Demand for Vertical Living Rising in Medan

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

A number of apartment buildings are seen in the center of Medan city, North Sumatra, on Friday (6/9/2019). In the past three years around 6,000 apartments have been built in Medan city, the third largest city in Indonesia.

Despite protest from her family, Vivi, 25, the daughter of a businessman, was determined to buy an apartment in the middle of Medan City as her first home. Practicality was the decisive consideration for her.

It was not an easy matter to convince her family, who were used to living in a landed house. But Vivi\'s parents finally agreed after learning that living in an apartment was safer because privacy was maintained.

"Also, there are many sports facilities in the apartment building. So, we can actually maintain our fitness more easily than in a house," said Vivi, who is still single, on Friday (6/9/2019). The ease of reaching the city center was also a consideration, given that Medan is plagued with traffic congestion.

Around 6,000 apartments have been built in Medan in the last three years. Vertical living is on the rise as land availability is decreasing.

Despite the high number of apartments being built and square meter prices reaching tens of millions of rupiah, sales appear to be strong. Connie Fransiska, a marketing communication officer with The Reiz Condo, an apartment located a stone\'s throw from Medan’s Merdeka Square, said the location of the apartment in the heart of the city was an attraction for buyers. "The penthouse type on the 27^th and 28^th floor, of which there are only 12 units, were sold out before the launch," she said.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

A model of the Reiz Condo is displayed on Jl. Tembakau Deli, Medan, North Sumatra, Friday (6/9/2019). Around 6,000 apartments have been built in Medan in the past three years.

The market demand was captured as an opportunity to continue to build apartments in Medan. From the Stellar Party Garden, an open space on the 15^th floor of The Reiz Condo, people can see towering buildings built in the provincial capital city of North Sumatra. In addition to The Reiz Condo, private developer Agung Podomoro built a mixed-use building housing malls, hotels and thousands of apartments.

On Jl. Perintis Kemerdeaan, about 1 kilometer from The Reiz Condo, the Grand Jati Junction apartment is under construction. In front of the apartment is the elevated railway line connecting Medan Train Station to Belawan. Behind the station, there are hundreds of apartment units in Super Blok Center Point.

In addition to Medan residents, buyers of the apartments come from Tebing Tinggi, Pematang Siantar, Tanjung Balai, Stabat, Pekanbaru and Aceh. Of the 490 apartments offered to customers by The Reiz Condo, 300 units were sold out.

Cultural aspect

Although the average buyer wants privacy, Medan culture with strong kinship ties still influences the apartment design. Most units continue to accommodate meeting rooms. In addition, there is always a guest room for each apartment unit.

"In fact, there are buyers who ask to move the guest room close to the window, so that their guests can see the city of Medan from above," Connie said.

The market demand was captured as an opportunity to continue to build apartments in Medan.

Another recently completed apartment building is The Wahid on Jl. Wahid Hasyim, Medan. Its 132 apartments were mostly bought by local residents. Built in 2017, only 14 units have not been purchased.

"As much as 50 percent is leased," said Wisaturila from The Wahid’s administration and marketing office.

North Sumatra Indonesia Real Estate (REI) honorary chair Rusin Lawin said the 6,000 high-rise apartments built in Medan [recently] spread all the way to the outskirts of the city. Nevertheless, Medan was still underdeveloped compared to cities in neighboring countries, such as Penang, Malaysia, and Bangkok, Thailand.

The construction of vertical housing is a necessity, considering that land availability does not increase, while demand for housing increases. "What needs to be considered is the urban planning, including traffic engineering and the availability of an integrated public transportation system," Rusmin said.

In response, the Medan administration also encouraged the construction of stand-along residential towers or buildings integrated with business, trade and office centers. Medan administration secretary Wiriya Alrahman said the construction of vertical housing could reduce congestion in the city, increase green open space, reduce the burden on the environment and help overcome the space limitation in the city.

The construction of vertical housing is also being pushed in northern ​​Medan, including Medan Belawan, Medan Labuhan and Medan Deli. Development in this area is designed to be integrated with commercial and industrial centers.

Demand for vertical living in Medan and its surroundings is projected to increase along with the practicality of transportation access with the construction of Medan\'s light rail network, innercity toll roads and the Medan-Binjai-Deli Serdang bus network.