PETALING JAYA: Property developer Villamas Group wants to elevate the quality of life for those living in Seri Kembangan, Selangor with its upcoming mall called META_mall which is part of its meta_city mixed-use transit-oriented development.

Speaking to EdgeProp.my, Villamas Group CEO Gan Teck Seong shares that the proposed mall with 350,000 sq ft of net lettable area will be the “heart” of the entire meta city development, acting as the converging point for all the components there.

meta_city is a RM1.8 billion project on a 12-acre leasehold site to be developed over 10 years. Its components include two towers of serviced apartments and Small-office Home-offices, branded suites, a hotel, an office tower and the shopping mall.

“The mall will be the place where people come to obtain their daily amenities, for recreation as well as for entertainment. On top of that, it is also to serve their lifestyle needs which means that we are bringing in lifestyle elements of high standards including food and beverage outlets, classes for children and so forth to serve the needs of the neighbourhood,” Gan shared, adding that currently, Seri Kembangan is short of a quality lifestyle mall.

“There is the immediate captive market from the residents living here as well as the hotel visitors and office occupants,” he added.

Currently, the developer is working closely with retail consultant TheLOT Associates to bring in brands that are more attuned to the younger generation to create an energetic feel to the mall.

Interestingly, one of its anchor tenants will be Farm in the City (FITC), a unique animal petting farm where visitors can meet more than 100 types of animals close-up amidst tropical trees.

“Currently, it is operating in an open area so it will be nice to have FITC in a mall where it is within a controlled and comfortable environment. It will also attract kids and families,” said Gan.

Villamas is also looking to build a link-bridge from the proposed Taman Putra Permai mass rapid transit station to the mall to provide seamless connection for visitors to the mall.

Plans are also being drafted for a convention centre to be integrated into the mall.

On the issue of retail and mall space oversupply in the market, Gan said they are not overly concerned as he believes retail complexes are the way forward for greater Kuala Lumpur.

“Traditionally, we have shop houses but retail complexes are the way to go. We have malls concentrated in certain areas resulting in oversupply but in Seri Kembangan, we do not have such concept malls. We are pioneering it,” Gan explained.

However, he believes retail complexes will get more sophisticated going forward. “There is no such thing as conventional malls anymore. Malls need to have their own character because they are serving certain needs of the population [in that area].

“For example, if you are positioning yourself as a regional mall, you need to be of a certain size or certain tenant mix. A mall is not successful on its own as it is all about the synergy of the whole area,” Gan emphasised.

In early June, the group launched Tower A residences at meta_city comprising 396 SoHo units (built-up of 450 sq ft) and 594 serviced apartments (built-up of 659 sq ft to 864 sq ft) with selling price from RM280,000.

Since its launch, more than 50% of the units have been taken up. The group is currently looking to launch its Tower B – a serviced apartment tower called BLIZ with unit built-ups from 757 sq ft to 1,230 sq ft at an indicative selling price from RM480,000.

News Source: EdgeProperty Malaysia, 6 July 2019