Odeon KL land for sale
Titijaya Land’s RM1.5bil development may have hit a snag
PETALING JAYA: Titijaya Land Bhd’s plans for a RM1.5bil mixed integrated development on the former Odeon Cinema site in the heart of the city seems to have hit a snag.
A “For Sale” sign has been put up on the structure fronting Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and another sign on Jalan Dang Wangi. Titijaya’s corporate communications representative said the land did not belong to Titijaya.
The 2.91-acre freehold land is within walking distance of SOGO, Pertama Complex, the Dang Wangi police headquarters and Maju Junction. It is considered as prime in the capital city that is fast undergoing urbanisation.
Questions about the status of the project now that the land has been put up for sale were directed to Titijaya. The developer said in an email via its corporate communications company: “The management is busy at the moment ... and needs time to check for the info.”
According to sources, word has been around since two months ago that the three parcels with Lot number 1316, 1317 and 1835 were up for sale with an indicative price of RM3,200 per sq ft, “negotiable”, which reflects an absolute price of RM405.6mil.
According to a source, the three contiguous lots have a plot ratio of 12, meaning the parcel can be developed up to about 12 times its land area.
PPC International managing director Datuk Siders Sittampalam said the price for that site would be between RM2,800 and RM3,000 per sq ft if the land has indeed been given a plot ratio of 12. Siders’ office is located at Campbell Complex which faces the Odeon site.
“No exclusive agents were appointed,” another source said.
According to another source, “approval (has been) obtained” and the land is “ready” for development.
It is uncertain who the current owner is today but in a Bursa statement dated Feb 23, 2016, Titijaya said the land owner at that time was Golden Vogue Sdn Bhd. A land search could not be conducted because the title document was not available due to a digitisation process currently being undertaken.
In the February 2016 Bursa statement, Titijaya had proposed to buy a 100% equity interest in Tamarind Heights Sdn Bhd, which had, that same month, entered into a joint venture agreement with Dreamvista Development Sdn Bhd to develop three parcels.
It went on further to say that it was the group’s intention to build up its development activities in Kuala Lumpur City Centre with “high development value” and that the acquisition of Tamarind Heights would further enhance its future revenue stream.
“The proposed acquisition will further expand our presence in Kuala Lumpur City Centre and a strategy for the Group to sustain its future growth,” Titijaya said. Its 2017 annual report lists Tamarind Heights as a 100% subsidiary.
Its website and 2017 annual report promoted the RM1.5bil project as a transport-oriented development with retail mall and two blocks of serviced apartments with built-up areas ranging from 450sq ft to 850sq ft with an indicative price of RM450,000 onwards.
According to another source from property consultancy Rahim & Co, the Odeon site was originally held in trust by Loke Wan Yat Realty Sdn Bhd for the Loke Yew family.
Loke Yew (1845-1917) and his family own multiple real estate in the city, including the Hakka Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. The family had a prominent place in the Chinese community in those days.
In 2013, the trust sold 3.2 acres in Jalan Ampang at the site where Pelita Nasi Kandar restaurant was located. The buyer was Singapore-based developer Oxley Holdings Ltd who bought the land for RM3,300 per sq ft.
Since the trust’s disposal of the Odeon site, that 2.91 acres have passed through different hands.
Odeon was built by Cathay Organization in 1936. It ceased operations a couple of times before its curtain finally came down in 2015.