Podomoro plans apartment tower aimed at South Jakarta women

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With high-rise residences popping up all over Jakarta, Agung Podomoro Group, one of the country's major property developers, will soon start the construction of its 17th apartment building in Tebet, South Jakarta.

The Lavande, as it is called, will be the first apartment building on Jl. Supomo. It will be aimed at women, with 60 percent of the available space devoted to features such as a tropical garden of lavender flowers, a beauty salon and a sauna.

"We developed this concept because we wanted to provide convenient housing for women who spend most of their time at home," said Farida Aryani Joe, the general manager for marketing at subsidiary PT Intersatria Budi Karya Pratama. He was speaking at the launch of the project at the Jakarta Convention Center in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

The Lavande will consist of two towers with total of 727 units, to be sold for Rp 230 million (US$26,121) each for studio apartments and around Rp 300 million for two-bedroom units.

The Lavande is one of four apartment buildings being constructed this year in the capital amid rising demand for houses with easy and quick access to work areas.

"Living in vertical residences in Jakarta is becoming more popular now because it saves time for people, who mostly have to travel far through traffic jams to get their offices," said Budiyanto Lusli, chief executive officer of the property consulting firm Synthesis Asset Management.

"This is also a trend we can see in other Asian countries such as China and Thailand, where people have started to shift from houses to apartments," added Budiyanto.

According to the latest property market review published by property consulting firm Procon, the number of apartments has increased by 11 percent to 50,649 as of the first quarter of 2007. Sudirman Park, also developed by Agung Podomoro, is the biggest contributor, adding 2000 units to the supply.

The four buildings now being constructed will add around 1,742 units to the number over the next two years. The three other apartment buildings are Sahid Metropolitan Residence in South Jakarta with 96 units, Galeria Glodok Apartment in West Jakarta with 572 units and Kuningan Place in South Jakarta with 351 units.