Siam Oriental showcase their 10th major project

The Siam Oriental Trading company recently opened the showroom for their 10th major development, a number which is testament to their continued success and popularity with investors in this difficult economic climate.

To be called Siam Oriental Plaza, the new condo development is situated in Soi 3, off Pratamnak Road. Being a soi that leads essentially nowhere, except into Soi 2 and then back up again to Pratamnak Road, means that the area is fairly quiet when it comes to traffic.

The management of Siam Oriental noted that this also meant there were not a lot of convenience shops in the area, and considering there are plenty of other condo complexes nearby they thought this offered an opportunity. So, the entire ground floor of Siam Oriental Plaza will be given over to shops.

Juha Timonen, the man who heads Siam Oriental, and is originally from Finland, was quoted in the highly-regarded REM magazine as saying, “There are other projects in these two sois so any shop owner will not be totally reliant on the Plaza for customers. Although shops are physically not far away there is no connection through to either sois 1 or 4.”

The company’s head office is in Soi 4, but it is a long walk, they are considering setting up a small office in the Plaza project to keep faith with their promise of easy and carefree ownership.

As Juha told REM, “We have a subsidiary company called BaanCare which looks after properties for owners who do not occupy their units all the time.” BaanCare can check up on the property, even weekly. They will ventilate the unit, check the water system and electrical equipment among other tasks.

The company believes Siam Oriental Plaza takes their developments to the next level of quality with much of the materials they are using. Owners familiar with Siam Oriental projects should see a rise in the luxury level, but without any major jump in price.

Prices start at a little under 50,000 baht per square metre, so a 27sqm studio with balcony has an entry level of 1.3 million baht.

Prices rise the higher you go in the building, so a two-bedroom unit of 56sqm on the second floor has a start price of 2.7 million baht while the same size unit on the eighth floor (which is the top of the building) would be 3.8 million baht.

It is important to Siam Oriental to keep adding improvements with each new project. In the Plaza, for example, they have ensured that the design allows for a washing machine to be incorporated within the unit – not stuck outside on the balcony. This is in response to feedback from owners.

Siam Oriental is very involved in renting out units to support their investors. While loose furniture is not included in the sales price, the company does stress that they require a certain level of furnishing before they will agree to rent out a unit.

Siam Oriental Plaza will comprise 197 units in a U-shaped formation around a small plaza. It is just 700 metres from the sea and, by the time people move in, the company hopes to have direct footpath access to the waterside.

The piling work for the Plaza project is far advanced and the building is expected to be completed during 2016.