Looking for affordable, freehold landed homes in Johor? Then Mutiara Rini township development offering terraces and semi-Ds may just be what you’re looking for, here in Skudai, Nusajaya, Johor.
Continue Reading ⋅ 31 December 2015
The Chateau at Eco Botanic: An ace review.
The second phase to the classy, English-inspired township development, Eco Botanic by Eco World is here.
Called ‘The Chateau’, there will be 184 units of 2½-storey super-linked houses, all looking like English country manors. There are also Semi-D units available.
There are two super-linked home designs offered called ‘The Grassten’ at 1950 square feet, and ‘The Laken’ at 2100 square feet, both at 26’x75’ and 28’x75’ respectively. The Semi-D home is called ‘The Sandringham’ and stands at 3360 square feet at 42’x80’.
The Chateau is a freehold, strata-titled, landed developments in Sekudai, Johor with prices starting from RM1.3 – RM1.5 million for the super-linked units and RM2.5 million for the Semi-Ds.
So here you go, a review for Eco Botanic’s The Chateau.
Project Details.
Address: Sekudai, Nusajaya, Johor
Land Title: Residential
Tenure: Freehold
Site GPS Coordinates: 1°26’40″N 103°37’7″E
Website: http://ecoworld.my/ecobotanic/thechateau/
Property Type: Super-linked and Semi-D
Total Units: 184 (Super-linked)
Built Up in Sq. Ft.: 1950, 2100, & 3360
Listing Price: Starts from RM1.3 million (Super-linked) and RM2.5 million (Semi-D)
Special Features:
- English inspired design and architecture
- Clubhouse
- Extensive landscape
- Front garden for every unit
Facilities:
- Clubhouse (with pool and gym)
- Joggin trails
- Bicycle Lanes
- Maze Garden
- Butterfly-Shaped Man-made Lake
Unit Type:
- 2½-storey super-linked (The Grassten) – 4 Rooms, 4 Baths, 1950 Sq. Ft.
- 2½-storey super-linked (The Laken) – 4 Rooms, 4 Baths, 2100 Sq. Ft
- 2½-storey Semi-D (The Sandringham) – 4 Rooms, 4 Baths, 3360 Sq. Ft.
Project Details
The Chateau at Eco Botanic: English inspired.
When mentioned that this development is classic English inspired, literally everything about it is classic English inspired.
Visit the website and you’ll understand. Greeted by a classic orchestral piece playing in the background, the line “A timeless masterpiece” sure rings true.
As mentioned, The Chateau is the second phase to Eco Botanic’s development, and there are three types of homes offered for this phase.
The first one is called The Grassten, and is a 26’x75’, 2½-storey super-linked house at 1950 square feet.
The second one is called The Laken, and is a 28’x75’, 2½-storey super-linked house at 2100 square feet.
The third and last one is called The Sandringham, and is a 42’x80’, 2½-storey semi-d house at 3360 square feet.
The ½ storey part of all three designs is for a car garage, located the lower ground level. This leaves the first floor for every unit sitting on an elevated platform, facing a 20-foot private garden.
Design-wise, it’s nothing short of excellent. After all, what else can you expect from a 13 ft ceiling height, and a solar water heater plus rain water harvesting system, all while having a a north-south positioning thus ensuring ample natural lighting and ventilation?
The facilities for residents of both first and second phase of Eco Botanic include a clubhouse with gym and pool, jogging trails, bicycle lanes, maze garden, and a huge butterfly-shaped manmade lake. The landscape is indeed extensive, with 45 acres of land to the whole development dedicated for green zones. There will also be gazebos set around the greenery giving the residents the chance to appreciate mother nature at its finest.
The clubhouse is free for use by the residents up to 6 months, before an undetermined monthly subscription is imposed. However, if the take-up by residents afterward is not enough to sustain the clubhouse operation, there’s a possibility that the clubhouse will then be opened to the public.
Exclusivity is practised thoroughly for both phases with each having its own guardhouse and management, so chances are, residents of phase one can’t go in to phase two, and vice versa.
Although some concern arises on how the Eco Botanic development is too close to HTC (High Tension Cables) towers, the first phase is still more than 100 meters away from the nearest tower, which is already a safe distance from EMF pollution. The Chateau development is even further in so residents can be rest assured of no immediate danger.
The Chateau at Eco Botanic is unlike any other landed developments out there in Malaysia. While other landed properties boast about how big and spacious the houses are, The Chateau boasts about its classis English design.
Now that’s rare.
Location
Johor and Nusajaya, Iskandar Malaysia’s Flagship Zone B.
For most Malaysians, they’d have to choose a side.
To stay proud as a Malaysian, or to proudly declare they’re from Johor.
Giving a whole new meaning to the word ‘pride’, there’s actually quite a valid reason for that. After all, a Malaysian state that was once renowned for being a crime capital and is now starting to look like the rise of a successful ‘mini country’, is indeed something that its people can be proud of.
Johor’s Iskandar Malaysia project has been getting on nicely that even with current economic crisis, the state is doing well on capitalising on economic collaborations with Singapore, much like how it is between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
But just like every success stories, there are bound to be lapses. For Johor, the most conspicuous is of course the state’s royal scandals. From stories of golf caddy to runaway lawyer to slapped ustaz, the more recent one is of the current Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail’s purchase of a Mack truck rumoured to cost well over $1 million USD said to be used to tow his speed boat. Oh well, to each his own I guess.
And yet despite all that, there’s no denying the fact that most Johoreans love the royal family. For a good reason too. The demise of Tunku Jalil (the younger brother of the crowned prince of Johor, TMJ Tunku Ismail, and Sultan Ibrahim Ismail’s fourth son with Permaisuri Raja Zarith Sofia) due to cancer recently is deeply mourned by many. Known for being a people’s prince, Tunku Jalil will always be remembered for his kindness, spirit, and humility. Let’s have a moment of silence for this one of a kind Tunku Laksamana of Johor.
Johor is a Malaysian state that’s financially strong no doubt, so much so that it has its own private army called the Royal Johor Military Force, and a heavily invested, well accomplished football team called JDT Club that recently won the AFC Asian Cup. It is also where the late Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysia’s treasured film maker that till now has inspired many people to love and do good unto others, was born.
With the Iskandar Malaysia project that’s aimed to be finished by 2025, things are indeed looking up for Johor.
Established in 2006 and named after the late Sultan of Johor, Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, Iskandar Malaysia (formerly known as Iskandar Development Region) comprises of five flagship zones covering a land size of 2,217 square kilometres – roughly more than three times the land size of our neighbouring country, Singapore – with an expected total population of 3 million, a workforce of half of that (1.5 million) and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of $31,100 by 2025.
The five flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia are Flagship Zone A, Flagship Zone B, Flagship Zone C, Flagship Zone D, and Flagship Zone E.
The first flagship zone, Flagship Zone A, covers Johor Bahru City, Larkin, Mount Austin, Maju Jaya, and Kempas among others. Set to focus on financial and commercial activities, key offerings include Danga Bay and the Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim (BSI) CIQ Complex.
The second flagship zone, Flagship Zone B, covers Nusajaya, Jelutong, Gelang Patah, and Pulai among others. Set to focus on mixed property development and Johor’s administrative, key landmarks include Puteri Harbour, Kota Iskandar, Edu City, Legoland Malaysia, and Medini Iskandar Malaysia.
The third flagship zone, Flagship Zone C, covers the Tanjung Pelepas area and is also known as the Western Gate Development. Set to focus on port and marine services, key landmarks include Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Ramsar Heritage Park, and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.
The fourth flagship zone, Flagship Zone D, covers Pasir Gudang, Masai, and Tanjung Langsat among others, and is also known as the Eastern Gate Development. Set to focus on industrial and manufacturing, key landmarks include APTEC City, Johor Port, Tanjung Langsat Industrial Complex, and Pasir Gudang Circuit.
The fifth flagship zone, Flagship Zone E, covers the Senai, Skudai, Saleng and Kangkar Pulai among others. Set to focus on airport services and electronics manufacturing, key landmarks include the Sultan Ismail International Airport (Senai International Airport), MSC Malaysia Cyberport, Senai Airport City, and Johor Premium Outlet.
Eco Botanic is located in Sekudai (also spelled Skudai) is a suburb in Johor Bahru, and part of Iskandar Malaysia Flagship Zone B, Nusajaya.
Whenever Skudai is mentioned, most people would think “UITM Skudai”. In 2025, once the Iskandar Malaysia project is completed and accordingly the EduCity project, more universities will then come to mind like Raffles University Iskandar, University of Southhampton, Newcastle University of Medicine Malaysia, and Management Development Institute of Singapore.
And Eco Botanic is literally next door to all that, approximately 1 kilometres away.
The abundance of amenities doesn’t end there. True that within Eco Botanic’s own development doesn’t offer much at the moment, but with a short drive (roughly 2 kilometres away), a resident there can then reach Johor’s pride: Legoland Malaysia that’s located in Medini Iskandar.
Medini Iskandar is a whole other development, that not only houses the theme park Legoland, but a bunch of other conveniences as well, like a shopping mall called ‘Mall of Medini’, a Gleneagles Medini hospital, and a hotel called Meridin Hotel.
Eco Botanic is located much closer to the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ Complex) at roughly 10 kilometres away as compared to Johor-Singapore Causeway (Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim (BSI) CIQ Complex) at roughly 20 kilometres away. Getting to Singapore then would be convenient for an Eco Botanic resident.
Apart from driving all the way to Singapore, one can also opt to use the international ferry service located in Puteri Harbour that’s located roughly around 7 kilometres from Eco Botanic. Although the service (Puteri Harbour International Ferry Terminal) currently only has routes to Harbour Bay Batam and Tanjung Balai Karimun in Indonesia, it is expected to expand to include Singapore’s Harbour Front in the future.
Talking about Puteri Harbour, there are also some amenities there. Like ‘Kota Iskandar’, Johor state’s new administration centre that people can visit to appreciate Johor’s heritage architecture and design, and a family-oriented shopping and entertainment mall, Little Red Cube that houses Hello Kitty Town, Little Big Club (housing children’s characters like Barney, Bob the Builder, and Thomas & Friends) and LAT’s Place along with Hotel Jen (formerly known as Traders Hotel) that’s run by Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts.
Puteri Harbour Ferry Terminal
In Johor Bahru city centre, one can go to Kilang Bateri, a new hipster-like eatery place and shops located 20 kilometres away near JB city centre. Once an Eveready Battery Factory, it was opened sometime around September 2015 into a vintage, hangout place. The foods there are awesome, and the businesses offered are aplenty. A definite must checkout.
Eco Botanic without a doubt practises privacy and exclusivity through and through. There is where one lives peacefully but if ever a need to reconnect to the hustle and bustle of the world arises, one can still then drive a few short distances to realise that.
Analysis
The Chateau at Eco Botanic: A hunky-dory assessment.
Roughly 2 kilometres away is a development called Horizon Hills, a township by a joint-venture between Gamuda Land and UEM Land.
Let’s compare these two developments to get a better understanding on the overall worth of this area.
| Name | Tenure/Land Title | Approximate Listing Price | Built-up |
| The Chateau at Eco Botanic | Freehold/Residential | Starts from RM1.3 million (2½-storey super-linked house) | 1950 Sq. Ft |
| Horizon Hill | Freehold/Residential | Starts from RM1.2 million (2 storey cluster house) | 3204 Sq. Ft. |
The Chateau is relatively more expensive despite having smaller built-up size. Most probably because of the English inspired concept and design. Still, the prices of homes in these area are indeed more prime than others.
EcoWorld: An interesting history.
Eco World Development Group Berhad is a public listed Malaysian company. Its main business is property development.
With 17 development projects in total that include new townships, integrated commercial developments, luxury high-rise apartments and green business parks, EcoWorld presently has approximately 7,443.9 acres of land bank with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM81 billion.
EcoWorld is made up of fomer SP Setia top brass, with Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin (founder of SP Setia) in the lead. With him and his son Liew Tian Xiong acting as the Executive Director, greatness is expected from EcoWorld just like how it was with SP Setia.
Summary
The Chateau at Eco Botanic: A conclusion.
Some may argue that the houses are too expensive despite its smaller size as compared to other landed properties, but then again, having too big of a house means more headache in maintenance, don’t you agree?
The Chateau’s selling point is its English design and architecture. Where else can you find such offer in Malaysia? So a smaller (though still acceptable size) house size shouldn’t really be an issue.
Ready to live like the Brits? Then give The Chateau at Eco Botanic a thought.
