Apartments offer privacy, convenience and prestige<\/p>\n
By Sugianto Tandra and Stevie Emilia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The city's population is growing but land
\navailability for housing is shrinking because it is being
\nallocated to develop office buildings and public facilities.<\/p>\n
A lot of people are forced to buy a house in the outskirts of
\nJakarta or in the city's bufferzone areas, including Bogor,
\nTangerang and Bekasi. However, over the past decade, there has
\nbeen a growing trend to construct apartments and condominiums
\ntargeted toward the middle-upper class. They are built in the
\nheart of the city and include sports facilities, various modern
\namenities and 24-hour security in their design.<\/p>\n
Most people who live in apartments are young professionals or
\nexpatriates working here. One can get different answers from
\npeople as to why they choose to live in an apartment instead of a
\nhouse, or the other way around.<\/p>\n
Ruhut Sitompul, a lawyer, lives in Griya Pancoran Apartments
\non Jl. Raya Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, because he wants more
\nprivacy.<\/p>\n
\"When you live in a house, people tend to drop in just like
\nthat and you can't refuse them,\" Ruhut told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"Here, people have to pass the apartment's security guards
\nbefore they can meet you,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ruhut also owns a house in Kemang, South Jakarta, but he
\nprefers living in the second-floor three-bedroom apartment, which
\nhe bought almost three years ago.<\/p>\n
\"People do not care what you do here,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also enjoys living in the apartment because the management
\nprovides 24-hour security and a satisfactory building-maintenance
\nservice. In addition, there is a coffee shop and a minimarket in
\nthe building, he said.<\/p>\n
A swimming pool, a jogging track and a gymnasium are also
\navailable in the 17-story the apartment building.<\/p>\n
\"But there is one thing we can do in our homes that can't be
\ndone here,\" said Ruhut, who runs his law firm in the apartment
\nbuilding. \"Here, we have to share the swimming pool and the
\ngymnasium with the other tenants.\"<\/p>\n
He spends about Rp 9 million (US$4,000) per month, which
\nincludes a trimonthly Rp 3 million maintenance fee. Ruhut is also
\nthe building's community chief secretary.<\/p>\n
Clint Easthorpe, who works as a media advisor for the Bates
\nAdvertising agency, started living in an apartment nine months
\nago and what he likes best about living there is the convenience
\nand the security.<\/p>\n
Easthorpe, a 35-year-old single Englishman, rents a two-
\nbedroom apartment on the ninth floor of the 10-story Brawijaya
\nApartment on Jl. Prapanca, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He lives alone but has a maid come in to do his washing and
\nironing and general cleaning.<\/p>\n
\"Here, there are things that you wouldn't get if you lived in
\na house,\" he said. \"For instance, swimming pools, a gymnasium and
\na tennis court.\"<\/p>\n
He said he paid the leasing rates of between $2,000 and $2,500
\nper month, which includes a maintenance fee.<\/p>\n
Easthorpe, who lives in a country house in his hometown, said
\nwith that sum of money he could rent a spacious, nice house.<\/p>\n
\"But you have to budget for the maintenance of the house and
\nthe security as well. Also the swimming pool. It costs too much,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The Brawijaya Apartment, completed in 1994, is close to the
\nshopping centers of Blok M, Pasaraya, Kem Chicks and Cosmo
\nSupermarket. It also provides a 24-hour clinic, a driving range
\nand an international school.<\/p>\n
Asked why he chose the ninth floor, Easthorpe said jokingly:
\n\"It's also much safer here, because no one's going to break in.\"<\/p>\n
Easthorpe said that in general, he is satisfied with the
\napartment management services and is hoping to extend his lease
\nfor one more year.<\/p>\n
The only complaint he has is that \"it takes a little while to
\nget things fixed here.\"<\/p>\n
Easthorpe recalled that once the maintenance man came a week
\nafter he reported a breakdown of his water heater, which left him
\ngetting \"a little shock with his shower\" for sometime.<\/p>\n
He shied away the notion that living in an apartment or a
\ncondominium could make one become more solitary, saying everyone
\nin his apartment gets along well with each other.<\/p>\n
\"There's a quite friendly atmosphere here. You greet people in
\nthe morning when they are busy going to work, and when they get
\nhome late at night. At weekends you might see them at the pool.\"<\/p>\n
Businessman Harry Goentoro has been living in the Cempaka Mas
\nApartments in Central Jakarta for almost three years.<\/p>\n
\"I bought this apartment in 1994 because it is close to my
\noffice. And you know, living here is bergengsi (prestigious),\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"But I plan to rent it because I've found a nice house, which
\nis also located in the heart of the city,\" he said.<\/p>",
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