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Developers build vertical living projects for students
Many property developers have turned to outskirts close to campuses and are targeting university students in their projects
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any property developers have turned to outskirts close to campuses and are targeting university students in their projects.
Indonesia's booming middle class has led to more families being able to send their children to prestigious universities at home.
Favorite universities are mostly located in Java, such as the University of Indonesia (UI) located in Depok, West Java, the Bogor Institute of Agriculture in Bogor, also in West Java, the University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Central Java, the Surabaya Institute of Technology in East Java, the Bandung Institute of Technology and Padjadjaran University' both in Bandung, West Java.
The students, many of whom hail from different islands across Indonesia, leave their hometowns and reside near their chosen campus.
In the past, boarding homes were popular with students due to their affordability. However, today, with their parents' rising purchasing power, many have started to seek out apartments.
In response to the growing trend and driven by the scarcity of land in urban areas, including in Jakarta, many property developers have turned to outskirts or secondary cities to build, with university students being the primary target.
Property developer Adhi Persada Properti (APP), for instance, is no stranger to targeting university students in cities outside Jakarta. The company operates the Taman Melati Dinoyo apartments, standing on 5,035 square meters of land in front of Malang Muhmmadiyah University in East Java.
According to APP development and sales director R. Pulung Prahasto, Jakarta, especially in the South, West and North areas, are saturated with apartments and residential area projects, leaving less room for new projects.
'Furthermore, Jakarta's land prices continue to soar, making it increasingly expensive and unaffordable. [Because of the high land price], property developers can no longer construct apartments for the middle class; we have to construct ones that target high-end consumers,' he was quoted by kompas.com as saying.
He said, however, there were still more opportunities to build apartments for the middle class outside Jakarta thanks partly to the relatively affordable land prices there.
APP general director Ipuk Nimpuno said that the company was targeting university students because vertical living had become a growing trend among youngsters. 'A lot of students occupy apartments near Margonda (not far from the UI),' he remarked.
The company also operates the Grand Dhika Keputih apartments, standing on 12,900 sqm of land near the Surabaya Institute of Technology in East Java.
Currently, APP is constructing an apartment called the Grand Taman Melati II in the Margonda, Depok area near the famed UI campus as well as other private universities following the completion of the Grand Taman Melati I.
Almost 100 percent of the apartment units at the Grand Taman Melati I have been sold, according to the company.
Meanwhile, construction of the Grand Taman Melati II has entered its final phase. Both apartments stand on land spanning 4,900 sqm, part of a superblock project in which office buildings, shop houses and kiosks have also been built. The superblock will soon be accessible by the first section of the Cinere ' Jagorawi toll road.
The company also plans to build an apartment in Jatinangor, West Java, in close proximity to the
Padjajaran University campus.
Likewise, property giant PT Lippo Karawaci is also grabbing the opportunity to build vertical living projects for university students outside Jakarta.
Currently, the developer operates the Park View Condominiums in Depok. The condominium is integrated with the Depok Town Square shopping mall, located near the UI campus. The 23-story apartment, which stands on 2.4 hectares of land, is also located near the Pondok Cina train station and Margonda city's commercial area.
The Park View boasts 450 condominiums, with 10 to 25 units per story, at relatively affordable prices. Condominiums range in types from a 30 sqm studio type with two bedrooms to a 93 sqm unit with three bedrooms.
'The capital appreciation [of the condominium] can reach some 12 percent annually and rent can reach some 10 to 15 percent each year,' Lippo Karawaci housing and land CEO Ivan Budiono said as quoted by kompas.com.
Aside from Depok, Yogyakarta, often dubbed the city of students, is also a lucrative region for developers interested in developing apartments for university students. This is why property developer Hutama Karya Realtindo, among other developers, has chosen to build apartments for university students in the city.
'Hundreds of thousands of new university students from various regions enter Yogyakarta every year. They can serve as a captive market for our apartments,' Hutama Karya Realtindo general director Putut Ariwibowo said.
The developer has built an apartment called the H Residence comprising 300 units with prices starting from Rp 300 million (US$25,882).
The apartment, which was launched at the end of last year, has an occupancy rate of 25 percent.
To attract more tenants, the developer has built several facilities, including shopping and community centers near the apartment.
Marco Iswaara, general director of developer Karya Cipta Sukses Selaras, which develops apartments for university students in Yogyakarta, disclosed that more university students were opting for apartments rather than boarding homes due to convenience and the comfort that the first offers.
'Generally, apartments provide more space and a quieter environment for its tenants than boarding homes do,' he said. (JP)
