OCBC Bank (M) Bhd has provided an RM299.5 million bridging loan to Setia Awan Holdings Sdn Bhd's unit, Astrum Ampang Sdn Bhd, for the development of sustainable urban housing for millennials.
The project includes 5,228 units of SoHo transit homes, Rumah Mampu Milik (RMM) SoHos, serviced apartments, and 27 retail units. It has a total gross development value of RM1.6 billion.
A pedestrian bridge connecting Astrum Ampang to the Jelatek LRT Station, which is only 150 metres away, has also been proposed as part of the development.
According to Jeffrey Teoh, managing director and head of corporate and commercial banking at OCBC Bank, the bridging loan agreement comes at a time of increasing market recovery and the growing need to provide sustainable options for millennials to own quality homes in the city.
"Sustainability is undoubtedly the way forward, and affordability must factor in the mix for the younger generation who would be making the single most expensive purchase in their lives. We trust the development will receive buoyant interest from millennials as the country moves into endemicity. We certainly see a growing appetite for sustainability-linked properties and would like to finance more of these," he said in a statement today.
Setia Awan central region chief operating officer James Bruyns said the bridging loan enables the company to progress without obstacles towards completing the first phase of the development in 2026.
"Given the softer housing market conditions in recent times, Astrum Ampang focuses on the development of more affordable housing segments with phase one of this residential development priced at a low entry cost of RM230,000 to RM270,000 and slated for completion in 2026.
''This is below the National Property Information Centre median house price of RM310,000 (as at 2021) and well within the reach of Bank Negara Malaysia's median household income at RM5,209, addressing the current supply-demand mismatch in the property sector,'' Bruyns said.
Setia Awan intends to increase homeownership among the B40 and M40 income groups and establish a market presence in the Greater Klang Valley by providing quality and affordably priced homes, he said.