This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 23, 2018 - July 29, 2018
Kedah-based developer Eupe Corp Bhd is looking to launch its third Kuala Lumpur project, Vivus, early next year. Managing director Datuk Beh Huck Lee made the announcement on July 18 at the press conference following the topping-out ceremony of Novum, its first project in the capital.
“Vivus — meaning life in Latin — will have a gross development value of about RM800 million. Together with our other two ongoing projects in Kuala Lumpur, the total gross development value will be about RM2 billion,” he said.
Vivus will be located on a 3.22-acre leasehold parcel at Seputeh, next to The Japan Club.
Eupe’s second project in the capital, the RM490 million Parc 3 in Cheras, was officially launched in October last year and, to date, it has a take-up rate of 70%. Piling works have been completed and the main building works started recently.
Novum — meaning new in Latin — is Eupe’s maiden project in Kuala Lumpur. It sits on a 3.03-acre freehold parcel in South Bangsar. Launched in March 2016, it has a GDV of nearly RM570 million. It is a joint venture project with Chin Hin Property Development, the development arm of Chin Hin Group Bhd.
The development has three towers — Tower A (40 storeys), Tower B (31 storeys) and Tower C (37 storeys) with 729 units in total. Built-ups are from 647 to 1,441 sq ft.
It has a take-up rate of over 96% with about 20 units unsold. Beh says the current selling price is from about RM1,000 psf.
The prime location of the development, beside the Federal Highway, meant that from the beginning Eupe was determined to design and build a project with a strong and lasting iconic identity, he said. “Our intention with each project is to redefine the precinct with innovative architecture in a way that helps give the area we develop its own distinctive identity.”
Currently, the developer is in discussions to purchase two pieces of land close to the Kuala Lumpur city centre. Should the acquisitions go through, Beh said Eupe will develop residential projects on both parcels.
He declined to comment further on the acquisition, but said the company “does not intend to acquire land more than 15km from the Kuala Lumpur city centre” when asked about the parcels’ location.
On the current market sentiment, he believes the market should recover by the end of this year.
“Currently, the market is going through a post-election euphoric adjustment. People are more optimistic about the future and we have seen an improvement in the market sentiment,” he said.
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