Kota Kinabalu: Plaza Shell, the regional headquarters of Hap Seng, is set to be the city's newest landmark with its unique and exceptional eco-friendly architecture, when it is officially opened tomorrow (Friday).With a total gross floor area of 435,055 sq ft, the office tower is much more than an efficient Grade A building.Perched in the heart of the city, the 14-storey high building is developed and owned by Hap Seng Group, a developer with over 50 years of proven track record in property development.
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It enjoys immediate access to outstanding transport links and is in close walking proximity to the city core, including hotels, shopping malls, golf courses, hospitals and other public amenities such as the police headquarters."Apart from its prominent location which provides spectacular views, the building is also the first truly Grade A office tower in the State and it is set to revolutionise the office and retail space standard, bringing Kota Kinabalu's corporate lifestyle to the next level," said Hap Seng Properties Development Sdn Bhd Chief Operating Officer John Tan Duo Zer.The 10 office floors are serviced by six units of passenger lifts to achieve high level of passenger comfort and two units of car park lifts for four-level basement car park which can accommodate 542 cars and 110 motorcycles at any one time.It even has ample space for cyclists to secure their bicycles and two separate shower rooms for those who choose to cycle to work.
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Currently, the four top levels have been snapped up by Shell Sabah, while Hap Seng will be occupying the eighth floor."The ground floor is where the Mercedes showroom is and there would be three levels of retail podium which would serve as a one-stop destination featuring a wide variety in dining, fashion and leisure.
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"There is also the garden retreat, a 12,000 sq ft landscaped garden suites and we plan to have a fully-equipped gym. Because people need to unwind after a hard day's work, providing them with such amenities would encourage a healthy lifestyle," he said.In terms of the office space, the building boasts 2.8m clear head room floor to ceiling heights, compared to the standard requirement of 2.6m clear head room floor to ceiling heights and fibre cabling system is installed to deliver high-speed Internet connection of up to 20mb.Plaza Shell is the first building to be conferred the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate, making it the first truly rated green building in the State, featuring advanced technologies to ensure energy-efficiency in the office space. The whole building is enveloped with double-glazed unit glass, for heat and noise insulation, another first in Kota Kinabalu."We have spent a lot of money on the glass alone. It is able to retain the cool temperature on the inside and keep the heat out. So it would not be heavy on the air-conditioning. In fact, on a hot day, the glass would remain cool."The whole complex is fitted with energy-saving light fittings and utilises an efficient rainwater harvesting system. It has centralised air-condition, controlled with 24 degree Celsius with fan coil system and chiller."Only the finest materials are used throughout the building's common areas to highlight the property's prestige, such as the lobby's walls of natural stone highlighted with stainless steel panels and Portoro Gold Marble," he said.Even the building's lavatories and washrooms are fitted with quality finishes and water-efficiency system to reduce water wastage. In the parking bays, the developer saw it necessary to fit heat sensor and carbon monoxide sensors."The little touches on this eco-friendly building make a big step in the upkeep of environmental sustainability," said Tan.Security is one of the building's most prominent aspects with several security measures imposed on visitors and occupants, including vehicle access control, security checkpoint and elevator access control to safeguard assets as well as to secure business interest.Taking into consideration the state of electricity supply in the State, Tan said the building is equipped with a back-up generator system that is capable of providing uninterrupted power supply to the building for up to eight hours.After almost half a century of success in the property business, Tan said it was high time that the company came back to Sabah where they first started their operation and make their presence felt on a grander scale."Of course we have never left. We have always given back to Sabah and its people through our various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. We have helped build Lahad Datu and Tawau where our housing areas eclipsed even the size of the town itself."As a member of Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developer Association (Shareda), we have always strived to provide Sabahans with low-cost and affordable homes and judging from the popularity of our projects, I believe we have achieved that," he said.
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He hoped that by making their presence felt in Kota Kinabalu, it would be a precedent to others who also made their fortune in Sabah, to return and contribute to the State, emulating Hap Seng Group.The Plaza Shell will be officially opened by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Friday.
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