlands located in the heart of busy Segambut.

Transcript

00:00 Amid the cutthroat landscape that is Klang Valley Property Development,

00:03 boutique developer JKG Land is hoping to stand out with its flagship development,

00:07 the Era at Duta North, with its award-winning wetlands.

00:11 However, is this enough to win over discerning buyers who are frankly spoiled for choice?

00:16 This is the question we ask its MD, Datuk T. Kian Meng.

00:19 Property development is a very challenging business, I don't need to tell you, right?

00:27 Especially in Klang Valley which is full of established players.

00:30 So how did JKG Land actually stand out in already a very crowded landscape?

00:37 What we did was to look for that blue spot in the Red Ocean.

00:45 Okay, highly competitive, but we need to be differentiated.

00:49 And that's where I say the blue spot.

00:52 So how do we do it?

00:53 Okay, we need to do something that actually differentiates ourselves from the rest of the established players.

01:00 And we look at things that people normally don't do in a city setting.

01:07 We come up with ideas of having a wetland, for example.

01:10 It's one of the features that we think that will actually put ourselves in a different platform.

01:15 We also look at swimming pool, where everybody does swimming pool.

01:19 Can do one swimming pool, two swimming pool,

01:21 but what we have done is we created a swimming pool which is 100m long,

01:26 about the size of an Olympic site.

01:28 So something very different.

01:30 And we think that will actually create a wow effect for purchasers.

01:33 And that will make ourselves slightly different from other developers.

01:38 For discerning homebuyers, especially many who are buying to live,

01:41 never mind buying to invest as well,

01:43 they're always looking for interesting features to add to the overall experience.

01:47 So what do you feel the wetlands adds to the experience of a homebuyer

01:51 as compared to maybe another high-rise?

01:54 As I said before, what we want to provide is a sanctuary,

01:57 a place, a retreat place for the residents.

02:00 After busy city life, they come home, they can relax.

02:03 And what we have done is we want to create a place

02:07 where you can get the very natural flora and fauna, okay?

02:13 And the residents can get up close and personal with the natural setting.

02:18 So that was the invention of this wetlands.

02:20 For all the things that Segambo it is known for,

02:23 it is true that the term sanctuary doesn't really come to mind.

02:26 Although on the map it sits just next to Monkiara,

02:29 and in terms of absolute distance, it is only 8km from KLCC,

02:34 the vibe and the values could not be more different.

02:38 The era I do to North is intending to change with the wetlands,

02:41 which are not the most conventional features in a property development.

02:45 But for Tay, the idea that sparked it was a bit more personal.

02:50 We want to do something which people have actually lost.

02:53 And to be fair with you, to be slightly selfish,

02:56 I lived in Bukit Batajan, behind my house, those days,

03:00 there's a small stream, and that's where I spent my childhood years.

03:04 So we thought that this is something very good for residents

03:07 that you can't find in city area.

03:09 Okay, you go away from KL, you travel, drive for two hours,

03:13 driving, then you reach there, but at your doorstep, it's very hard to find.

03:17 We thought that it's something very unique,

03:19 and something which I think people will appreciate over the time.

03:22 That's the main reason we are doing it.

03:24 At the same time, this piece of land is supposed to be

03:27 just a piece of 1.2, 3 acres of land, supposed to be an open space.

03:32 I can live there as a green area, but we didn't stop there.

03:35 We thought something very different,

03:37 something which we think we can add value to the property development,

03:40 something that the residents can enjoy,

03:43 and we appreciate that we have this sort of setting

03:47 at their doorstep, in a very safe environment.

03:50 That was our motivation to do this.

03:52 There's also a commercial component within the development,

03:55 which of course a lot of property players also do now, right?

03:58 But the difference is you've chosen to actually self-manage it.

04:02 So why did JKG, who's a boutique developer, right,

04:06 who could have just gotten somebody else to manage it as well,

04:09 why did you choose to do that?

04:10 And we'll talk about the mix,

04:12 but why did JKG decide to manage it themselves?

04:15 This has been proven many times before.

04:17 The owner or the developer self-manages the retail.

04:21 We can have the flexibility of actually choosing our tenant mix.

04:25 We can have a little bit more flexibility

04:29 in what to have and what not to have.

04:31 And that was the idea behind our thinking process,

04:35 that we can actually provide a facility,

04:39 mimic of a high street,

04:40 where you can go to the high street for your dental,

04:43 for your medical treatment.

04:45 You can go for F&B, food and beverage,

04:48 convenience grocery, shopping, banking, banking facilities.

04:52 So I think it becomes like a high street type of development.

04:56 However, as earlier mentioned,

04:58 competition among property developers is tough,

05:00 with each one attempting to outdo the other

05:02 with features and finishes.

05:05 But there is one feature that many homeowners seem to value,

05:08 and that is engagement from the developers,

05:11 or anything that seems to instill a sense of community.

05:14 Teysa's JKG recognizes this,

05:16 and hence why it has designed all its spaces

05:19 to have some element that encourages engagement,

05:23 whether it is a cooking space

05:24 where you can invite your friends over

05:26 to events organized by the developers themselves.

05:29 The area at Jutanorth costs around RM700 per square foot,

05:33 which Teysa's is reasonable given the location.

05:36 Saying that, while JKG is the new kid on the block,

05:39 it is just getting started.

05:42 What are your plans then after this development is kind of complete?

05:46 I know this is your flagship,

05:47 this is what's taking up all your time now,

05:49 but what are the other areas that you are eyeing?

05:52 You know, because you are talking about how,

05:54 you know, there's potential in Sengkabut in particular.

05:57 I mean, what else is JKG sort of like have in your future plans?

06:01 This is our first project in collaboration with JKG Land.

06:04 And definitely Phase 1, we have completed Phase 1.

06:08 Now on Phase 2, there will be Phase 3, there will be Phase 4.

06:11 So that will be our ongoing development in this area.

06:14 And we believe we are one of the prime movers in this area

06:18 to kick-start the redevelopment of this entire area.

06:21 At the same time, of course, if you look beyond that,

06:23 the next project we are looking at,

06:25 Mount Kiara or Shah Alam, you know,

06:27 so constantly looking for land to develop

06:29 as a continuous business model for the company.

06:33 Thank you.

06:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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