By ALICE CHIA

YTL Land & Development Bhd is expected to launch RM574 million worth of residential and commercial properties at its urban renewal project in Sentul by end of this year.

Managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said that following the success of the firm’s first condominium project, the Tamarind at Sentul East, YTL is launching another condominium project, called the Saffron, in September.

Among unique features of The Saffron are the 12-foot floor-to-ceiling windows providing uninterrupted views of Kuala Lumpur or the park in Sentul. It features 407 units with a value of RM200 million. The units range in size from 1,800 sq ft to 2,300 sq ft with an average price of RM400,000. Privacy is ensured with only three to four units on each floor.

YTL is also set to launch two 32-storey tower blocks, called the Mulberry, in the last quarter of this year, which will be the next icon of “The Park” at Sentul West.

The Mulberry will comprise 398 units with a built-up area of 2,300 sqft to 3,000 sq ft each and an average selling price of RM800,000. The development is valued at RM350 million.

“Moving forward, the pace doesn’t stop. We will keep the momentum going with new product launches each year to make Sentul more and more the new address in KL,” Yeoh told an analyst and media briefing in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.

Sentul comprises a mixed development of residential, commercial and retail properties. It covers 118ha of freehold land divided into two parcels: Sentul West and Sentul East.

The development was launched in July 2002 with the Tamarind. In all, the residential property in Sentul is divided into seven phases totalling 7,000 residential units, which should see a population of some 50,000 people.

Yeoh said that Sentul East is expected to come alive with commercial activity as it will be opening its doors to street and lifestyle shops housed in a three-and-a-half storey building fronting Jalan Sentul by the year-end.

There will be 16 retail outlets and eight duplex residential lofts, valued at RM24 million. The limited lofts are designed along New York’s Soho style and the average selling price is RM500,000,

Yeoh also said that the Park at Sentul West, Malaysia’s first private gated park, is expected to be completed next year.

“We are also committed to improving the infrastructure around Sentul through our involvement with the Mahameru Highway, which will be completed in 2007 just as the majority of homeowners begin to move in,” he added.

“All in, Sentul, two years on, has more than delivered on its promise. And let me tell you, there will be more to come,” Yeoh said.

Sentul West & Sentul East - Two Years On
Text of speech by Tan Sri Francis Yeoh

Friends of Sentul, good morning.

YTL Land's philosophy has always been about delivering value to our buyers. Through urban regeneration, we have turned our developments into valuable properties, and more importantly, into thriving communities.

You know the stories – the red-light Bukit Bintang into Bintang Walk; the low cost area of Pantai Dalam into our Mediterranean-style Pantai Hillpark, a two million year-old forest transformed into the world's best resort – Pangkor Laut Resort.

The experience helped us in 1999, when we took over Taiping Consolidated's Sentul Raya development. Two years ago we launched our redevelopment plan for the 100-year-old township, and today, just two years on, we have a beautiful, beautiful story to tell.

We started off by unveiling our masterplan for Sentul – creating two distinct communities – Sentul West and Sentul East.

Sentul West is centred around a beautiful green 35 acre private gated park. It will be a home of peace and quiet and beauty right in the heart of our beautiful city. And, believe me, it will appreciate in value – look at the prices that homes around Central Park, Hyde Park, and St. James Park command these days.

Sentul East will be Malaysia's own answer to New York's Soho. An old township, brought to life with new spaces to work, and play, and do business. It will be a place people will flock to; a new place-to-be in KL.

Malaysians know and believe we can make it happen. We launched two projects – The Tamarind at Sentul East and The Maple at Sentul West. Both were very successful, and both will be addresses people will demand to live in.

And we're making it a reality – by showing them what life will be like in Sentul. Last weekend, We hosted over 150 buyers of The Maple to a children's interactive theatre performance, right on the edge of one of the lakes at The Park at Sentul West.

They played football, fed the fish and then sat on the grass to watch their kids learn dance moves. That's what life in the city should be like.

Yesterday, we took another big step forward. The Prime Minister's wife, YABhg Datin Paduka Seri Endon launched The KL Performing Arts Centre/PentasSeni KL, a new home dedicated to the performing arts.

This is not just another building, and it certainly is no ordinary theatre.

We have taken the 100-year-old KTM warehouse, retained the beautiful colonial red brick façade, and will add a tasteful glass atrium that will house the most advanced of theatre facilities. All designed and built by Malaysians, for Malaysians. World-class designs and craftsmanship, all home grown.

It is exactly how YTL believes development should be – preserving the old, adding the new to make places relevant to people today, and adding value to the lives of people who live and work in the area. It will be a typical thriving YTL community. And it will make KL the centre for performing arts in the region.

Moving forward, the pace doesn't stop. We will keep the momentum going with new product launches each year, to make Sentul more and more the new address in KL.

In 2004, we will be introducing The Saffron, our second development in Sentul East. Again, it will be about affordable, high-quality living spaces, 10 minutes from the city centre, with every amenity at its doorstep. A development that will appreciate in value over time, maximizing value for us, our purchasers and our investors. .

Next will come The Mulberry at Sentul West. Now this will be interesting – you'll see shortly the design for this world-class condominium that truly takes advantage of the park environment by bringing it directly into the homes and living spaces. It's a fantastic, unusual design that will blend perfectly with the park.

And there will be opportunities for the business, services and retail market to take advantage of the Sentul promise, when we launch our commercial lots next to The Tamarind at year-end.

2005 will see the completion of The Park at Sentul West. If you haven't been there, I suggest you take a look – it is truly an oasis in the heart of this busy city, and Malaysians will have seen nothing like this.

And we're also committed to improving the infrastructure around Sentul through our involvement with the Mahameru Highway, which will be completed in 2007, just as the majority of our future homeowners are beginning to move in.

All in, Sentul, 2 years on, has more than delivered on its promise. And let me tell you, there'll be more to come.

Thank you and may God bless you.

Text of speech by Tan Sri (Dr.) Francis Yeoh
at "Sentul West & Sentul East - Two Years On" media & analysts briefing
in JW Marriott Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
on 22 May 2004