Florists move to Rawa Bilal apartment
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)