~For Special Edition --- Apartment Living

~For Special Edition --- Apartment Living

Apartment is still much on demand

Debbie A. Lubis
Contributor
The Jakarta Post

Apartment business is still a lucrative venture today as
living in an apartment has become an integral part of the fast-
paced modern life in the city.

Also, the alleviation of security concerns along with stable
political climate has given a direct impact to the business
growth. As more and more local executives, business travelers and
expatriates consider apartment as their premier housing choice,
major apartments in Jakarta reported an increasing occupancy rate
this year.

Garden Wing Apartment's occupancy rate enjoys a 13,11 percent
increase compared to the figure of June 2004. "It is because the
situation is much safer now and business development is getting
better lately," said Fransiska Kansil, Public Relations Manager
of Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta.

The 110 units of fully serviced apartment are located
in the garden environment and attached to the hotel. Most of the
tenants at Garden Wing Apartment are business travelers from
various countries and government officers of some embassies and
they stay for long term.

"The trend is not so much different from last year, the last
semester of 2005 should hold many changes and development in the
business sector will hopefully bring more expatriates to
Jakarta," said Rina Hartati, Director of Sales of the Hilton
Residence. Expatriates are the major tenants of the Hilton
Residence although there are a number of locals who reside there.

The Hilton Residence has two 30-storey towers comprising of
132 units and 122 units respectively. "They feel that they get
more space in the apartment than at the hotel. Besides, staying
in a hotel is usually more costly than in an apartment", Rina
said.

The Four Season Residences, with the total of 234 units for
tower 1 and 2, also shares an increasing demand. "We are fully
booked and there are more and more inquiries to our apartments,"
said Indradjit Sardjono, the apartment's Marketing Director. Most
of its tenants are CEO of multinational company and Indonesian
business owners. "They prefer to stay in our apartment mainly for
comfort living and the location that we offer."

"Major apartments usually are located in the heart of the city
and at the proximity of central business district so the tenants
can have a better access to anywhere, avoid traffic congestion,
and save time. Garden Wing Apartment which is situated on Jl.
Lapangan Banteng Selatan is nearby American Embassy and close to
major shopping malls. The Hilton Residence, which is located on
Gatot Subroto, is adjacent to the Hilton Executive Club and
within the landscaped gardens of the Jakarta Hilton International
complex. It is at the proximity of the Senayan Sports complex,
the Sudirman Business District and the Plaza Senayan shopping
center. The Four Seasons Residences is strategically located on
Jl. Setiabudi Tengah. It is at the center of Jakarta's Golden
Triangle, a 500-m away from Jl Jendral Sudirman and 400-m away
from Jl. H.R Rasuna Said. It is just within minutes to the
embassies, international schools, hospitals and malls.

To keep the residents feel convenient and secured, all
apartments provide 24-hour security service. They use metal
detector to check cars, motorcycles, bags, staff, tenants, and
guests. The security staff regularly checks around the apartment
within 24 hours. Some cameras and other equipment are installed
to monitor activities at the entry and other strategic points of
the building. Some emergency doors are also provided. Several
apartments even limit the access to basement car parks to tenants
with valid car stickers only. Some others also provide access
card to the residents in a bid to limit people coming in and out
of the building.

Those apartments provide amenities of home-like atmosphere
through its pampering facilities to the residents. For those who
stay at serviced apartments, they do not have to worry about
kitchen appliances, paintings, lamps and other decorations. They
also do not have to think about the repair and maintenance.

The Hilton Residence provides fully furnished and serviced
apartments that include daily cleaning. The package includes full
electricity and water supply, repair and maintenance on all
electrical appliances. It is also equipped with full set of
kitchen utensil and dining wares as well as microwave, toaster,
blender, coffee maker, and dishwasher. Washing machine, dryer,
iron and ironing board are also available.

"Apartment provides more privacy and comfort to the tenants.
They can treat it as their own home and put their own
decorations," Rina said, adding that there was a number of
discounts on all meals in all F&B outlets, laundry shop and
florist at the Hilton Hotel.

The tenants of Garden Wing Apartment enjoy all-in package that
gives access to facilities at Borobudur Hotel, such as Health
Club, Kids Club, tennis courts, restaurants, and parking space.
The apartments are fully furnished and vary from one to three
bedroom apartments. The monthly rental rate starts from US$
1,395++ per month. "The fees do not really matter since tenants
more prioritize on safety, comfort and home-like atmosphere,"
Fransiska said.

The Four Seasons Residences provides full hotel service to the
tenants. The rental fee is $ 3,900 for furnished, 3-bedroom
apartments and $ 3,400 for unfurnished, 3-bedroom apartments. The
tenants can enjoy some recreational facilities such as fitness
center, sauna, steam room, whirlpool, and spa. The apartment also
provides concierge, access card, visitor car park, maintenance,
emergency backup systems, fire safety and sprinkler, as well as
smoke detector.