Today’s high-end properties mostly come with promises of luxury, security and grand concepts with full furnishings and fittings.
These are givens when vying for buyers in this niche of the property market.
However, even at this rarefied level, Paramount Property, a subsidiary of Paramount Corporation Bhd (PCB), stands out with is maiden high-end residential development, Sejati Residences.
The development is anchored by an 11,000sq ft eco-friendly clubhouse with roof trusses and columns made from reclaimed 200-year-old chengal wood.
Costing RM8.5mil to build, the well-equipped clubhouse is the first commercial property of its kind to be designed with reclaimed timber.
It is encircled by an 8km cycling and jogging track to enable the residents to enjoy their home and the surrounding greenery.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin officiated at the launch of the project and also witnessed the partnership agreement that will promote the use of Malaysian wood in different ways between PCB, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB).
The clubhouse’s cross-ventilated designs by Tony Mak of SA Architects Sdn Bhd with its high ceilings and wide verandas provide a breezy respite in Cyberjaya.
The development will be surrounded by approximately 1,200 trees that will be planted and tagged as part of a corporate social responsibility tie-up with UPM and MTIB.
“Paramount’s Chengal House is the starting and ending point in making a statement for the development. Paramount wanted to build something authentic and iconic so it made sense to use chengal. The wood was obtained from a 70-year-old factory on land bought by the developer.
“We selected and reused the existing wood based on two purposes — aesthetics and for its structural potential.
“Chengal was then used extensively throughout the whole clubhouse on the roof, roofing strips and on the pillars,” he said.
“Residents here can be proud that they will be able to enjoy a part of history here. They can feel a personal attachment to the timber that has been used over two centuries ago, as it is something of value that one cannot just go out and buy. Nowadays, you can’t get this much chengal in one location,” he added.
Representing an evolution from its previous developments of township-based residential developments targeted at the middle- and upper-middle class, Sejati Residences is derived from the Malay word which means authentic, natural and original.
“Chengal House will be a catalyst that will change the way Malaysians think about forests, timber and wood preservation. Moving forward together with UPM and MTIB, we will continue to identify various joint initiatives to create more community development platforms around the clubhouse and other iconic projects such as this,” PCB group chief executive officer Jeffrey Chew said.
Sejati Residences’ spacious 249 landed residences spread across approximately 40 acres of undulating greenery enables man and nature to co-exist harmoniously.
The freehold development with a gross development value of RM800mil features cluster bungalows, semi-detached and superlink residences and has a green space called the Garden of Five Senses teeming with herbs and plants for the residents.
The first phase of the project features 24 units of three-storey bungalows with built-up areas ranging from 5,739sq ft to 5,890sq ft priced from RM2.89mil and 28 three-storey semi-detached units with built-up areas ranging from 4,287sq ft to 4,954sq ft priced from RM1.89mil.
All 26 units of three-storey super-links ranging from 3,805sq ft to 3,838sq ft, which are priced from RM1.37mil, have been fully sold. The units, which have enough space to accommodate three cars, will be complemented by double-volume ceilings and full-length windows.
Another 10 acres have been set aside by Paramount Property for a future condominium development.
“Property development is about more than just location. It’s actually about connectivity, products and branding. Today, property is about designing your products, marketing, sales, sourcing for land, the ability to get financing for your project and what the customers really want.
“It’s very much about building the brand, creating new businesses and differentiating oneself in the market in terms of branding and making sure that one listens to the customers and then designing the products that they want,” Chew said.
