[The Edge] Ancubic to unveil Pantai Dalam project by 2H2018

Boutique developer Ancubic Capital Sdn Bhd is looking to launch a freehold serviced apartment project - known as Cubic Bo­tanical@South Bangsar by the second half of the year.

Managing director Datuk BA Low tells City & Country that the project is located on a three­-acre site in Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur, which is just 400m from the Pantai Dalam KTM Komuter station and next to the 200-acre Taman Rimba Bukit Kerinchi.

The project will offer 1,161 units in two blocks on top of a 8-storey car park and retail podium. The typical units will be sized from 518 to 900 sq ft, and the penthouse from 1,701 sq ft. The concept of the development is modern and green living, says Low.

In Block A, there will be 582 units - a mix of bare and partially furnished apartments.

"We will have a Victorian theme for the project, inspired by The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada," Low explains. "It is a botanical garden and we will bring a similar concept to the project by putting in a lot of greenery. Our facilities will be divided into five zones, which will encourage people to live healthily. We received 500 registrations within a month, mostly from young working people."

He says half of the registrants are 30 to 40 years old, while about 20% are below 30.

Facilities will include a swimming pool, wading pool, jogging track, barbecue pit, multipur­pose hall and gymnasium. The indicative mainte­nance fee is 35sen psf.

There will also be eight retail units, sized from 2,000 to 6,000 sq ft each, at the podium. Ancubic plans to retain the retail units for now, and to bring in retail­ers, such as a cafe operator and a restaurant operator.

Cubic Botanical@South Bangsar is connected to the Federal Highway, Jalan Pantai Dalam and New Pantai Expressway.

Despite the current challenging market condi­tions, Low is optimistic that the project will see good sales due to its pricing, concept and location. "The [factors] are what concern buyers nowadays...and we are not exactly new because we have completed some projects before where the buyers can see the quality.

"The Bangsar South development is a very suc­cessful project and the office blocks there are doing well due to their MSC status. The area does not have enough houses, so we are providing residential units," he says, adding that there is demand from people working nearby.

Low says the selling prices of the development have yet to be confirmed, but they "will be 30% to 60% lower than the surrounding developments", adding that it is the only freehold project with that price range there.

He is also unfazed by the various developments by major developers that surround Cubic Botanical@South Bangsar.

"Today, there is not much difference between big players and boutique developers because of a new and complete policy by the government [that was implemented] last year, aimed at protecting buyers," Low explains.

"The new policy ensures that all developers can sustain [their project] until the end of construction, with all the required deposit, compliance cost, hous­ing development account and strata title handling [accounted for]. Buyers now only need to worry about the location and pricing ."

Meanwhile, Block B will have slightly different offerings as there will be 117 premium units from Levels 8 to 13, where residents would have access to separate, private facilities, such as a swimming pool, gym and lounge.

"We will also offer services such as having a concierge and helping them to rent out their units. There will also be separate entrances, and the idea is that it will be like hotel residences. The layouts and sizes will be different and they will all be par­tially furnished."

"This is our only project this year and we be­lieve our quality units will be the most afforda­ble in South Bangsar," says Low. "All our previous completed projects were fully sold. There are even people looking to buy units on the secondary mar­ket, and it does say something about the quality of our properties."