We were told it was going to be the tallest condominium in Puchong. Not much competition for that award in Puchong really, there’s no particular shortage of developable land here. But Zen Residence, launched recently, is a pretty ambitious but competitively priced entry into the condo market.
Where in Puchong? Puchong is really large, and when you mention it to someone not staying here, they’ll most probably think of IOI’s Bandar Puteri or SP Setia’s Setia Walk project, or some recognizable landmark like IOI Mall or Tesco. Well, Zen Residence is located next to Puchong Hartamas, which is located somewhere behind the aforemention Bandar Puteri, on the old Batu 14 road (which has now been upgraded) serving as a shortcut to Puchong Utama / Bandar Bukit Puchong. There aren’t any other condo projects here at the moment, except for the completed Koi Tropika. Most of the surrounding areas are existing village. If you have problems locating the site, just look for the three prominent factories in this area - Pelikan, Tractors Malaysia and DHL and you see it on the opposite side of the road.
But for those who know this area, you’ll also probably associate it with another important aspect - the upgraded dual carriageway that will serve as Zen Residence’s main access road. The road curves dangerously from the LDP, and is notoriously for being an accident stretch. And during peak hours, the traffic is pretty nasty here, not helped by the many closely spaced traffic lights and the many people trying to get out onto the LDP.
But anyway, back to Zen Residence. First off we’d like to say we’re pretty impressed by the marketing done by these folks - pretty classy and appealing to the modern buyer, when they can easily have gone the opposite direction used by most other development within this price range. There are two towers that are almost symmetrical, separated by garden space and a ‘floating’ 2-storey clubhouse. It doesn’t defy gravity, its just that its on an elevated floor. Much of the space available is used for landscaped gardens and facilities, partly due to the fact that the odd shape of the land doesn’t permit for more space for tower blocks. They’re marketing this condo as one that has a lot of facilities, with highlights such as a Zen-inspired pool, squash courst, glass gymnasium, and lower wading pool, etc. As they’ve chosen this Zen theme, some of the facilities have a Japanese inspired elements, which is well implemented for a small development like this one.
The first tower, Tower A, is now open for sale. There are only 8 units per floor, and they’ve touted it as every unit being a corner unit, meaning that each unit shares a common wall with only one other unit. While the unit types start from Type A all the way down to Type G, there are basically two layouts to choose from, the difference between the unit types is mainly the orientation and the slight variance on the size. The size range is from 1,178sq.ft. up to the largest of 1,493sq.ft. and the units have 3 or 3+1 rooms. All units come with a lanai, a concept which we prefer over the more common balcony. Well, if you have the space, might as well make it into a lanai which forms an extension of your living room rather than a balcony which would not be used as much.
The range of size start quite large, meaning they are targeting more to families and young couples, not so much emphasizing on the bachelor pad niche. This also show in that they’ve provided a walk-in closet for the masterbedroom, and a large bath too. Other than the standard packaged stuff like security and discounts, they are offering 2 parking bays per unit and first year free service and maintenance charge. They are also offering an upgrade package that is quite attractive, all to entice families and investors to put their investments here. Some of the parking bays are located on ground level, but most of it is in a multi-storey parking structure that is connected to each of the tower.
So which units are the desirable ones? Frankly, there isn’t much to see surrounding this place, so the best bet are the ones looking down onto the pool.
Price wise, although the brochure notes that the cheapest price is RM100k, we are told that the lowest priced unit actually starts from RM280k onwards. This is about RM235psf onwards. Some purchasers may have qualms above this pricing for an area that is quite away from any main commercial area (the nearest would probably be Bandar Puteri 5) and less developed area, but the developed is selling the concept of a slightly higher market condo. Do we like it? Yeah, as we said, it looked impressive, but the pricing may inhibit some quarters who are looking for their first home.
The developer is serious about selling their product - they’ve hired a marketing consultant. Their website does not mention any previous projects.
source : propertymalaysia.blogsome.com/2008/11/27/zen-residence-puchong
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