Another one bites the dust?
In recent years, several landmarks along Jalan Sultan Ismail have been demolished to make way for new and taller structures including Hotel Equatorial and Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur.
Hotel Equatorial, which ceased operations on 1st April 2012, will be rebuilt to include a 53-storey mixed commercial development in its place while guests checked out of Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur for the last time on 2nd January 2013.
Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur will be replaced by Tradewinds Square, a RM6 billion mega mixed development project consisting of Grade A+ offices, retail offices and serviced apartments within 4 towers, and a retail podium.
At the time of redevelopment, Hotel Equatorial was 39 years old while Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur was 40 odd years old.
Now, word has it that the next hotel that has been marked to go is 57-year-old Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur. This would make it the 3rd hotel within a 500m stretch along Jalan Sultan Ismail to be demolished in recent years to realise the potential of its parcel of land.
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According to The Edge Property, the 4-star Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, which is also home to Malaysia’s first Hard Rock Cafe, may be torn down to make way for a multibillion-ringgit integrated project. However, no details regarding the project was revealed.
The Edge Property cited associate director of Savills Malaysia (a global real estate services provider) Nabeel Hussain as saying that the move to do so is understandable as the rule of thumb is that once the value of a building (in terms of built-up area) is less than the value of the land that it sits on, it’s time to redevelop.
“Assuming each of the 581 rooms in the 4-star hotel is valued at an average RM700,000 … that would suggest a total value of RM406 million, whereas the underlying land (at a reasonable assumed selling price of RM2,700 psf in Jalan Sultan Ismail) will be in excess of RM493 million. Add the fact that the property is nearly 60 years old and requiring refurbishment, the decision to redevelop can be understood,” Nabeel explained.
Previously known as The Merlin Kuala Lumpur from 1957 until 1990, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, an icon in the Golden Triangle, has seen several change of hands and renovations.
As at time of writing, the status of Hard Rock Cafe in the redevelopment is unknown.
Source: The Edge Property.
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