Lifestyle at Sunrise Berhad’s Mont’Kiara can be best described as idyllic, thanks to the developer’s continued involvement to look after its community. Residents are treated to a myriad of activities, from cooking classes to tea parties, free shuttle within the Mont’Kiara vicinity to road trips, round-the-clock security; that it makes one wonder why aren’t we living there yet? iProperty.com speaks to Sunrise Berhad’s assistant general manager (Branding and Community Development), Anne Tong on Mont’Kiara and the developer’s recent move to venture beyond it.

Property developer Sunrise Berhad (Sunrise) does not just build properties but is also actively involved in community development. Their engagement with its customers does not end in a trickle after the delivery of properties as the developer continues improving the lifestyle at Sunrise Mont’Kiara making it into a highly liveable environment.

“Over the last four years, we have focused and invested more heavily on community enhancement. We want to consciously differentiate Sunrise Mont’Kiara from the rest of Mont’Kiara and make it the preferred residential address,” said Anne Tong, Sunrise Berhad’s assistant general manager (Branding and Community Development).

She explained that apart from investing in improving infrastructure and security, Sunrise has invested heavily in its Sunrise Fun Zone and Sunrise Sports Zone community centres where there are regular scheduled activities exclusive for their residents.

At Sunrise Fun Zone, family-oriented activities and fun activities for children are a regular feature. From monthly themed birthday parties to excursions to places of interest like a recent visit to a fruit orchard, it is a place where residents can do things together and also experience diverse cultures.

Anne revealed that there is a book corner, cooking zone, arts and crafts, indoor play gym for children and a few more features at the Sunrise Fun Zone.

“Every three months we hold a tea party to welcome new residents. We hold an orientation service to let our residents know where they can do their shopping, dining and how to get around,” added Anne.

Meanwhile, the Sunrise Sports Zone caters to under-16 youths. There are sporting facilities and activities such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball and handball. The services offered at the community centres are free for Sunrise residents.

Anne added, “Last year we launched our Sunrise free shuttle service, which runs loops all around Mont’Kiara and will include Solaris Dutamas. This is a first for a local developer, and is exclusively for the use of our residents.”

Sunrise surely knows the demographics of its residents and their needs well. The launch of the free shuttle service help residents to get around Mont’Kiara for shopping, dining and visiting friends easily and it is a popular service for the expatriates that live there.

“Public transportation improves the liveability at Sunrise Mont’Kiara and housewives especially find our free shuttle service useful to their needs,” revealed Anne.

The draw’s in the finer details

According to Anne, residents of Sunrise Mont’Kiara are made up of nationalities from over 50 countries. She highlighted that there are also now more locals and young families moving in as compared to last time when there were more expatriates. It was also revealed that newer units above 3,000 sq ft are favoured by Malaysians while older residential condominiums, like Palma are tenanted to expatriates. She further added that 60 per cent of Sunrise customers are repeat buyers or were referred by customers.

Anne added, “The widening of product and customer range is important, as we cannot just depend on an expat or rental market. Mont’Kiara now have a wider range of products to suit different markets – from small units for singles and couples to large bungalows in the sky.”

When asked about listing down the pull factor of Sunrise Mont’Kiara, Anne attributed its appeal to the good infrastructure, secure environment, easy accessibility and community effort. Interestingly enough, Sunrise has Japanese and Korean liaison persons to help serve their Japanese and Korean residents.

Anne said, “There are 38 cameras installed along Jalan Kiara, Jalan Kiara 1 and Jalan Kiara 2 which are monitored round-the-clock by Sunrise. We have regular 24-hour patrols in the area and guard dogs at night,

“Within the Bukit Kiara suburb, we have three international schools, a large number of national schools, parks, two golf courses, an equestrian park, and several shopping and commercial centres. Basically, we have all the facilities and infrastructure in place for a conducive, comfortable and secured living environment.
“When we first started Mont’Kiara, our focus was on residential properties. We then went on to expand our product offerings and create a more integrated community by adding commercial components, starting with Plaza Mont’Kiara in 1999 and Solaris Mont’Kiara in 2007 and our latest project, Solaris Dutamas.”

Solaris Dutamas is Sunrise’s first integrated commercial-residential development comprising a retail mall, shop offices, office suites and service apartments. It is due for completion this year and is supported by an environmentally friendly district cooling system which helps create a nicer and cooler environment. Sunrise invested RM90 million in the cooling system which is also in commercial projects like the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the Petronas Twin Towers.

Sunrise latest developments

Sunrise’s latest residential launch is 28 Mont’Kiara. Launched in January this year, the project comprises luxury condominium units sized from 2,535 to 3,000 sq ft with private lifts. It has a financing scheme where buyers need to pay only 10 per cent down payment, and no further payment for the next five years – three years of construction and two years after completion. There are 460 units and the take-up rate so far is 50 per cent.

“This is a very attractive financing scheme that we pioneered and first introduced for 11 Mont’Kiara. The extra two years after completion allows buyers to enjoy even better capital appreciation prospects or rental yields from a relatively small upfront capital outlay,” said Anne.

Sunrise had also recently announced that they will be developing another two residential projects in Mont’Kiara - MK20 and MK22 (residential and mixed) but details are not available yet. The developer has over 80 acres left in the Mont’Kiara vicinity for future development.

Venturing out of Mont’Kiara

During an analyst briefing early this year, Sunrise announced that it is venturing beyond Mont’Kiara as a move needed to grow the company’s sales figures. Around the same time, Sunrise revealed that it is the joint-venture partner for Sime Darby’s RM1 billion gross development value (GDV) mixed commercial project in Bukit Jelutong Shah Alam.

The developer also has lined up the Solaris Towers Kuala Lumpur, a strata office tower project off Jalan Sultan Ismail and just behind the Renaissance hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The project consists of two office towers with a net saleable area of 570,000 sq ft.

Anne revealed, “This will be a potentially exciting new product. There is currently a lack of quality strata office space in Kuala Lumpur, as opposed to purpose built offices for corporations and leasing. Thus, the project will offer a rare opportunity for businesses to own, instead of rent, their own prime office space; and there is a wide range of sizes to suit different needs.

“The occupancy rates for downtown Kuala Lumpur office space remain high and rental yields here are much better than for downtown condominiums.”

She added that Sunrise has already received some offers to buy the towers enbloc and is presently considering the offers.

In Richmond, Canada, Sunrise will have its first major overseas venture which will be launched in the third quarter of this year. It is a 4.8 acre residential development that will be split into two phases that are three years apart. Small units of about 600 to 700 sq ft are planned and there is already a tie up with a Canadian university to take-up some of the units.
Anne said that there is a strong housing demand in Richmond and the area can deliver high yields with a low vacancy rate of less than five per cent. Sunrise’s project is located along Road 3, has a train line and is only about 10 minutes to Vancouver city.

On Sunrise’s strategy beyond Mont’Kiara, Anne answered, “We will leverage on our experience, expertise and branding in our new ventures. Every location is different and will have different challenges. We cannot always use the same
one-size fits all blueprint for all. But we will have
a common guiding principal for all our projects, that is to constantly create value for our buyers.”

Looking ahead

On the 2010 property market, Anne shared, “The recovering economy, improving confidence and the wealth effect from the stock market rally in 2009 has boosted sentiment for properties. Homebuyers have also been attracted by attractive financing schemes and low interest rates while banks have been very supportive, as shown by the strong growth in mortgage loan approvals.

“We expect this to continue in 2010 as the economic recovery gains strength and fiscal and monetary policies remain accommodative. With the huge global fiscal and monetary expansions, one should be wary of inflation going forward, and property has historically been a good hedge.”