PROPCAFE first come across this project in February 2017. Although PROPCAFE had all information, we had to re-prioritise it due to overloaded projects in our tight schedule. However, this will not stop us to share this interesting project, the project that you will love it at your first sight if you know this part of Titiwangsa well! Yes, a bit late but hope it will be a good read for all our readers since no much details could be found online. 😀
TR Residence – How much do you know about it?
TR Residence is a 36-storey building that sits on the one level basement carpark and 6 levels elevated carpark (level 3 to 8).
12 units of duplex retail lots are located at the first two levels to provide basic conveniences for residents.
Total of 642 units (4 penthouses) service apartments in TR Residence are residing at a1.5 acres land that provides various options in term of size –
- Type A – 850sf – 3Bedroom & 2Bathroom
- Type A1 (Dual Keys) – 850sf, 3Bedroom & 3Bathroom
- Type A2 – 636sf, 1Bedroom & 1Bathroom
- Type B – 753sf, 2+1Bedroom & 2Bathroom
- Type B1 – 710sf, 2Bedroom & 1Bathroom
- Type C (Duplex) – 850sf, 2Bedroom & 2Bathroom
There are four special duplex units (850sf) with an extra garden land at facility level.
| Size | Total Unit | % |
| 1690sf | 4 | 0.6% |
| 850sf | 324 | 51% |
| 753sf (corner) | 50 | 8% |
| 753sf | 54 | 8% |
| 710sf | 156 | 24% |
| 636sf | 54 | 8% |
Typical floor will house 24 units and share 6 lifts. While the density seems high (428 units per acre), half of the total units are relatively small size with only 2 or 1 bedroom units, therefore, human traffic could be manageable. It should note that the density ratio based on unit per acre could be the measurement of the past due to the compact size offering nowadays. Generally, one would expect less residents per unit based on layout with lesser bedrooms. The comparison of density ratio going forward should be based on project’s total bedrooms per acre to make the comparison more meaningful.
The 850sf type have most competition internally and come with the highest price tag (except the penthouse). Next is the type of 710sf with a total unit of 156. 636sf has the least competition and comes with cheapest entry price, so it can be the ultimate winner among all. The valuable unit would be 753sf type with 2+1 configuration which would have clear advantage against both 850sf (much lower entry price and has similar set-up) and 710sf type (extra bathroom and bedroom with similar price level). This is just pure paper talk, it could be totally different outcomes in reality. All the best!
Unit 6 to 10 are facing LRT track but thanks to the bus station, it still has a distance to it. One additional point to note is all units comes with one carpark lot except the penthouse. So, in this sense, bigger units do not have the usual advantage of additional car park bay. 
Due to the previous land owner’s work, this lease will be expired on in the end of year 2084. However, the developer has promised to renew it back to 99 yrs with an estimated cost (premium to pay) of RM3mil.
Layout – Small But Practical?
Let’s do a short summary for each of the layout.
Type A (850sf, 3b2b) – Balcony (checked); Yard (checked); Bedroom wise, the third bedroom has no window! So, PROPCAFE would see this third room as utility or guest room/study room. Kitchen’s location is rather weird and may make the unit looks smaller. Type A1 is meant for Dual Key, same layout but developer moved the foyer further to accommodate a small window at the entrance foyer. Well, let’s be realistic. This extra room is way too small to be used as standalone unit.
Type A2 (636sf, 1b1b) – Yard (checked); Kitchen location (checked). Decent layout for one bedroom apartment without any issue of natural sunlight. The downside is no balcony but no big deal though for one bedder unit.
Type B (753sf, 2b+1, 1b) – Yard (checked), Balcony (checked), Kitchen Location (checked). The horizontal layout of living and dinning area in this unit will make it looks more spacious visually. The extra bedroom 3 is a bit stretched to be proper bedroom though small window is there at the entrance foyer. However, it one is looking for extra rental yield, this layout probably is better than 850sf or 710sf type to have extra room (be it small bedroom or use it as utility/study room purpose). Unit 11 of this type are the two units that comes with the most natural lights from the whole floor (see below). The most valuable unit according to price point perspective. There is another type with same layout and size located at the corner of the building with extra RM20k without any additional window, so one would question why there is such high premium attached to these corner units.
Type B1 (710sf, 2b1b) – Yard (checked); Balcony (checked); Kitchen Location (checked). Very spacious two bedrooms apartment but the biggest issue is that it only has one bathroom compare to the rest of units above.
Type C (Duplex, 850sf) – Interesting and limited unit with L shape land and duplex feature i.e. double volume for living and kitchen area. However, it has only 2 bedrooms with master bedroom located at mezzanine floor. It will cater for those who appreciate duplex living and garden. Since it is at facilities level, do expect more direct noise to go into the unit.
TR Residence – View
It is pretty much self explanatory based on the diagram below. Can the direction of KL city view able to peep the KLCC? As it is not highlighted by developer, it is hard to tell based on the map. We would say No Chance. The direction to PWTC and Jalan Raja Laut will be blocked by Vistana and Tititwangsa Sentral.
Facilities and Rooftop Garden
One of the surprises from this project is that this is one of the rare developments from MKH to provide rooftop sky garden facility. Hardly see it from MKH, kudos to developer this time! Make it more green and less floor tiles please! 🙂
The main facility floor comes with standard common facilities (except wall climbing…Wow!):
Gymnasium; Swimming Pool; Children Play Ground; Children Play Pool; BBQ Area; Jogging Area; Landscape Gardens; Management Office; Multi Purpose Hall; Open Amphitheatre; Wall Climbing (new and interesting!); Nursery (Provision Space only)
Developer – Familiar Name
MKH is the King of Kajang with plenty of land bank there and has been developing all type of properties in Kajang since 1979. The developer also currently very active in Cheras, Mont Kiara, Puncak Alam and many other parts of Klang Valley. Surely, those who are following forum or MKH will point to a controversial case happened in its Saville Bangsar near Bangsar South which created an outcry in social media world due to the complaint of one buyer. It ended badly for the buyer but other sources also claimed that there was proposed solution from developer but being rejected by the buyer. No one know the full story and we do not speculate. The key is, defect works are always due to the bad contractor and also the bad quality control personnel. Don’t expect perfect home (yes, no matter how expensive it is) and zero defect. Investors know they need to get the unit up asap and many times they will settle small defects themselves. Be aware that minor defect if not fix it soon may end up as major defect. As an ownstayer, you would love to stay in your dream home asap also to save costs as well, find the solution with developer and sometime compromising minor issue will save you more money in the long run. Don’t drag it but fix it (many ways to do it and it is part of the property ownership survival in Malaysia property market), most importantly, must see the big picture. The latest completion project from the developer is commendable, Saville Kajang, a mid cost project launched couple of years back with starting price from RM2xxk. The quality looks reasonably good (see the photos below). In short, MKH is an established developer with long history and proven track records. You just need to hope they appoint the decent contractors and do a their jobs right as they proved that they can still deliver a decent property. Finger crossed.
Transportation at its best in Malaysia – MRT Line. How about the “Connector” of MRT, LRT and Monorail?
This is the core section or i have to say this part is all about TR Residence! After MRT started its operation, all citizen of Klang Valley were impressed on its state of art facilities, comfort covered linked bridge/underground connection to LRT, efficiency, convenience, city connectivity and timeliness/frequency of trains. In short, transportation at its best in Malaysia! Everything looks good and seems like lastly we have a developed country’s public transportation system. For sure, MRT will be the core transportation for Klang Valley folks in future, no doubt about it.
Door Steps to MRT + LRT + Monorail + Bus Station
Sorry to LRT, which is quite a failure in the first place for its wrong locations (majority of the stations), poor linkages, bad design & facilities, and small trains size/no of coaches. Similarly, Monorail has the same issues except the location of stations are at prime areas which served as the connector to existing LRT to reach various parts of KL city central. This suppose to be replaced by MRT 3 line, unfortunately, we may need to wait till 2025-2030 at least since it has been postponed. The uncomfortable state of these two transportation have made it hard to entice public to rely on it. However, with MRT in place, LRT could be given second chance as you may use it as complement basis i.e. only for just few LRT stations before or after you hop on MRT train.
Question is, would it make you feel better if you can totally avoid the LRT? Of course, Yes. But too bad, the reality is, MRT’s coverage for KL city itself could still be limited, at least for MRT 1. We need to wait for MRT 2 line to nicely link up the rest of key points in KL city centre (if you study closely). Based on the location of the stations, MRT 2 line will be the main line for many riders in city centre! You can have many different lines (LRTs, MRTs, Monorail, KTM), the connectivity comes in very importantly as no individual line is perfect for all to reach everywhere, you need to change line all the time similar in any big cities. Therefore, staying near to the interchange stations for these lines are the next level playing field for investors and key considerations for ownstayers or tenants due to the conveniences to reach out as many places as possible without the needs to drive around all the time.
Please think about it. How many developments come with MRT, LRT, Monorail and Bus & Taxi Station (not bus stop, ok)? We are talking about walking distance like 200-300m not 800m to 1km away! TR Residence has it all, yup, literally right next to it!
Definitely, as of now, TR Residence is one of the rare projects in whole Klang Valley that comes close to perfect in term of transportation conveniences (alright, still cannot beat KL Sentral Haha). And we know that the best public transportation choice is always refers to the convenient of interchange or some said Transit Oriented Depot (TOD). TR Residence – Connectivity at its best!
Facelift to Happen?
Many of us would think that this area is a bit run down. Yes, at current stage. But look further, you would notice a big peace of land right besides TR residences (which visible directly from Jalan Tun Razak) is hoarding up by MRT works. See below
Based on the signboard, this land is meant for the following upgrades:
Phase 1
- 3 “Entrance Box” to MRT’s underground
- Ventilation structure on the ground
- Cooling tower
- Refuse chamber
- Sealed space and Concourse
- Underground platform
Phase 2
- Bus Terminal
- Link to Titiwangsa LRT Station
- Link to Monorail Station
- Facelift on LRT and Monorail Station
The surrounding of TR Residence will be refreshed thanks to this upgrade work from MRT Corp.
Amenities
Basically, you have everything you want as it is at the central of Kuala Lumpur. Titiwangsa Lake Garden, Eateries, shopping malls, banks, clinics, shops, different type of schools and etc. We simply do not need to waste more time on this part.
What else should we take note then? Ownstayers look for amenities for conveniences but investors look at it with more dimensions! As the great amenities would create more benefits of having bigger tenant pool and in this case good profile tenant. How and why? Ask the neighbour Titiwangsa Sentral, they have many doctors and medical staffs as their tenants as there are may hospitals and medical centres within few km (see below – It is not including the famous IJN which is not far from TR Residence).
Location – Should we even talk about it?
If the place comes with good connectivity and amenities means the location cannot be bad. However, a great location still needs to fulfill more requirements like near to central of gravity (COG) of the city. For this development, it has many COGs! KLCC (6 km), Bukit Bintang (5.5 km), and future COG TRX (6km). Wait a minute, we should talk about how many stations away rather than driving distance :).
How about the local favourite Petaling Jaya (15km to 1 Utama), Mont Kiara (9km), Desa Parkcity(12km) is just a short driving distance away (in fact, many locations are reachable by MRT in future together with LRT 3. Yup all the way to KLANG!). Again, we spend little time here as KL folks know where is Jalan Tun Razak!
Expensive in term of RM PSF?
Depend on the timing you get into sales office to pick your unit. Well, PROPCAFE checked in the sales gallery back to February 2017, the early birds who booked during this period will get a deal with from slight below RM700 psf for all the types except smallest unit starts above RM700psf nett. Of course, this was for limited units and and floors only. RM500 increment per floor. The lowest psf deal only for certain low floors during the first released and the higher floors were up around RM20-30k just after one or two weeks but given slightly more rebate. This follows by another 5% increased of the price after developer obtained overwhelmed responses from the market. God know what’s the price now for the remaining limited units (sorry, PROPCAFE did not follow up) after 1.5 years. Last heard about rm800psf up. Buyers may check it out directly with developer.
How does it fair to other future competitors? A quick search will show that is much higher in term of RMpsf than the nearby apartments. For example, Titiwangsa Sentral, which is the best performer in this area. Technically it is just cross the road from TR, if you do not based on the main entrance as the benchmark. This 38-storey apartment was the first project built by Monoland in Kuala Lumpur at the launching price around RM2xxk 10 years ago (see below).
This building is near to 7 years old and majority of the units are relatively larger compare to TR at around 1,100sf for 3 bedrooms which it currently priced around rm650-680k in the market. When TR completes, this building will be 10 years old. Similar to Vue Residences, which was vacant possessed about 2 to 3 years later than Titiwangsa Sentral. The advantage of Vue Residence is that it has more smaller units compare to Titiwangsa Sentral for couple and city workers who always prefer privacy rather than 3 bedrooms sharing basis. The downside of Vue is, same to Tiwangsa Sentral, Vue residents may need to walk deeper into this part of KL toward the rundown shops and area that one would not want to avoid. Unlike Vue and Titiwangsa Sentral, TR Residences is at the best location in this area which just door steps to the existing LRT and monorail without the need to pass through the “ugly” scenes toward Chow Kit. The best thing is, surrounding of TR Residences will be refreshed by the modernised design of MRT “entrance box” (underground walkway to the opposite MRT station at the other side of Jalan Tun Razak) mentioned earlier which is just across the lane of this project.
What are CONs for TR Resdence?
It has to be the facade of this building. MKH apparently miss out this part to at least make the facade less conventional. At this prime location with nice facade, it will definitely generate more interest and add more value to the property. Based on one of the press conferences, the aim from the developer is to make this prime property more affordable. With this assumption, this (cut cost) might be the reason. What a shame. Hopefully developer will add more spark to the facade (as surprise) of this property during construction. Just a simple tweak, it will make a massive different! Come on MKH!
When Titiwangsa Sentral first launched, everyone doubt about the potential tenant profile in this location just because it is not too far from Chow Kit. However, over the years the liquidity and the majority of the tenancy profile in Titiwangsa sentral, Vue and Vistana proved otherwise and there is no implication on its performance. It reflects that the property with its good location will be able to catch wider net of tenants and potential buyers across the city due to the higher demand from its the “job centric” location.
There are another two/three pieces of empty land (see below) near to TR Residence which could potentially add more supplies to this area and block of the view from the building. Well, so far there is no board or any sign of new developments there so no concern on massive supplies come together during handover period of TR Residences.
Show Unit of 1 Bedroom Layout (636sf)
Bear in mind that TR Residence almost comes as bare unit so you may not need to take serious look on the furnishing here. In general, the compact one bedroom apartment based on the show unit is reasonably comfortable for couple.
Prospect of TR Residence?
As it is the newest development in this part of Tun Razak/Titiwangsa, therefore, RM per square feet wise is slightly higher than the average to its neighbours which is no unexpected as there is always a “compensation” for a “newer” factor since other hot property here like Titiwangsa Sentral will be close to 10years old by then. All of us know no matter how good is the highrise property, the age will slow the growth of capital appreciation and always the new one will be preferred even though pricing wise is at the higher side, or else you won’t see the new height of price in Klang Valley over years. Good thing about TR Residences, the premium that priced in the property is still reasonable and “chewable”, so it seems like there is still room to grow.
Although MRT’s premium is yet to reflect in most of the MRT line 1 properties, it is still a relatively safer choice to buy the future properties based on this transportation lines. If you observe the prices in all major cities in any part of the world, all properties near to the convenient of MRT equivalent will stand to benefit greatly in term of capital appreciation over years compare to other general properties. It is just that Malaysia, especially KL, is one of the rare countries with “Super Car Friendly” environment. The peneration rate in term of conversion of car to public transport is rather low. It will take longer time for Malaysia to achieve it. The positive note is that MRT at least does it right this time by choosing the location, building quality stations with good facilities and putting efforts to form the good connectivity with other transportation services, therefore, it is just matter of time! The best is, this project is not just about MRT line, it comes with LRT, Monorail and Bus Station! Let’s the time to be the judge. Coffee first, see you then!
Current Progress
