KUALA LUMPUR — Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) is looking at bringing in more local start-ups to be part of its Malaysia Grand Bazaar (MGB) component, part of the Entertainment Hub of the multi-billion ringgit development.
Bukit Bintang City Centre Development Sdn Bhd CEO Low Thiam Chin said MGB aims to offer a dedicated platform for start-up entrepreneurs to showcase their products.
“We aimed to create a local art and cultural centre through MGB and help start-ups that can’t afford the rental in shopping malls, gain exposure,” Low said after a project briefing to Federal Territories (FT) Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.
Also present were Eco World International executive vice-chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, executive director Datuk Voon Ting Yow and Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun.
The 19.4-acre BBCC is being developed on the former Pudu Jail site with an estimated GDV of RM8.7 billion.
BBCC is a joint venture between Eco World Development Group Bhd, UDA Holdings Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund.
The master plan comprises a retail mall, the Entertainment Hub, four serviced apartment blocks, a lifestyle hotel, three blocks of strata and corporate offices and an 80-storey signature tower housing corporate offices, a five-star hotel and luxury residences.
Located in the Entertainment Hub, MGB offers 100,000 sq ft or 200 kiosks with customised and compact retail spaces (100 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft) for local start-ups to showcase their products, as well as artisanal handcraft items, tradition-inspired creations to authentic local cuisine.
According to Low, MGB has already attracted around 40 tenants who have signed up ahead of its opening in 2021.
“At MGB, we are offering them bite-size kiosks from 100 sq ft unlike most malls where tenants are required to take up at least 500 sq ft of retail space,” he explained.
Other than the kiosks, BBCC also plans to manage a 5,000-sq ft retail space in MGB.
Other components of the Entertainment Hub include the first Zepp Kuala Lumpur concert hall in Southeast Asia, a 12-screen cineplex and a banquet hall that can accommodate 1,200 people.
Low said work on the 19.4-acre site is progressing well and construction of phase 1 has reached 25%. The project is scheduled for its first handover in 1Q2021.
Phase 1 of BBCC comprises a four-level basement carpark, the Mitsui Shopping Park Lalaport KL Mall, the Canopy by Hilton Hotel, a transit hub, an entertainment hub, a lifestyle street, The Stride strata office and two blocks of serviced apartments dubbed Lucentia 1 and 2 as well as three underground vehicular tunnels.
The 47-storey Lucentia 1 and 35-storey Lucentia 2 have recorded take-up rates of more than 90% and 60%, respectively.
With a combined GDV of RM736 million, Lucentia 1 and 2 will house a total of 666 units with built-ups from 454 sq ft to 882 sq ft. They are priced at an average RM1,700 psf.