KL: More buildings but no tenants?

So Avenue K is being refurbished... again. I actually quite like the place but somehow, I think it suffers from *something* but I don't know what. Location is good, right next to KLCC and connected to the LRT but it just cannot seem to make it big.

I reckon it has something to do with the management - I used to have season parking there and if the car park management is any indication of the total mall management.. well.. hmm! Not a good experience.

One of my fantasies is to take over that place, turn it into a Services & Senses Mall.. yeah baby, it's all about sight, smell, sound, taste and feel. Meaning, focus on F&B, services like spa, massage, beauty and so on. Don't bother fighting for retail because that's what Suria KLCC is all about, you can't win. Anyway, looks like they are positioning themselves as a fashion retail space. *shakes head* Pavilion has just opened its Fashion Avenue - don't think Avenue K can compete.

Anyway, walking along Jln Ampang today, I noticed that Menara CMY next to Avenue K has been empty for quite a while. It housed a jeweler (KM Oli Mohd) once and also Alliance Bank; before the scandal with Bridget Lai, their ex-CEO, broke. Super prime location, relatively small and cozy but empty!

I don't know but it is giving me a sense of disquiet that there are so many new, well built office towers and retail spaces in the KLCC area that are either just completed or about to come online but they are just not occupied.

Completed are - Menara Hap Seng, the Hamphire Office suites, Menara CMY, Avenue K which has been in the doldrums for years, Menara Prestige (stupid name if you ask me).

Coming online - Menara Binjai, the Intermark - refurbished Empire Tower with 60+ floors.

Under construction - the Trillion, the International Financial Centre off Bukit Bintang.

So much space, but are there even enough businesses to fill them up? Only time will tell. I would like to be optimistic but..

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FundMyHome - Malaysia's new property crowd funding review

Hot on the heels of the 2019 Budget speech, the EdgeProperty together with the Government, developers and 2 major Banks (Maybank and CIMB) announced a new scheme to "crowdfund" property purchases called  FundMyHome So let's break it down in point form: It's not a traditional purchase transaction. "Buyers" put down 20% of the property price. For the next 5 years, they can stay in the property or rent it out - there are no details on any restrictions on renovations or major structural changes. You can renovate. There is nothing more to pay, no rent no interest. 80% of the remainder is funded by the 2 banks (hence, where is the 'crowd' in this so-called crowdfunding scheme?) At the end of the 5 years, the buyer can either sell the unit or take up a normal mortgage to purchase the unit in the conventional sense If he sells it and there has been an increase in value - he gets to keep 20% of the profit while 80% goes to the 'investor'. I
Read more

Ryan & Miho Petaling Jaya

Oh dear, I had meant to write a review about this for quite some time but have been busy. Also, I didn't have much time to see the property and the details - only the location which was already very attractive to me. So from the info that I got from the chat with the agent Phillip, the location is next to Jaya One - very nice location because you in PJ but with easy access into Bangsar, Damansara Heights, Mont'Kiara and thus into KL Centre via Jln Parliament or Jln Tun Razak. Jaya One has loads of amenities (although a little quiet for my taste, nonetheless middle & upper-middle class clientele) with office buildings - hence good rental opportunities; or if you are working there then this is an ideal property for you as it has a walkway connecting the condo to the commercial district. Pricing is reasonable at about RM700k+ for PJ area, I reckon that's a good buy. Believe it is leasehold but so is everything in that area, just about. My only grouse would be t
Read more

What does your neighbourhood say about you: Kuala Lumpur

Just a bit of fun.. :) If you live in ___ then you are ____ : Bukit Tunku (Kenny Hills) and Bukit Persekutuan (Federal Hill) = Seriously wealthy, old money, royalty, very low key. Bukit Damansara (Damansara Heights) = just one step below the above, either first generation civil servant families from pre- and post-Independance, politicians and ahem, business cronies. Also, business families who made it big from the 60's and 70's. Wealthy but a wee bit flashier than the Kenny Hills crowd. Still classier than .... Bangsar = Newer money, families of corporate figures and professionals who did well from the 80's onwards. An aspirational neighbourhood, it also attracts ambitious non-KL-born folks here to make it big. The party neighbourhood of the 90's, still remembered fondly for its bars, restaurants and late-night stalls after clubbing. A younger but more low-key  affluent clone of Bangsar is TTDI (Taman Tun Dr Ismail) ; TTDI folks are rather nicer and more easy-
Read more