
Two residents’ associations have objected to plans for a 60-storey mixed-use development on the site of the long-vacant 16-storey Wisma Damansara in the upscale Damansara Heights area here.
Representatives of the Bukit Damansara Homeowners’ Association and Residents’ Association of Kawasan Setiakasih submitted objections from about 300 residents to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) today, ahead of the close of the public feedback period tomorrow (Aug 16).
Sufian Majid, president of the Bukit Damansara association, said: “Highrise buildings should be in the central business district, not in low-rise areas like this one.”
He questioned the project’s high plot ratio of 1:9.6 although the Kuala Lumpur Local Plan 2040 set a density limit of 1:6 for buildings in the area.
Kawasan Setiakasih president Zuhaira Ali said: “We are a suburb, but we are being turned into a business zone. Will Bukit Damansara residents get pushed out of our community? We need to know, because at the end of the day, we are the ones most affected.”
Sufian said the project would cause the already bad traffic situation in the area to become worse, especially on Jalan Semantan and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim.
“Highrise buildings should be in the central business district, not in low-rise areas like this one,” Sufian told FMT. He said new flyovers and highways to be built to accommodate the increased traffic would disrupt the character of the community.
He said buildings in the area were formerly subject to height restrictions due to their vicinity to Istana Negara. However, the height restriction zone was recently reduced, which paved the way for Wisma Damansara, a landmark since 1970, to be redeveloped.
He said residents found out about the proposed redevelopment only on Aug 1 when a notice was published in a newspaper, stating that a plot ratio of 1:9.6 had been approved for the 392,040 sq ft plot of land.
He said he was shocked when he saw the proposed density in the public notice, as the developer had in the past presented residents with a redevelopment proposal with a lower plot ratio.
DBKL should not have approved the project in the first place, he said. “Can you imagine the number of people that will be here from just a single project?”
Zuhaira said services in the area would be unable to cope with the potential increase in the community’s population.
FMT has sought comment from DBKL and the developer.
Wisma Damansara, built in 1970 by Selangor Properties, was the first commercial office building to be developed in the Damansara Heights area. The building was once the headquarters of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority but has been vacant for some time.
The land on which the building is sited was reportedly bought by BRDB Developments Sdn Bhd at a price ranging between RM320 million and RM470 million.