Hi, my name is Eric.

Well, as much as I would like to say "Genius, Playboy, Billionaire, Philanthropist", I am not all of it - at least not yet. I have a passion for construction and property, travel, food and shopping. Well, I am really not a blogger. I do blog every now and then, on all kinds of things, sometimes to address the media, well, sometimes just to post up updates of my projects. Through this blog - I shall try to keep the investors, shareholders, employees, colleagues, partners and the public updated on what Crest Builder is up to.

BUILDERS OF DISTINCTION

The Group strives to be the preferred builders of its valued clients.

STRONG PORTFOLIO

30 years of strong history and portfolio.

BUILDING LANDMARKS

Building the country's landmark buildings since 1983.

TEAMWORK

There is no 'i' in TEAM, and at Crest Builder, we work as a team.

BRANDED PROJECTS

The Group has been associated with various projects of high brand values.

GOOD PRACTICE

The Group constantly maintains a good construction practice for all its projects.

GOING GREEN

The Group maintains an environmental friendly approach to construction practices.

THE QUALITY BUILDER

The Crest Builder Group is always associated with distinctive standards of quality.

THE DETAILED BUILDER

Our focus on the details has been one of our strong credentials.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

The Group strives to provide its valued clients with the best service.

WIDE SPECTRUM OF CLIENTS

The Group has been working closely with both the public and the private sector in the 30 years of operations.

BRANDING

The Group is always associated with prominent projects to enhance the company's brand value.

SUSTAINABILITY

The Group is committed to sustainable practices in construction.

THE SOLUTION PROVIDER

Crest Builder strives to provide the optimum solutions and innovations to every project.

26 May 2010

Alam Idaman, Shah Alam - Updates.

Freshly taken today from the site.

24 May 2010

Chua Tower, Jalan Binjai - Updates.

Updates from skyscrapercity.com

23 May 2010

Menara Wakaf, Jalan Perak - Updates.

Updates from skyscrapercity.com

22 May 2010

21 May 2010

The Best 50 Buildings in KL - Part 5 of 5.

Here are the listings, from E1 - E0; as labelled on the map.

E1 - Solaris Towers
One of the most prominent and old-time developers in the country, Sunrise Berhad plans to develop this small tract of land, just next to Renaissance and Crest Sultan Ismail into what they call ... the Solaris Towers KL. Final piece of the Solaris jigsaw puzzle...

E2 - Lai Meng school
Magna Prima Berhad plans to redevelop this site into a RM1.3billion mixed development. Too much hoo-haa has been heard of this project - perhaps, this project will only go through in many years to come. They will also need to relocate the school first - most likely to Bukit Jalil.

E3 - Menara Public Bank
Menara Public Bank is located at 146, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. It is the home of Public Bank - the third largest banking group in Malaysia with approximately US$ 41.76 billion in total assets in Malaysia with the lowest non-performing loan ratios. Presently, Public Bank has 243 local branches and 3 overseas branches namely, Hong Kong Branch, Colombo Branch, Sri Lanka and Vientian Branch, Lao PDR


E4 - Bangunan AMBank
Bangunan AmBank Group is located along Jalan Raja Chulan, a main business district within the heart of Kuala Lumpur Golden Triangle. It is a 26-storey office building comprising a 21-storey office tower block, 1 level of amenities including a cafeteria, a gymnasium and a multi-purpose hall with 4 levels of aboveground car park and 3 levels of basement car park.

E5 - Duta Hyatt Hotel
Earlier plans to open a Grand Hyatt Duta came to an end as the project was never completed. The Hyatt Group in 1994 gave the contract to develop the RM570 million Grand Hyatt Duta to Kuala Lumpur Landmark Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Olympia Industries Bhd. Mycom Bhd, the holding company of Olympia, then teamed up with Kuala Lumpur Landmark to develop a 52-storey building to house its headquarters and the hotel. However, construction was halted in July 1998, when the group encountered financial difficulties during the 1997/1998 economic downturn. The Grand Hyatt Duta was to have been completed in 1997. Until today, the hotel at the corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang remains partly completed. The Hyatt Group is no longer associated with the project.

E6 - Grand Hyatt Hotel
Not to be confused with the abandoned Duta Hyatt Hotel along Jalan Ampang, this 42 storey development is developed by the Bahagia Investment Authority of Brunei, comprising a 17 storey hotel, a luxury 4 storey serviced apartment as well as a 13 storey commercial office space. The hotel is designed by world-renowned Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) architects.

E7 - Troika
Located at the north-eastern corner of the KLCC Park, within the precincts of Kuala Lumpur City Centre – Kuala Lumpur’s ‘city within a city’ – the Troika development combines apartments, offices, shops and restaurants within a single complex, with the aim of promoting a more sustainable, densely planned approach to living and working in the twenty-first century city.

E8 - The Binjai
These towering 44 storey residential twin towers are amongst one of the most modern residential towers, apart from Troika of course to be completed within the KLCC Park vicinity.

E9 - G Tower
Strategically located within the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) next to Ampang Park LRT station and against a backdrop of the iconic Twin Towers, GTower is the city’s striking landmark. Offering premium Grade A++ commercial space, G Tower is Malaysia’s first Green building (BCA Gold Green Mark).

E0 - Menara DNP
To be developed by prestigious developer Wing Tai Asia - these tower will be 50 storeys tall and has a premium view of KLCC - by virtue of being directly opposite it.

There you go - what I see as the Best 50 Buildings in Kuala Lumpur. All in... I shall do one that compiles all of them together...

18 May 2010

Menara Wakaf, Jalan Perak - Updates.

Can you spot Menara Wakaf?

17 May 2010

Menara Wakaf, Jalan Perak - Updates.

Notice the Menara Wakaf building right behind IJM's Grand Hyatt Hotel?

Picture taken from KL Convention Centre. - update from skyscrapercity.com.

12 May 2010

The Best 50 Buildings in KL - Part 4 of 5.

Here are the listings, from D1 - D0; as labelled on the map.

D1 - The Meritz, KLCC
This 110 unit luxury condominium is 31 storeys tall - and was developed by the well-renowned Singaporean developer, Wing Tai Asia and designed by Guida Moseley Brown Architects from Australia. When the development was first launched in 2004/05, the prices were sold at RM 650 psf. Today, prices have appreciated to the RM 1,300 - RM 1,500 psf range.

D2 - Avenue K
Developed by the Yap family (Mycom and Olympia) - Avenue K has two major components - the Regent Residences in the 50 storey tower - and the retail mall, strategically above the KLCC LRT station.

D3 - Hampshire Residences
Hampshire Residence is situated along Persiaran Hampshire a quiet area in KLCC yet still close to the Petronas Twin Tower. Comprises of 2 blocks of 388 units in total, this modern architectural building was jointly developed by Capital Land Ltd of Singapore, the largest developer in South East Asia (SEA) together with Zelan.

D4 - Hampshire Apartment.
I apologize that I couldnt find any pictures at this current moment - I guess I'll head down to KL and take some soon. At one time - the Hampshire was perhaps Kuala Lumpur's most expensive condominium. When other property prices were still going at RM500-600 psf, the Hampshire was fetching a good RM800psf upwards from the secondary markets.

D5 - Plaza OSK
Formerly known as Menara MBF, OSK took over the building after the 1997 economic crisis. Its undergoing some refurbishments and there will be another tower on top of the podium block.

D6 - Intermark
Intermark previously consisted of the Crown Princess Hotel, Empire Tower as well as City Square shopping mall. Today - the Intermark Group has acquired it and are now in the midst of a massive revamp, including a whole new office tower. Crown Princess has undergone a refurbishment and is now managed by DoubleTree - a boutique concept hotel by Hilton.

D7 - Setia Sky Residences
Setia Sky Residences represents S P Setia's foray into the super luxury high-rise property market - and also its first in the KLCC region. The whole development consists of 4 towering 40 storey blocks - with a SkyBridge called the Sky Club connecting the towers at the 33rd floor.

D8 - Menara Marinara
Another building that was affected by the 1997 economic crisis. There were plenty of controversies involving the building - and subsequently the now defunct Danaharta - today known as Prokhas - took over as the liquidators - currently they are spending about RM 40 million for some massive refurbishment and upgrading works on the building.

D9 - Menara ExxonMobil, Jalan Kia Peng
The Menara Exxon Mobil is a building located in the vicinity of KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The building currently is the headquarters of Exxon Mobil Malaysia. A rectangular shaped building, the Menara ExxonMobil has a virtually column free interior. For aesthetics, the north and south elevations are set-back at level 5, while the north elevation facing the public park is further set-back at levels 22 and 26.

D0 - Bandar Wawasan
Once again - yet another development that was stalled during the 1997 economic crisis. If and when completed - the Bandar Wawasan would have been amongst the main commercial hubs in the city. Recently, Quill bought over the abandoned project from its liquidators.

10 May 2010

Chua Tower, Jalan Binjai - Updates.

Updates from Patchay.com.

09 May 2010

Menara Worldwide, Jalan Bukit Bintang - Updates.

Updates from skyscrapercity.com.

07 May 2010

Menara Wakaf, Jalan Perak - Updates.

Behind the ETIQA Twins.

The Beauty of Putrajaya.

While I spent a couple of days at Putrajaya this week, I had the opportunity to snap some beautiful pictures of some of the newer and modern buildings in the area.

This is the 4G8, 4G9, 4G10 and 4G11 - the 4 towering towers.

One more of the 4 towers from afar...

The Suruhanjaya Tenaga building. Stunner isnt it?

The Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

06 May 2010

The UiTM Tapah Signing Ceremony.

On Tuesday, we had an official function at Putrajaya - it was the signing of the UiTM Concession Agreement between the Ministry of Higher Education, UiTM and ourselves in a tri-partite agreement.

The signing together with the 5 other Concessionaires...

The Minister of Higher Education visiting our booth...

Yours truly - welcoming the Minister.

The outstanding model that stood out so much.

05 May 2010

Crest to build new UiTM campus.

The Business Times website - had a very simple article on us with regards to the signing of the UiTM Tapah concession agreement.

CREST Builder Holdings Bhd has entered into a concession agreement with the Higher Education Ministry and the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to build the new UiTM campus in Tapah, Perak.

The agreement was entered by Unitapah Sdn Bhd, the special purpose vehicle of the company. The new campus, which will span about 77,833 sq m covering three different faculties, will be build at a cost of RM284.88 million.

The Best 50 Buildings in KL - Part 3 of 5.

Here are the listings, from C1 - C0; as labelled on the map.

C1 - St Mary Residences
Developed by E&O and Lion Group (joint venture) - the project was on the old site of St Mary. Prices of its condominium were going from RM 1,000 psf upwards - and the take up rate was impressive. Construction works are currently underway and it is expected to be completed by end 2012.

C2 - Menara Hap Seng
Previously called Mui Plaza, the Hap Seng Group purchased the office block en-bloc - and then spent close to RM50mil on refurbishment works before renaming it Menara Hap Seng. Today, Menara Hap Seng has an upmarket retail and F&B podium catering to the community around the area.

C3 - Public Mutual Tower
When a particular site along Jalan Raja Chulan got hoarded up - there were plenty of speculations of what the development will be and so on. It turns out the land will be developed into Menara Public Mutual - a 35 storey Grade A office development. Not much information on this project.

C4 - Menara Worldwide, Jalan Bukit Bintang
The Project was stalled a couple of times already since the mid 90s - now it is scheduled to complete by the end of the year 2010. The 26 storey office tower sits right next to the LTAT building along Jalan Bukit Bintang.

C5 - YTL Tower
All we know is that the building will be designed by Fosters & Partners. Thats about all. Oh, and it should be a cool 62 storeys.

C6 - Pavilion KL
Two twin 50 storey residential development sitting on top of a large retail shopping mall. Today, the shopping mall houses some of the top brands in the world - including Hermes, Prada, Gucci and so on.

C7 - Berjaya Times Square
Dubbed the new 'Sg Wang' or the new 'Low Yat' - the Times Square was developed by Vincent Tan's Berjaya Group. I think this building needs no further introduction =)

C8 - Menara Standard Chartered
At one time, it was like the star of KL. Its staggered - elevator like design (step by step) is pretty impressive, especially from far. I love the location of this building really - its truly smack right in the heart of KL! =)

C9 - Menara Maybank
For those who do not know where is Menara Maybank - perhaps - dont bother staying in KL ok. This 50 storey tower was designed by Hijjas Kasturi back in the late 1980s, and it was proudly Malaysia's tallest towers until the emergence of KLCC.

C0 - Plaza Rakyat
Another project thats plagued by the various economic downturns. Lets hope someone can come out with a good solution this time around...

03 May 2010

Menara Wakaf, Jalan Perak - Updates.

Updates from skyscrapercity.com.