More shop offices for Shah Alam

The newly completed Jayamas 1 shop offices fronting Jalan Montfort at TTDI Jaya in Shah Alam. There are more and more shop offices coming up in Shah Alam

Many new shop office developments are coming up in Shah Alam.

The surge in supply of shop offices is especially evident over the past one to two years when more than a dozen new shop office projects were launched, and more are in the pipeline.

Like in many other parts of the Klang Valley, shop offices are making a strong comeback to the Shah Alam property scene but with new concepts and designs. Each of these projects has its own unique selling points (USP) to command a premium.

Among the reasons for the rising supply of shop offices in Shah Alam are the fairly good demand for commercial property in new growth areas; the shortage of commercial land in prime areas, particularly in the city; the trend for companies to move away from the congested city centre; lower pricing compared with Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya; and the spill-over effects of Port Klang's bustling business community.

Some parts of Shah Alam, like Sections 7 and 13, are experiencing a commercial property boom. Some of the new shop office projects have moved away from the traditional two-storey designs to three, four and even five-storey types that can cater to larger companies. Most of the older shop offices were built by Selangor State Development Corp to cater to a few hundred houses but today, the scenario has changed with modern-style shop office projects very near to each other.

Several new shop office projects are coming up around the decade-old two-storey shop offices in Tadisma Business Park (near Giant) which are almost fully tenanted, and a few units are being offered for sale for between RM700,000 and RM800,000.

The following are some of the new shop office projects in Shah Alam.

Commerce Galleries @ OnetwoOne D'Kayangan in Section 13: Of the 44 units of four and five-storey shop offices under Phase 11A, there are currently only 26 units left since its launch in late February.

Lebar Daun Development Sdn Bhd sales and marketing manager Arman Putera said another 44 similar units under Phase 11B would be launched soon in view of the good sales.

“We call our shop offices 'commerce galleries' because of their big sizes. The intermediate 26ft x 80ft four-storey units, priced from RM2.09mil, have close to 8,000 sq ft built-up area while the corner 44ft x 80ft five-storey corner units, priced from RM4.1mil (both prices are for bumiputra buyers), have about 15,000 sq ft built-up area,” he said.

Arman added that the ground floor “galleries” could accommodate 20 cars for an auto showroom or a banking hall with 20 plus counters!

“People may initially think that our prices are high but our sizes are big. It works out to only about RM250 per square ft which is the most affordable in Section 13. For businesses that require a mere 1,000 sq ft, our studio offices are very affordable,” he said.

This is the first commercial project in Lebar Daun's D'Kayangan development that would have 1,200 residential units when completed in seven to eight years.

USP: Its big ground floor shops are ideal for auto showrooms, banks, furniture shops and businesses that require good visibility. Location is good as this leasehold project is in the 300-acre D'Kayangan new township and about 100 metres from Stadium Shah Alam and Stadium Melawati. It is also near Tesco, Tesco Extra and Giant hypermarkets.

Laman Seri Business Park in Section 13: Soft launched recently, this leasehold development by TTDI Development Sdn Bhd comprises six blocks of four and five-storey shop offices (46 units) that boast modern designs.

The bumiputra price (units facing the main road) is RM2.63mil for the intermediate shop office and RM3.88mil for the corner four-storey shop office.

TTDI Development Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Eng Kim Leng said sales had been very encouraging, adding that the project's proximity to many amenities such as colleges, Giant, apartments and highway linkages were plus factors.

USP: Good location, a 37,000-sq-ft central events piazza for alfresco dining and water features, dual frontage, double-volume office space (front portion only) for 39ft-wide corner units, handicapped-friendly design layout, wide pedestrian thoroughfare and two intermediate shop offices sharing a lift with common lift lobby. Premium corner lots will have their own lifts. Intermediate units will have 26ft-wide frontage and ample parking with 900 bays.

TTDI's fully-sold freehold Jayamas 1 two-storey shop offices (26 units) fronting Jalan Montfort in TTDI Jaya are also poised to benefit from the rapid transformation in the nearby Bukit Jelutong Industrial Park area where a mall is coming up. Another 26 units of shop office called Jayamas 2 were launched recently. There are only a few units left.

MSC-status shop offices in i-City in Section 7: Several shop office projects have been launched in Section 7 but the most advanced in terms of design and concept are those at the proposed RM2bil i-City.

Smart-community developer I-Bhd that was recently awarded the MSC Malaysia Cybercentre Status for its i-City will launch 34 units of three and five-storey shop offices in July or August.

Its first batch of 44 units of three and five-storey shop offices with ultra modern designs have been sold and completed.

With the MSC status, the shop offices that were initially sold for RM1.58mil (three storeys) and RM3.3mil (five storeys) would be increased to RM1.98mil and RM4mil respectively for the new batch.

USP: Nice design, good location and its MSC status which allows owners/tenants to enjoy a host of MSC facilities including power generators, fibre-optic cablings, top security system with CCTVs (alarm system linked to fire stations, hospitals etc) and brighter energy saving lighting.

Alami in Section 7: This leasehold project by Worldwide Holdings Bhd is about 45% completed. The 56 units of three and five-storey shop offices priced from RM1.2mil and RM2.1mil respectively would be ready end of this year.

USP: Good visibility as it fronts the Federal Highway and its “safe environment” concept with CCTVs and security services. About 16 units have been sold.

SpaceU8 in Bukit Jelutong: It will be the first commercial hotspot in Selangor to adopt the SUMO (shop unit mall office) concept that combines business and leisure under one roof. It is located along Jalan Montfort and within the fast-growing Bukit Jelutong Industrial Park.

USP: dual frontage featuring a shop office on the outer frontage with an inner façade for a retail outlet. There will be a 70,000-sq-ft central covered courtyard.

By The Star (by S.C.Cheah)