There are always fear of oversupply of high end residential market in Kuala Lumpur. After the market taking a breather during the Financial Crisis 2008, developer started to launch again and by first half of 2015, close to 5000 high end residential properties expected to come on-stream in Kuala Lumpur (source: Knight Franks’ 2nd Half 2014 report). The notable project is such as Le Nouvel by WingTai, Horizon by HapSeng, G Residence by Tan & Tan etc.
Supply of the incoming high end condominium in Kuala Lumpur from 2009-1st half 2015
The party doesn’t stop here. In 2015, renamed as 8KiaPeng, the project was previewed with indicative of closed to RM2000psf. Similarly 8Conlay by KSK, interested buyers could drop to indicate their choice units with average price of RM2500psf. Other notably project such as Cecil Central and also bring us to this review.
More popular with their commercial project such as KL Sentral and fresh from completing the merger with Gapurna, MRCB has sold their stake in their portfolio (Platinum Sentral and Nu Sentral) for some asset rationalization. They have embarked in diversification and bought German Embassy Land recently they have launched a new residential project in Jalan Kia Peng, called The Grid.
Location, Accessibility, Amenities
Located alongside Jalan Kia Peng, this 1acre leasehold project is sandwiched in between Top hat restaurant and Ampersand. Under the Propcafe Zoning (https://propcafe.net/zoning-of-klcc-properties-zone-1-and-zone-2-where-and-what-to-investbuy/), The Grid falls under the Zone 1. Away from the usual bustling and noise of KLCC, The Grid located in the more serene and peaceful part of Jalan Kia Peng.
The accessibility is great. There are myriad ways where you can go in and out from/to grid via the web of the roads around The Grid as illustrated below. In PROPCAFE view, this is one of the biggest selling points of the development.
Location, Accessibility and Amenities
Some development despite the superb location they always forget despite being in the city centre, they need to drive and some roads will be clogged with traffic during the peak hours. Some roads are one way and if you are coming from certain direction you will need to make huge detour before reach your abode. Not with The Grid. There are so many options that you can take to skip the traffic. You just need few days to get yourself familiar with the road network.
Being inside the KLCC, The Grid is close to all the amenities. Check out the developer website with comprehensive information. http://thegrid.com.my/page/location.html#
Worth to highlight for those who have health concern that require proximity to hospital, one of the best equipped hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Prince Court Medical Centre is just 5 minutes walking distance away from The Grid.
Development Feature
Façade of the Grid
MRCB has put up quite a bold façade with raw concrete feel on the exterior. There are sample of the expected finishes in the sales gallery itself. To lend more feel on the exterior, steel mesh (or Grids) are installed intervals of the window.
The Concrete façade with varying steel mesh
Consist of 277 units, this 36 storeys single storey building is built on 1 acre of leasehold land, a rarity in KLCC where most development are on freehold land. The density is acceptable and compared to some new development in KLCC such as Vipod (44ounits@1acre) or Vortex (442@0.7acre), it is considered as on lower density. Each unit is entitled of minimum 1 carpark with larger units (type B and C) allocated of 2 carparks. 4 nos of common lifts are serving the condominium. Level 2-7 is for parking with facility deck is on level 8. Residential unit starts from level 9.
The facilities are pretty much basic and it is understandable given the small size of land. The basic gym, swimming pool, BBQ Deck, children care etc.
Facilities Deck
In general there are 3 typical layouts A, B, C
| Type | Size (sqft) | Configuration | Carpark Allocation |
| A/A1/A2/A3 | 828 & 871 | 1+1 bedroom | 1 |
| B/B1/B2 | 1022 & 1065 | 2 bedrooms | 2 |
| C/C1 | 1173 & 1206 | 3 bedrooms | 2 |
All the layouts can be viewed from the developer website (http://thegrid.com.my/#!/floor-plans). Essentially some of the minor tweaking differentiate the layouts for example type A1 is without the patio versus larger type A. There are 10units/floor.
There are show unit for type A and C. The size is pretty much generous for living and dining however the bedrooms size is quite small even for the master bedroom. Open style kitchen and yard is provided for type B & C. However, it seems that no balcony for any type and if you need some outdoor space, only type A with patio is your choice. In general, it is a safe layout.
View, Finishes and Furnishing
There are quite a number of empty land surrounding the Grid which will be developed in next few years that will render most of the views will be blocked. On the North for example, Tan & Tan has a plot of land and German Embassy Land will be developed by MRCB as well. The Top Hat site was told by the sales person that it’s acquired by MRTCorp as one of the ingress/egress of MRT station. On the South side, PHB plans to redevelop the 6.8acres ex KLRCA land (source: http://www.theedgeproperty.com.my/content/phb-plans-integrated-development-bukit-bintang). Therefore, the views that we see at the site today might not be there few years down the road.
View and Orientation
MRCB offer all the units fully furnished. The buyers could opt for partial furnish package where fully equipped kitchen, air cons and water heaters are given. During the VP, MRCB will refund RM50K for type A, RM80K for type B and RM100K for type C for opting out fully furnished package.
What you will get for fully furnished package? What you seen in the show units with exception of decorative items is what you will get from the fully furnished package. It is pretty much moving in condition and buyers just need to bring the suitcase to move in. There are two show units – type A and C.
Show units for type A
Show units for type C
There are some of the nice ID touch for example TV back panel which we want to do ourselves it probably going to cost a bomb. For the prospect buyers if they buy for investment, they may able to do the fully furnish with substantial lower cost. However 4 years down the road, the Ringgit may even getting you lesser and you may even need to spend more to get the ID up there. If you are buying for own use, it is question of preference and whether you like the ID and the concept Some may not like the idea of identical ID across all the units. PROPCAFE personally think there are too many glasses used throughout type C. there are glasses on the wall, on kitchen cabinet and at wardrobe. The glasses are everywhere! So, it is question of preference.
Pricing and Financing Scheme
The prices varies slight depends on the type and orientation. The price starts from RM1,400psf to RM1,460psf for the fully furnished lowest floor. Each floor the price increased by RM3-4k, depends on the size.
At the moment, developer is offering some financial package on all the units and as mentioned above, cashback if you if you do not opt for the fully furnished package. The pricing & financing package might be revised depends on the response. Do check with the salesperson.
Prospect and Catalyst
One of the biggest catalyst is the upcoming MRT2 linking Sungai Buloh and Putrajaya. One of stations, Station S18 (Conlay) is the closest station with The Grid. Not only that as mentioned earlier, the Top Hat land will be acquired by MRTCorp to be used as one of the ingress and egress for the Conlay station. If the plan is go ahead, The Grid will have direct access to the station which will increase accessibility to the residents of the Grids.
Once KSK complete with 8conlay project, there will be retail mall within a short walking distance away from The Grid. Also KLCC is currently constructing another Cesar Pelli’s iconic development that located next to PETRONAS Twin Towers.
Other matter
The maintenance fee is expected at RM0,50psf, pretty much standard for KLCC residential property. The physical works are expected to start next month with booking converted to SPA. The condominium is expected to be completed in 48 months.
Verdict
At the time of visit, the booking status is approximately 60% with SPA signing expected from next month onwards. Given current soft property market especially high-end product, it was considered as respectable rate. The Grid provide a good value entry for prospect buyers who are looking for decent size condo in more serene location of the KLCC. There are too many large size condo beyond 2000sqft and past few years there are waves of compact sizes being launched. The Grid is slotted in between those market. However MRCB is not a strong player in residential high end condominium and will be interested to see the delivery and the execution of the project. The show unit will illustrate what buyer see is what the buyer will get. However, the leasehold maybe detrimental for certain buyers who insist on freehold status.
