UDA Holdings Bhd will demolish Kompleks Niaga Utama (KNU) in Bangsar, here, and redevelop the site into a luxury residential tower with a gross development value (GDV) of more than RM250 million.
This will be the second residential tower that UDA will develop in Bangsar.
In 2008, UDA launched Gaya Bangsar, which is a 34-storey luxury condominium tower comprising 285 residential units with a RM157 million GDV, next to Dataran Maybank.
The national property development agency sold 95 per cent of Gaya Bangsar within a week of its pre-launch.
The units, ranging from 671 to 1,610 sq ft, were priced between RM350,000 and RM900,000 each.
They were taken up mostly by locals, while expatriates bought less than 10 per cent of the units.
UDA had achieved the Bumiputera sales quota of 40 per cent for the property.
“We plan to demolish KNU and redevelop the site into a luxury residential tower. We are focusing on encouraging Bumiputera ownership in real estate.
“We hope to start the project next year, once all the building plans are approved,” said UDA chairman Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani in an interview, here, recently.
There is an urgent need to redevelop KNU because it is aging and will cost UDA more than what it can collect from rentals.
The property has been operating since 1986.
It was initially built as a parking facility, but due to the transfer of squatter settlements, UDA provided 68 shop lots for squatters to do businesses.
Johari said after 28 years, only about 15 lots are still in operations.
UDA charges the traders less than RM3 per sq ft in rent, much lower than KNU’s neighbouring towers.
“We are talking to the traders to relocate their businesses, either to Pudu Sentral or Pertama Complex. We have given them notice to move.
“The land is worth around RM27 million and it is not fair for a property that is worth that much to have only around 15 operating traders,” Johari said.
