Onetime office building adopts the mall trend<\/p>\n
Narada Krisnaputra, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Times change, and so do tastes in retail therapy. One of South
\nJakarta's most venerable office buildings has undergone a major
\nrevamping to offer a great escape for local residents and office
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
It's Monday, and your boss has not shown up at the office. The
\nnaughtiest thing to come to a badass subordinate's mind might be
\ncalling some buddies to set up a lazy lunch in a favorite
\nrestaurant, only later to return to their cubicles, stuffed and
\nsocially recharged.<\/p>\n
But bosses in the Kuningan business area, South Jakarta,
\nbeware. The extended lunch will soon be passe -- replaced by pool
\nplaying or watching the latest flick from Hollywood.<\/p>\n
The hottest high-noon escapade among employees in that area is
\nmade possible by the opening of a cineplex from the 21 chain at
\nthe Setiabudi Building 1, known simply as Setiabudi One.<\/p>\n
Even better, as of August, the management has decided to turn
\nthe four-story office building into a mini entertainment center.<\/p>\n
\"The office space supply around Kuningan area is saturated,
\nit's time to provide employees with relaxation and leisure
\nfacilities, something that the area lacks,\" said Ryan Adrian,
\ngeneral manager of the marketing division for PT Jakarta
\nSetiabudi International Tbk. which manages Setiabudi Buildings 1,
\n2 and 3.<\/p>\n
His comment about the difficulty of finding an entertainment
\ncenter in the city may be a bit hard to take, but one must admit
\nthat installing a cineplex -- soon to be followed by a gym, pool
\nand a club -- in a 30-year-old office building was one smart
\nbusiness move.<\/p>\n
Setiabudi One was among the first office buildings established
\nalong Jl. HR. Rasuna Said, Kuningan. \"It was so hip that the
\nbuilding was used for location shooting of many local movies in
\nthe '70s,\" Adrian said.<\/p>\n
As time passed, the building's famous red brick walls
\ncontinued to attract many tenants, including several restaurants
\nand coffee shops on the ground floor of the building, due to its
\nprime location.<\/p>\n
But more modern, enticing buildings also came on the market in
\nrecent years.<\/p>\n
Segmentation was at the top of the management's mind when
\ndeciding to convert the entire office building into an amusement
\ncenter, with specialized products or menus for employees of local
\noffice buildings.<\/p>\n
For junk-food lovers, the decision hurt, but judging from a
\nvisit on one Tuesday afternoon, it seems to be working at this
\nearly stage. At lunch hour, most eateries in the building are
\npatronized by employees looking for a place to get a meal and
\nunwind before the clock strikes the dreaded 1 p.m.<\/p>\n
The choices are plenty, ranging from a teppanyaki station,
\nThai cuisine, Chinese food, a European style eatery to decent
\nIndonesian home cooking and a hot dog chain, all serving huge but
\nsomewhat pricey dishes.<\/p>\n
\"I come here for lunch only after I get my paycheck at the end
\nof the month, otherwise the food prices are just too expensive,\"
\nsaid Rika, a teller who works at a nearby office building.<\/p>\n
By late afternoon, it's obvious that the new cineplex -- with
\nno teenagers in sight -- has attracted people from outside
\nKuningan area to catch the latest flick.<\/p>\n
Roaming through the establishments in the newly renovated
\nbuilding is even nicer after office hours. The absence of
\nclothing shops and kiddie-related stores -- aka junk-food
\nrestaurants and playground -- make Setiabudi One scream-free and
\na more intimate setting.<\/p>\n
The CD store, salad and ice-cream parlor, drugstore or even a
\nmodern-minimalist barbershop that guarantees to finish a trim
\nwithin 10 minutes make good neighbors.<\/p>\n
And thanks to the functional architectural designs, each floor
\nof the building now has long but not-so-wide aisles that serve as
\ncorridors to separate tenants.<\/p>\n
They are categorized accordingly: The ground floor is for
\ninformal-style restaurants; friendly and casual eateries as well
\nas a drugstore and CD store are on the first floor, and the rest
\nis the domain of the movie theater, pool hall, gym and club.<\/p>\n
Although located in a business area, Ryan denied the
\nprediction the new entertainment center would only be alive on
\nworkdays.<\/p>\n
\"For some people, dining out is now a form relaxation. What
\ncould be a better idea than coming to an exclusive restaurant
\nwith your spouse, having an intimate dinner and lounging the
\nnight away in a secluded establishment where parking is no
\nhassle?\"<\/p>\n
He added that as long as the quality of tenants was good, even
\npeople from residential areas far from Kuningan would not mind
\nmaking the trip.<\/p>\n
The Sept. 9 Australian Embassy bombing, only 200 meters away,
\ncaused what he termed a \"hiccup\" in the plans for the one-month-
\nold entertainment center.<\/p>\n
\"Some windows of tenants were broken, and that's all. We
\nclosed for two days but after that, it's business as usual.
\nWhat's over is over and people started coming here again.\"<\/p>\n
Next December will be the place's grand launching, marked by
\nthe opening of a club on the top floor, giving more options for
\nlocal employees to unwind and escape from the mounting work back
\nat the office.<\/p>\n
\"And we are now building a more spacious parking lot, coming
\nup is a new apartment compound and when business gets better,
\nthere'll be a new hotel at the exact location of Setiabudi
\nBuilding 2.\"<\/p>\n
If only they knew -- bigger is often not beautiful.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/onetime-office-building-adopts-the-mall-trend-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }