New apartment topped off in Kelapa Gading

New apartment topped off in Kelapa Gading

JAKARTA (JP): A new apartment building featuring small size
apartments targeted at middle income residents will be ready for
occupancy in December in Kelapa Gading Permai, North Jakarta, the
developer said yesterday.

The Wisma Gading Permai apartment will consist of three
towers, Soetjipto Nagaria, director of PT Summarecon Agung, said
after a topping-off ceremony for the 21-story Tower A. There will
be a total of 1,000 apartment units in the three towers.

"The total investment is about US$35 million, including $20
million for construction," Soetjipto said. "In general, we offer
small size apartments measuring 37 square meters each."

He said all apartments, offered at Rp 62 million ($25,300)
each, had been sold since construction started last June.

Tower B, consisting of 24 floors, will be finished in March
next year and the 21-story Tower C in June 1998.

Facilities include a kindergarten on the fourth floor of Tower
A, swimming pool and parking space. Each tower will have two
floors of office space.

Soetjipto said three factors contributing to the city's glut
of property space were the ongoing general election campaign,
consumers' low purchasing power and the weakening property
market.

He said the decision to build small size apartment units in
the residential and commercial center of Kelapa Gading was made
in the wake of increasing economic activities in the area, in
which many middle income families reside.

Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, responding to the need for
apartments for the middle class, has instructed city officials to
cut red tape in issuing building permits for low-cost apartments.

Earlier, property consultant firm Colliers Jardine predicted
Jakarta's apartments could be heavily oversupplied because of
this year's 183 percent increase in apartment space, amounting to
33,600 units.

Colliers' head of research, Evelyn Khoo, said developers were
now targeting the lower end of the market to combat weakening
demand.

There were rumors that Wisma Gading Permai apartment was
appropriated on state-owned land but the head of development at
the North Jakarta mayoralty, A. Radjagukguk, said the mayoralty
reconfirmed the site was a commercial plot and issued the
building permit.

Mayoralty secretary Sarimun, representing the North Jakarta
mayor, reminded Summarecon Agung to adhere to hygiene standards
by upgrading its waste disposal system and prevent health hazards
to 17,000 families in the area. (10)