Oxley Towers -Branded Residence @KLCC
The website for Oxley Towers, a new Branded Residence at KLCC, highlights it's USPs starting off with its accessibility to the 50 acre KLCC Park -the best landscaped inner city park in KL, views of a national icon - the Petronas Twin Towers, its proximity to luxe retail shopping malls at Suria and Pavilion Shopping Centre plus it's excellent transport connectivity with 2 MTR stations within 5 minutes walk.
As cities get more congested, living near and perhaps even more important -having a pleasant view of a large park or greenery is worth paying a premium.
In the 19th Century, Frederick Law Olmsted was among the first to undertake a study showing that parks increase property values. In 1856, a year before construction began, Olmsted estimated that the three wards surrounding Central Park, New York were valued at UD$26.4 million. After completion of the park in 1873, this same property was worth US$236 million. He used these numbers to justify the US$13.9 million cost of building Central Park which greatly exceeded the original US$1.5 million budget. In the years ahead, the tax revenues generated more than compensated for the cost of building Central Park.
According to a 2015 study, Central Park added more than US$26 billion to the market value of properties on the blocks closest to the park. This is among the findings of a report commissioned by the Central Park Conservancy entitled The Central Park Effect: Assessing the Value of Central Park’s Contribution to New York City’s Economy.
So nearer home, is there a similar KLCC Park Effect? For the moment, however, I don’t see much of a KLCC Park Effect on existing high end properties around the periphery of KLCC Park. Oxley Towers at 157 Ampang Road has an almost perfect Walkability Score of 99 out 100. Some 5* KLCC properties that also score 99 out of 100 for Walkability are currently up for auction at fire sale prices well below RM1000 psf.
I see 20+ year old well maintained 5* KLCC condominiums are going even cheaper. For example, units at the freehold 66 unit Kirana Residence at 7 Jalan Pinang (with a slightly lower Walkability Score of 96 out 100) are priced at well under Oxley Towers (RM750 -RM850 PSF). But Kirana’s USPs are MUCH the same :
Less than 100 metres to KLCC Park
Just 5 minutes walk to Suria KLCC - a top 10 KL mall and 12 minutes via elevated walkway to Pavilion Shopping Centre, another top 10 KL mall
Excellent connectivity - just 5 minutes walk to KLCC MTR station
Restaurant literally at the doorstep, poolside cabana with bar seating, alfresco private dining area with food prep facilities, access to panoramic 22F rooftop pool, jacuzzi and sauna
In a previous post on my property blog 360 KLCC , I mentioned another more comprehensive UK multi year study that drew the conclusion that views of greenery and parks increases property values in the UK by 2-3%. An earlier post on 360 KLCC mentions a coffee table book, “The Secret Atlas of Greater KL” that contains infographics showing the proximity effects of parks and greenery on property prices within the Greater KL region in 2015.
DBKL which is charge of parks and green spaces within the city boundaries has recently announced a proposal to plant more trees around the periphery spanning 103.3km. For now, 15.67km of the boundaries have been identified for the tree-planting programme that will line the borders of the city.
DBKL has already identified several local species ideal for the border planting initiative. According to the KL City Mayor’s Office, the species shortlisted were Shorea roxburghii (meranti temak nipis), Hopea odorata (merawan siput jantan), Agathis borneensis (damar minyak), Tristaniopsis obovate (pelawan merah), Cratoxylum formosum (mampat/geronggang), Diospyros penangiana (kayu arang), Syzygium grande (kelat jambu laut) and Lepisanthes alata (perupok). Twenty-three areas have been identified for the green border programme. These include main roads, crossroads, parallel roads, highway, flyover and pedestrian bridges with welcome signs.
Copyright by DBKL
