Other than IKEA rumor, harbour place is confirmed in April2008

[john998]

From Theedge:
http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content....0-17d24228

10 Dec 2007: City & Country: Lifestyle shopping comes to Klang
By Allison Lee
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

Klang is famous for its wide variety of seafood restaurants but soon there will be another attraction — cosy sidewalk cafés and posh dining. This will come about with the emergence of Harbour Place, touted by its developer as Klang's first entertainment-cum-lifestyle mall. It comprises three phases, with the first scheduled to open in April 2008.
The RM420 million Harbour Place along Persiaran Raja Muda Musa is being developed by Chestar Properties Sdn Bhd. Its retail director Datin Ramona Suleiman tells City & Country there is a need for such retail offerings in the area and the mall will fill the gap.
Ramona is confident Harbour Place will do well because of the people behind the project.
"Very often, neighbourhood malls are built by those who happen to be developing the township. They are not from a retail background and even when they hire consultants, they lack the management know-how," she says.
People in the industry know that shopping centres are a different play in the real estate story. They have to be managed by people who think like retailers. "You cannot get your staff who are looking after your condominiums to look after the mall. It doesn't work that way," says Ramona.
Harbour Place is a mall designed by people who know about shopping and conceptualised by those who have built such centres in Kuala Lumpur. Ramona and her husband Datuk Suleiman Manan are the builders of KL's Lot 10, Starhill Shopping Centre and the JW Marriott Hotel KL.
"One of the most important things when it comes to building a mall is whether the people in the area have the money. You can build the best mall, but it will fail if the people have no money. Harbour Place is in the right place because the people in Klang are known to be wealthy."

How it started
Ramona recalls that it was in the late 1980s when, together with her husband, she used to spend time in the Klang yacht club and they noticed that there was nowhere to shop in Klang.
"We did some research and found out that all the shopping centres were concentrated in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. Klang, with a population of over one million, is still very much under-retailed," she shares.
"I am not saying that there are no shopping centres in Klang. But the available malls are more than 10 years old and they cater for the mass market. Klang needs a dedicated lifestyle mall. At the moment, shoppers are going everywhere else except Klang," she says.
"My friends in Klang often tell me that they don't have nice places to take their visitors for a meal. They don't want food courts, but trendy eateries and Harbour Place is designed to meet that need. There will be a lot of sidewalk cafés and restaurants."
There is also a misconception that Klang people are not into shopping, but Ramona begs to differ. "If you talk to retailers of luxury cars, you will find that the highest consumption is in Klang and it is the same when it comes to jewellery. There are a lot of affluent people here who travel all the way to Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur for entertainment and lifestyle offerings," she says.

The product
Harbour Place was scheduled to open its doors in 2007, but Ramona feels that a larger mall would be a more attractive offer for the retailers. The neighbourhood mall now offers a net lettable area (NLA) of 450,000 sq ft, almost twice its original size of 280,000 sq ft.
"Frankly speaking, too many are malls opening this year and we wanted retailers to do a good job of their shops. Thus, next year will give them some breathing space. Apart from that, we are embarking on work to build a block of office suites," she explains.
According to the National Property Information Centre's Property Stock Report for 2Q2007, some 604,104 sq m of retail space came onstream over the last four quarters. The report also stated that existing retail space across the country increased 0.8% to 8,124,391 sq m in 2Q.
Ramona says work has started on the six-acre site for the office tower. "The offices will be a plus point for the shops because they will provide ready customers. Klang is earning the prestige of having purpose-built office space because in the past, the offices were located in shophouses."
The first phase, which will be completed next year, comprises 280,000 sq ft of retail-cum-entertainment space. The second phase is another retail block of 170,000 sq ft adjoining phase one. The 16-storey office tower is the third and final phase. The offices will offer 220,000 sq ft of Grade A space and will be completed with phase two by mid-2009.
Harbour Place is designed with a modern feel and an avant-garde exterior without dead-ends, blind corners or lonely corridors.
Chestar Properties has also formed a company to solely handle events in Harbour Place. "We will be holding our events in the boulevard and we believe that it is the events that will make the building. It is like how a touch of lipstick can brighten up a woman's appearance; events will do the same for the mall."
The developer is planning a host of interactive events targeted at every age group. There will be a "wizards club" for children, fashion shows and singing competitions for youngsters, beauty contests for the ladies and society evenings with wine to wet your taste buds and cheese-tasting classes for the mature crowd.
With the mall, there will be arts events for the first time in Klang, says Ramona. Special showcases will be held for photographers, painters and artists to exhibit their works.
"It is important for a mall to hold events as it is a form of contribution to the community. Families can come together in a meaningful and constructive manner. We aim for Harbour Place to be the type of mall that people will go to for their daily needs."

A new pie
According to Ramona, it is a golden opportunity for retailers to come to Klang as it is a relatively "untapped market". "Rents in big cities are competitive and retailers are all fighting for the same shoppers. Harbour Place offers greater value, as retailers would be getting a whole new pie and not just a slice of an existing one."
While she cannot reveal the line-up of tenants, Ramona says it would not be difficult to bring new names to Klang. "We are taking in all the potential names and doing a matching, so that whoever is clustered together would be complementary. This is better than leasing shop by shop as the chances are that when somebody comes later, you cannot find a suitable space for them."
Harbour Place will not have an anchor tenant. Instead, there will be several mini-anchors as the developer wants to optimise the available space with a variety of specialist shops and boutiques.
"It is a combination of shops, not just one name or two, that creates a shopping environment."
Harbour Place has seven floors featuring a variety of outlets, ranging from dining, fashion, entertainment and books to personal beauty and care, home electrical appliances, IT and sportswear. There will also be a cineplex, gym and 1,400 parking bays.
The potential for Harbour Place is huge. The developer hopes to tap Klang's allure as a seafood haven by attracting people to shop before they dine.
"We are also seeking to attract the crowds from cruise ships, marine tourism, yachting, marinas and seafront developments. With three major ports nearby, there will be a steady stream of arrivals," says Ramona.

[john998]

URL: Harbour Place website

1. Consists of 7 retail floors and 2 parking floors
2. Pioneered by people who pioneered Star Hill Centre and Lot 10
3. The building is fully Wi-Fi enabled!!

[8deee]

wow...this is nice new...but we still need another bridge to take care of all this growth

[Pooh88]

8deee Wrote:wow...this is nice new...but we still need another bridge to take care of all this growth

New bridge u mus talk to Sammy Vellu
Don forget to inform him,make sure the bridge don crack ok

[pijatie]

3. The building is fully Wi-Fi enabled!!

this is great. make property in south klang sky high price. but if mr samy ignore about another brigde. be prepare for super jammed.

[Pooh88]

Keng la,fully Wi-Fi,
Then i can brin my laptop to surf there for free.
Expected April,that 4 months more to go,still d**n long.

[changtao]

I noticed the place recently while driving there... it does look decent enough and a good reason to be outside the current hotspot of Bukit Tinggi and surrounding...

Agree that the bridge need to be up asap... really a headache nowadays...

[Pooh88]

Call Samy Vellu Hot Line!
Ask him to build the farking bridge asap!!
If not i will get Hindraf to kick his ass!

[yhtan28]

Wowww..there will be cineplex too....hopefully not the same ol' TGV as there are already two in Klang. Would prefer either GSC or Cathay Cineplex. MBO would be fine, too.

[yhtan28]

8deee Wrote:wow...this is nice new...but we still need another bridge to take care of all this growth

pijatie Wrote:3. The building is fully Wi-Fi enabled!!

this is great. make property in south klang sky high price. but if mr samy ignore about another brigde. be prepare for super jammed.

a bridge is certainly not enuf....might as well have LRT access "to" and "from" there. The question is....when is LRT coming to Klang? For now, keep ur fingers cross.....