WCT to develop next mall in OUG

PETALING JAYA (May 25): Having just opened its Paradigm Mall in Kelana Jaya this week, WCT Bhd has another mall in the pipeline.

It is planning to develop its next mall in Taman Yarl in the Overseas Union Garden (OUG) area in Kuala Lumpur. It will be part of a proposed RM4 billion mixed development on an estimated 60-acre (24ha) site it acquired recently.

“We are hoping to build and manage more shopping malls which will boost the group’s recurring income. Currently, WCT is in the preliminary stages of planning another shopping centre in OUG. This new development will be located along the Kesas Highway, just before Endah Parade in Seri Petaling,” group executive director Choe Kai Keong said at a press conference following Paradigm Mall’s soft opening on May 24.

The group announced in mid-March that it would pay a cash consideration of RM450 million to acquire the entire equity interest in Timor Barat Properties Sdn Bhd, which owns three parcels of land totalling about 60 acres in Taman Yarl, off Old Klang Road.

This will be WCT’s single largest development outside Klang where most of its projects are built.

Choe added that the mixed development will house the mall, some residential units and offices. “The gross development value (GDV) of this new project will be at least RM4 billion,” he said.

On Paradigm Mall, he said: “We believe the variety of brands which Paradigm carries will meet the needs of urban shoppers. There are even dedicated interchange tunnels with direct access into the mall and numerous entry and exit points to help ease and relieve traffic flow in the area during peak hours,”

Paradigm Mall is managed and operated by Jelas Puri Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of WCT. It is part of a 12-acre mixed development with a GDV of RM1.4 billion. The other components will comprise office towers, serviced apartments and a 350-room hotel which will come up in a span of three years.

The mall has a gross built-up area of one million sq ft with a net lettable space of 700,000 sq ft. Rental rates are at RM15 to RM30 per sq ft while its GDV is RM500 million. It is the first mall managed by the group.

Ben Chong, general manager (shopping complex) of WCT Land Sdn Bhd, said its main catchment will be the 1.8 million residents of Petaling Jaya who live within 20 minutes’ drive to the mall. “We have an immediate customer catchment of 318,000 residents and office workers within a five-minute drive,” he said, adding that Paradigm Mall had opened its doors to shoppers with 91% of the 320 outlets operating.  

The tenants are Tesco (120,000 sq ft), Golden Screen Cinemas (nine screens, 1,600 seats), Sephora, Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Chilli’s, TGI Friday’s, Snowflake, Pasta Zanmai, Marks & Spencer, Padini Concept Store, Harvey Norman, Fitness First, Zara, Popular Bookstore, Toys R Us and Nichii.

The mall has 4,300 parking bays spread across four levels while complimentary shuttle services are available from the Kelana Jaya LRT station at 30-minute intervals from 10am to 10pm daily.

This is WCT’s second mall, after the one million sq ft Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre.The mall was opened in Klang in 2007 and is currently leased to AEON Jusco.

This story appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 25, 2012.