Residential areas with new town concept lure occupants

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Developers employing the "independent" or "satellite city" concept when building urban residential estates have already proven successful in attracting residents.

These holistic residential housing projects are located in large areas, in which complementary facilities -- schools, hospitals, banks, malls, offices and recreation centers -- are built.

Such estates continue to attract residents, families with school-age children, and those who want easy access to shops, places of worship, fitness centers and the ability to easily take part in other recreational activities.

Estates with adjacent trade centers or industrial estates can even provide workplaces and jobs for their residents.

As Jakarta becomes packed with people due to rapid population growth year on year, these independent cities are tipped as becoming the best places to live and work.

The growth of the "independent city" concept in Jakarta was inspired by the success of firm PT Jaya Real Property, which first combined residential and commercial estate in Bintaro, South Jakarta.

The concept has now been adopted in several residential complexes located near Jakarta such as the Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) development in Serpong, Tangerang; in the Lippo Karawaci project, in Tangerang; and a project in Lippo Cikarang, Bekasi.

At BSD, with its hospital, schools, banks, places of worship, recreational centers, and commercial-industrial blocks, residents found that accessibility also meant quality of life, head of public service division Dhony Rahajoe said.

Without having to negotiate Jakarta's frequent and infamous traffic jams, residents now had more time to do the things they enjoyed, Dhony said.

BSD covers an area of 6,000 hectares. Initially developed as a small housing estate with a school, clinic, a market, a bus terminal and a mosque in 1989, the increase in demand from prospective residents led the developer to build more housing complexes.

Some 1,800 units of houses of different types built in 10 clusters are expected to be completed next year.

To create a residential community in BSD, the developers started to market a large-scale commercial and industrial estate concept, including the construction of super blocks for trades, offices and industry in 1995.

"Starting early in 2003, we developed a residential housing estate, office centers and industrial estates on the east side of the Cisadane River. Hopefully, the projects will be completed within two or three years," Dhony said.

The housing estates in BSD were also attractive to prospective residents because they offered unique architectural designs related to environmental themes that incorporated parks, he said.

"We also take advantage of natural environments like rivers, lakes and heritage sites to make BSD an environmentally friendly place," he said.

The development of the Lippo Karawaci residential area started in 1995. The housing project included the construction of a massive shopping center, an international school and high-rise office buildings, an apartment, a five star hotel and international class hospital.

Like BSD, the Lippo Karawaci has also become one of favorite residential areas for the Jakarta residents. Besides, Lippo Karawaci, Lippo Group also develops other large-scale estate development projects in Cikarang, West Java, covering areas of around 5,500 hectares. It started with the construction of industrial estates like East Jakarta Industrial Park and the International Industrial Estate.

The Kelapa Gading Permai housing estate is also one of successful township projects in Jakarta. Besides, a good infrastructure, its developer also built schools, a hospital, a public park, malls and other commercial centers.

PT Summarecon Agung, the developer of Kelapa Gading Permai housing estate, prefers to call its residential estate a 'satellite city' -- where the housing and commercial facilities are developed in stages.

"Many residents of housing estates work at the bank, mall, or shopping center or establish a business in shop houses here," PT Summarecon Agung's media relations manager Cut Meutia said.

Initially, the Kelapa Gading Permai housing estate was built on an area of around 10 hectares in 1976. Now it encompasses some 500 hectares with more housing estates and commercial facilities such as a bank, mall and shop houses nearby.

The new housing estates the firm developed include Gading Nirwana built in 1998, Gading Kusuma in 2000, Gading Rivera in 2001 and Gading Park View in 2003.

"Construction of housing estates aimed at the middle and upper-classes of society will continue for the next few years," the firm's director and corporate secretary, Johanes Mardjuki, said.

Johanes said security and a quality environment were highly emphasized in the design of the development.

To ensure the security around the estate, cars and motorcycles are only allowed to come and go through a single gate, which is guarded around the clock.

Extra parks had been built around the new houses in Kelapa Gading to give children more healthy places to play, he said.