Florists move to Rawa Bilal apartment

JAKARTA (JP): Flower vendors in Tebet Barat, South Jakarta, have moved their businesses from a roadside to the basement of a renovated apartment on the same street.

Yesterday Governor Surjadi Soedirdja inaugurated the use of the renovated Rawa Bilal apartment building on Jl. Tebet Barat IV, with the first three floors, including the basement, for business activities.

"I hope the management will give small-scale business owners as little requisites as possible," Surjadi told the apartment management run by city-owned developer PD Sarana Jaya.

He praised the new design saying similar apartments were still needed.

Flower vendors said they hoped business would be unaffected. "Even though prices might be raised a little, we now have parking space for customers," florist Silvia Setiadi said.

Silvia and another 35 florists and fish vendors will rent business spaces for Rp 330,000 (US$134.47) a month, including service.

Kiosk spaces on the first and second floors are 12 to 30 square meters, and residential apartments on floors three to five range between 28 and 44 square meters in size. The single five- story apartment tower has a prayer room, but no elevator.

A few florists have already moved into the apartments, while others said they would see how their businesses develop.

A Sarana Jaya official said there was a waiting list of 15 people who wanted business space or an apartment.

The renovated apartment building replaces the one built in 1981, aided by presidential funds. Renovation of the building, which had deteriorated, cost Rp 4.5 billion, and began in November last year.

The inauguration of the original building was officiated by President Soeharto in 1982, and was designated in a 1981 presidential decree as a residential and industry apartment which small-scale business owners could lease and then own after a certain period.

But since 1984, apartments and business space could only be leased and requirements are now even more strict, Sarana Jaya representatives said.

Representatives said only six out of 64 original residents have confirmed they would rent business space at Rawa Bilal.

"We are still evaluating some other former occupants on whether they meet requirements," Kemal Basha, operations director of Sarana Jaya, said.

Current requirements for leasing residential and business space are that business owners have at least Rp 20 million to Rp 100 million in assets, have business licenses and have operated for at least a year.

The developer's spokesman Brandjangan said that in 1981, requirements were not strict enough on business owners who rented space.

The recruitment of business owners was politically influenced, he said, and management faced unpaid rents from business owners who turned out to be "unprofessional".

Plans to tear down the apartment, and rumors that the developer was going to build a more expensive apartment, led to a legal battle between residents and Sarana Jaya.

Residents, who demanded a return to the 1981 decree in which they could own apartments, lost at the State Administrative High Court.

Sarana Jaya director Udin Abimanyu told the governor that all business space was now full and owners were of a higher business level than former Rawa Bilal residents.

Apart from having business licenses and more assets, business owners at the apartment will join with larger, city-owned companies in a foster-parent relationship, M. Yusuf of Sarana Jaya said. "We're still seeking partners," he said.

Noted businesswoman Dewi Motik Pramono said yesterday some members of the De Mono cooperative, which she leads, have taken up space for their handicraft businesses.

The first floor will also accommodate banks and restaurants.

Sarana Jaya also plans to build townhouses behind the building, which will help subsidize the cost of the apartments.

City housing agency head Ongky Sukasah said in the future, city-built apartments would likely follow the same design.

Yan Mogi, city head of the Indonesian Developers' Association, which represents private developers, said, "I'm going to build 10,000 apartments like this." (anr)