A DAWN OF SKYSCRAPERS IN SUBANG JAYA

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

A DAWN OF SKYSCRAPERS IN SUBANG JAYA

The face of Subang Jaya has changed. First it is friendly, now it has become an obnoxious entity which holds no soul other than the choking pollution and ill-planning in the name of development.
No longer will I be able to see trees around Subang Jaya. Even the bottom of the newly completed highways snaking above the once beautiful skyline is covered with polished stones instead of grass.
Trees have been killed and not relocated nor trimmed. The area fronting USJ19 City Mall as they now call it after being first known as the Digital Mall at USJ19 has now no trees after they were recently felled.
When we look up we see highways. When we look across we see death wishes for those who want to visit the neighbours across the Taman. We are forced into this.
We are also forced to barricade ourselves into enclaves of security. Fences have been placed. More distrust is encouraged. We do not just rely on the authorities to protect us anymore as they do not have enough resources. We have to do our own.
Everytime I visit my brother, I have to go through the security. Once my home, now I am the outsider. A non-resident of that Taman.
I see many tall buildings now in Subang Jaya. At SS15, the First Subang’s 2 towers are near completion. At SS12, the Far East Group has taken over Sheraton Hotel and now it is known as the Grand Dorsett. The hotel is undergoing renovations I hear but I have not gone there as yet to see if the dim sum is still there.
The Subang Jaya Medical Centre is now the Sime Darby Medical Centre. The name Subang Jaya is no longer connected in the naming of the hospital, whilst Sunway Medical Centre still retains the name “Sunway”.
After all the hoo haa….the park is still quiet. Nothing done as yet and no noise heard from the residents. Everyone seems to be so keen on the LRT now.
I see banners everywhere showing where these stations will be located. Brilliant idea I would say. But like my previous articles, do we really need an LRT that does not give us a solution or is this just a publicity stunt to create an LRT just because it is an LRT?
The line does not go direct to KL Sentral. We have to go to Kelana Jaya before that. That is what I understand from the plans. So again…what for? The KTM is already so jammed with waiting and loitering vehicles at SS16.
I hear Firefly Hotel will be opening soon…can anyone confirm this? They say this will be at First Subang, SS15. Is this a rumour or the truth? I am not sure.
There will be a new hotel at the new Empire Gallery behind Subang Parade. Perhaps it is the tower that has the red light above it just like a lantern which I saw a night from the KTM station.
That means we may have 2 new hotels nearby. SS16 is getting to feel like a city. Perhaps this is what was mentioned as Pusat Bandar Subang Jaya or Subang Jaya City/Town Centre?
I thought the area was for commercial but we see service suites which are really apartments. Looks like a housing or residential development to me.
I understand the apartments and the new trend, SOHO (small office home office) units have been getting great response from all the developers nearby.
Rent is quite good from what I gather from the lady at the Casa Tiara apartments. E-Tiara and Casa Tiara houses near 1,000 units of apartments and Subang Avenue near Carrefour will add about 280 units. Saujana Residency will add about 350 apartment units whilst Olives just at the U-turn ahead will have about 314 units. I got those numbers surfing the net. Now if those figures are true, we will have about 2,000 units of households at SS16 alone!
SS16 is like skyscraper haven. From Mesiniaga, you have Casa Tiara, E-Tiara, Subang Avenue, Carrefour, the shortie Subang Parade, Saujana Residency, Empire Gallery and Hotel, Wisma Consplant 1 and 2, Majlis Daerah Petaling, Toyota showroom and service, Olives Subang as well as the new Parkhomes with another 478 units of households.
The towering developments have one thing in common as they add modern architecture to the area. However, the roads there have been cut up and patched and looks like a war zone from the KTM all the way to the U Turn. Sigh…who will fix this? My bicycle will surely take its toll and I may also roll on the road if I hit these uneven sections.
Subang Jaya is changing. Is this good? Is this bad? I miss the old days but maybe I am getting old. Is old not good but new is better? The traffic at SS16 will be a nightmare when all households come in. Imagine say 2 occupants per unit and you will get nearly 5,000 people just there and say each has a car, that’s 5,000 cars from the residents alone! And they will converge at SS16. Add the loiterers and those waiting at the KTM and you can imagine the chaos!
Yeah…Subang Jaya needs development. Let us allow that to happen as development will bring progress and work. Is this true? Ask yourselves. We have many foreigners now. Some are here to study while others are here to lecture. Some who come and tell us what to do purportedly as self made consultants even when they are here on a different visa!
I am not convinced that Subang Jaya will be better. I foresee chaos, crime and filth if we do not make a stand and do what we want as right instead of sitting on our overgrown backsides making noise. Even a fart has more potency than those with hypocritical voices without action. Have we looked at ourselves in the mirror today? Do we like what we see?