Four Seasons Place, KLCC

What is the tallest building in Malaysia after the Petronas Twin Towers? KL Tower? Yes, you got it right, at least for now, because Four Seasons Place will be the new answer once it is completed by 2012.

This much awaited 65-storey, 320m-high tower is being built right next to the Petronas Twin Towers and costs a huge RM2.5 billion. It is a mixed commercial and residential building that comprises a hotel, apartments and a mall, and also will be the world’s tallest Four Seasons development. It is developed by Ipoh-born Singapore tycoon, Ong Beng Seng, partnering Tan Sri Syed Yusof Tun Syed Nasir and the Sultan of Selangor.

The 1.05ha building site of Four Seasons Place is located in between Wisma Central and Maxis Tower, which acquired by Venus Assets for RM90 million on 2003 from the late Khoo Teck Puat, a former major shareholder of Standard Chartered Plc. This latest skyscraper has begun its construction works since December 2008 and due to a few changes in the design, there was a pause in the project previously. It was supposed to be a two-tower development, but now it turns into a single 65-storey tower.

Four Seasons Place will house a total of 150,000 sf of retail mall, a hotel that consists of 150 hotel rooms and 100 serviced apartments, and 140 residential apartments. The retail mall is an extension of Suria KLCC. The 5-star hotel will be managed by the renowned Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Canada. Meanwhile, the condominium unit sizes will comprise from 3,000 sf, and going to be sold for RM2,500 psf to RM3,000 psf.

Property Details

• Name: Four Seasons Place
• Address: Jalan Ampang
• Developer: Venus Assets (owned by Tan Sri Syed Yusof Syed Nasir, Ong Beng Seng and the Sultan of Selangor)
• Completion Date: 2012 (estimate)
• Type: Mixed Commercial & Residential
• Tenure: Freehold
• of Blocks: 1
• of Storey: 65
• of Units
  • Serviced Residence: 100
  • Hotel: 150
  • Condominium: 140
• Land Area: 1.05ha
• Built-up
  • Retail Mall: 150,000 sf
  • Serviced Residence: 3,000 sf
• Launch Price: RM2,500 – RM3,000 psf

Facilities

• 24-hour security

Analysis

There were a lot of speculations heard regarding the development and ownership of Four Seasons Place. One of them is that the developer was having financing problems that caused the development to be delayed. The story is strengthened by the fact that Khazanah Nasional and a Middle Eastern consortium had been talking to the investor for tie-up talks.

Adding to that, it was also speculated that the Kingdom Group (owned by the Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud) was supposed to have a portion of shares in Venus Assets. Plus, there was a talk that the developer had talked to KLCC Property Holdings to build a twin tower on other site.

Furthermore, there was a report in Business Times in November 2009 that the development of Four Seasons Place is delayed, as Venus Assets was undergoing an internal restructuring of its shareholding.