Curvo Residences is the final residential phase of the first integrated development in Setapak, SkyArena.
Continue Reading ⋅ 30 January 2023
The Elements @ Ampang is a joint venture project between Land & General Berhad and Mayland, both of which are proud developers of numerous luxury projects such as Bandar Sri Damansara and Damansara Foresta for the former, and Regalia @ Jalan Sultan Ismail and Plaza Damas 3 for thelatter.
In the joint venture between these two developers, The Elements @ Ampang which is a distinctive new serviced apartment that was completed two years ago as of October 2015, was born. Located in a cul-de-sac with a sole access road, there have been mixed opinions about this project.
A recent visit to the site during hazy weather showed a serious lack of air quality as The Elements @ Ampang is literally surrounded by ongoing construction; including one at the end of the access road which is still in the land-clearing stage. Nevertheless built to be distinguished and of status, The Elements @ Ampang has many redeeming features.
QuikPro No: N/A
Address: Jalan Ampang Kiri, 55000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan
Property Type: Serviced Apartment
Land Title: Commercial
No of Storeys: 41
No of Blocks: 2
No of Lifts per floor: 4
Tenure: Freehold
Site GPS Coordinates: 3.161156, 101.747923
Website: http://www.theelements.com.my/index_flash.php
Expected Date of Completion: December 2013
Total Units: 1040
Built Up area: 640 sf – 1,570 sf
Facilities & Amenities:
Infinity pool, Wading pool, Jacuzzi, Spa / Massage alcoves, Sauna, Yoga / Pilates, Meditation zone, Bistro & bar, Kitchenette, Formal dining hall, Mossy garden, Children’s playground, Games room, Indoor gymnasium, Floating gymnasium, Function halls, Visitor’s lounge, Alcoves, Cabana, SPA retail, Open bar / Cafe, Locker / Resting area, Al-fresco, Reflexology, Water sprout, Childcare centre
Launch Price: From RM378,000
Subsale Price: RM390,000 – RM1,183,200
Price psf: RM932 psf
Maintenance Fee psf: RM0.35psf
Parking Bay per Unit: 1
Development Type: Serviced Apartment
Unit Type:
Type A4|640 sf
Type A5|640 sf
Type B5|705 sf
Type B6|705 sf
Type B7|705 sf
Type C3|850 sf
Type C4|850 sf
Type D2|950 sf
Type F1|1,065 sf
Type G1|1,435 sf
Type H1|1,570 sf
Type H3|1,570 sf
Type I|1,345 sf
The Elements@Ampang offers a modern lifestyle amidst lush surroundings, greenery and in-house facilities.
Project Details
Elements @ Ampang
The Elements @ Ampang was designed to be a personification of class and elegance. It is targeted towards expatriate buyers with its steep price tag and location within minutes to the numerous embassies in Kuala Lumpur.
When first looking upon The Elements @ Ampang, buyers will immediately notice the sophistication of the building at the end of the lane. Once they reach the guardhouse, they will however realise that of the two vehicle entrances available, neither one are for visitors. The security guards also appear to be rather inattentive, only realising after a while of confusion that there is a visitor at the gate.
The entrance of The Elements
After much ‘conversation’ with the guards who, sadly barely understood English or Bahasa Malaysia, they let us in and told us to go to the management office.
Although security appears to be rather lax from the guards’ willingness to allow visitors in indiscriminately, it is immediately clear from attempting to enter either of the two blocks that security is supposedly rather tight. Visitors will first encounter many transparent glass walls which look upon a very beautiful and hotel themed lobby with a sophisticated lounge area, and upon attempting to enter this building, visitors will realise that they need somebody to tag them in from the inside.
The visitor will then immediately be greeted by a professional looking concierge table – which is very sadly unmanned and only had a janitor cleaning the table, and another security guard who could not speak any common language very well but was very friendly and helpful in directing us to the management office.
The concierge
The management office is conveniently located in a little corner, where the personnels directed us to what they said is the developer’s office which is located between the two blocks beside a very well stocked convenience mart just beside Tower A.
The management office of The Elements
The indoor convenience store
This is another block where the concierge is manned by a security guard (in a hotel-like environment).
Despite all these physical appeals, and despite seemingly touting extremely tight security by the developer, residents have been complaining about duplicated access cards that are being used by groups of Middle Easterns. All their complaints have also fallen on deaf ears.
The somewhat deserted lobby of Tower A
The wading pool area
The facilities of The Elements @ Ampang are located on the higher floor, with a number of outdoor facilities such as the swimming pool, infinity pool and the wading pool.
The outdoor facilities which are usually a pleasant evening pastime, is at present a rather impractical one as The Elements @ Ampang is surrounded by upcoming developments with the nearest one located literally next door, and will be higher than The Elements @ Ampang.
There are also many high rises in the area, with Plaza Ampang City enjoying clear views of The Elements @ Ampang.
The Plaza Ampang City nearby
Other facilities offered at The Elements @ Ampang includes a cosy hot spring, and a lavish sauna, spa and reflexology area. Located 40 storeys in the sky, the stunning views offered from the rooftop of The Elements @ Ampang ought to be enjoyed by residents – but the rooftop is yet to be completed. Residents are, to put it mildly, extremely disgruntled by this.
Some of the residents are refusing to pay the maintenance fees of the building due to the incompletion of the rooftop facilities, after consulting their lawyers.
Looking at the units offered at The Elements @ Ampang provides a good insight as to why so many buyers favour this development. The wide selection of units provided here caters to all needs with the smallest unit standing at 640 sf and the largest at 1,345 sf. These residences are home to all walks of lives, ranging from bachelors to a moderately-sized family.
Actual showroom unit
Many owners who obtained a unit at The Elements @ Ampang did so for the rental yield it can provide. A quick search on the internet shows that this serviced residence is popular with foreigners for its central location, while even more love it for its wide array of facilities which are entertaining to both children and adults. Many tenants also enjoy the fact that this is a rather new serviced residence which translates to a clean and comfortable stay.
There have however been complaints from past tenants before that The Elements @ Ampang is located in a rather complicated location where they face problems explaining to cab drivers where it is located as many of them have never been there before. Getting to public transportation is also an issue for them as there are no nearby LRT nor bus stations.
New property with new look, giving residents much leisure
It was in fact recommended on a booking website that future tenants ought to install the MyTeksi app for the convenience of getting to the city centre.
Other past tenants suggested renting a vehicle for the duration of their stay.
The management of The Elements @ Ampang have however attempted to rectify this issue by providing free shuttle buses to and fro KLCC, Jalan Ampang, Pavilion and Jalan Bukit Bintang daily, with the buses making their rounds from home to their destinations at 7am, 9am, 11am and 12pm, while making their pickup rounds from the destinations back home at 7pm and 9pm daily.
This move was announced in January 2015.
The shuttle bus service announcement by the Management
Location
The Impressive Hidden Cul-De-Sac
Using Waze or another form of GPS to get to The Elements @ Ampang is a definite necessity as a first time visitor. There are two routes to this place, where one of them, depending on the direction you are coming from, winds through many roads which makes you doubt that you are on your way to a luxury high-rise development.
The road towards the project site
Using a shortcut, Waze will bring you through a small lane just after the upcoming M-City project by Mah Sing, approximately 500 metres before Flamingo Hotel where the jam starts, to a small and secluded lane.
Following the road, motorists will find that the roads are narrow and the area to be slightly backwater.
Upon getting through this stretch of land, a row of Malay stalls will then greet you; and at the end of this road you will end up at Jalan Ampang Kiri which has direct access from the MRR2, the other more conventional access road. The going around does not end here.
The local eatery
Upon turning right and reaching the end of the road, you will be greeted by what appears to be a dead end and ongoing land clearing. First-timers will undoubtedly be slightly shocked and unsure of their direction anymore.
Here’s where you begin wondering if you are on the right track, not so fun for first-time visitors
Not until you reach the end of the road, just to realise that the road curves to the right.
Voila! The Elements @ Ampang greets them elegantly in the distance.
So near and yet so far
The result of this ‘hidden’ location results in a clear view of the building from the main roads of Ampang, but a slightly complicated route in reaching the building itself.
Old timers of Ampang will however appreciate the very centrality of The Elements @ Ampang, for it is indeed a short drive of the city centre, commercial hubs, highways and many other amenities between a 5 and 10 minutes’ drive. Located just on the main road outside of Jalan Ampang Kiri on the other side of the road is a Shell and Petronas petrol station located side-by-side, while further down the road upon turning to the left is a Petronas petrol station.
The Petronas station around the corner
If heading towards the city, the Intermark as well as Suria KLCC is within a 10-minute drive even during the slightly heavy afternoon traffic of a Saturday afternoon.
Closer to home a 5-minute drive away is the Ampang Point commercial hub where there is the CIMB Bank, Maybank and RHB Bank all facing the main road, and upon turning in you will discover many mamak shops, a HSBC bank and the prominent Old Town White Coffee. Being a very well populated commercial area, residents of The Elements @ Ampang will be very pleased to know that almost every type of convenience is located here whether it be the random 7-Eleven convenience store, a clinic or a dance studio.
Further down the road with the Ampang Point commercial hub on the right and at the second traffic light to the right at 10 minutes from home, Ampang Yong Tau Fu lovers will come to a seriously Chinese old town area which touts the most and the best Yong Tau Fu in town! First time visitors need to beware, as many parking touters will be around the area trying to fleece motorists of their money parking at illegal spots. There is a proper parking lot hidden to the left of the main road at only RM3 per entry.
Coming back slightly closer to home, just opposite the Ampang Point commercial square is Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital 5 minutes away from home. And being located in the city centre, some of the countries best medical centres are only slightly further with the famous Gleneagles located slightly more than 5 minutes from home and Pantai Hospital Ampang at 10 minutes.
Ampang Puteri Specialist Centre is just nearby
Highways to town are also a gem for residents of The Elements @ Ampang.
The Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH) is just 5 minutes away, the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) at 10 minutes and the SMART Tunnel at 20 minutes.
AKLEH Highway is only 5 minutes away
However, all is not sunshine and glitters for the residents of The Elements @ Ampang, for the traffic in Ampang is always on the heavy or congested side during peak hours. While the AKLEH highway may be only 5 minutes away, in heavy traffic it may as well be half an hour away, and while The Intermark and Suria KLCC may be 10 minutes away on good days, it may well also be half an hour away on a bad day.
The usual Ampang traffic
The traffic in Ampang is as unpredictable as the Malaysian tropical weather where the road may be clear at the present but congesting in just 2 minutes, while the traffic outside the Flamingo Hotel is always congested at all times of the day except in the wee hours of the morning due to the u-turn here which is the bane of all Ampang residents.
Analysis
The Elements @ Ampang was launched in 2010, and had a slow start up in terms of sales as compared to nearby developments such as G Residence and M City. Although G Residence was launched at a later period than The Elements @ Ampang, its sales was better and smoother although it came with less desirable views, and the sales of these two developments were later overshadowed by the very well located M City.
The average price psf for The Elements @ Ampang as of 2015 runs at RM932 psf, while the yet to be completed Arte + is running at RM882 psf and the also yet to be completed M City is selling at an average of RM1,028 psf. Hence while The Elements @ Ampang may seem to be the ideal investment to the casual passerby, a closer look at its prices psf indicates otherwise.
Summary
As a result of this visit to The Elements @ Ampang coupled with a quick search on the internet on the background of this development, it can be concluded that even though The Elements @ Ampang is a well located development with many desirable traits, many factors have dragged the price of this development down with not the least being its comparatively remote location and inconvenient access route.
The next major negative point of this development are its abandoned rooftop facilities which the developer has neglected to complete.
There are legal actions being taken against the developer as of 2015, and many property buyers have been duly warned off this developer.
