Classy project: (from left) Jagan, painter Jalaini Abu Hassan, photographer S.C. Shekar and textile designer Dr June Ngo with a model of Serai

BRDB unveils ambitious KL luxurious condo project with GDV of RM900mil[SIZE=7]

KUALA LUMPUR: Just a couple of months after its privatisation, property developer Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB) chief executive officer Datuk Jagan Sabapathy unveiled the company's most luxurious and ambitious project to date, Serai, with a gross development value of about RM900mil.

Located at Bukit Bandaraya, Kuala Lumpur, Serai comprises 121 condo units located in two 21-storey towers. Sold at between RM1,300 and RM1,500 per sq ft, the units range from 4,025 sq ft to 6,913 sq ft.
There will be two penthouses of 14,000 sq ft, priced between RM19mil and RM22mil. Serai sits on six acres, the last piece of prime real estate in the Bukit Bandaraya area.

In just slightly less than three months, 54% of the units have been sold, the majority to Malaysians. There are two foreign buyers.

“Serai marks one of our most luxurious and ambitious developments to date, a landmark residential icon that celebrates our brand values of intelligent design, uplifting aesthetics and cosmopolitan living,” Jagan said at the launch.

Chief marketing officer K.C. Chong said the speed at which the sales were done was “hugely gratifying” considering the glut of larger condominium units today.

The overall property market has been pretty slow the past year particularly for the high-end larger units.

BRDB was delisted on Oct 29 following the completion of a general offer for its shares and warrants by Ambang Sehati Sdn Bhd, which is controlled by BRDB chairman Datuk Mohamed Moiz Jabir Mohamed Ali Moiz. However, Chong said “it will be business as usual” in BRDB.

“This was the message communicated to us time and again by Datuk Jagan,” said Chong.

The road to delisting took about a year and attracted much attention initially because that journey started with the intention by major shareholder Ambang Sehati Sdn Bhd, which is controlled by Moiz, to buy over BRDB's prized assets (the Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC), Menara BRDB, CapSquare Retail Centre and Permas Jusco Mall) for RM914mil.

That proposal was aborted and Ambang Sehati instead made the general offer subsequently.

Now that the chapter is closed, Chong said the guiding principles of its projects remained the same intelligent design, aesthetics and cosmopolitan in terms of the provision of the latest technology