An artist’s impression of the three-storey home offices.

With robust sales of properties in Phuket, one local developer has boldly embarked on a mixed-use estate on the eastern side of the island, near Phuket Boat Lagoon.

Dalaaburi is the first residential-commercial undertaking by Shin Home, said marketing and sales director Chayika Wongnapachant.

"Being a new player in Phuket, we are trying to establish our brand and presence with Dalaaburi," said the US-educated executive.

The 13-rai estate is broken into two parts, with the front containing 11 home-office units while the back section houses 18 villas.

The prices of the villas start from Bt15.6 million, while the three-storey home offices sell for Bt11 million each.

The villas are constructed on plots ranging from 125 h to 236 square wah. The plots for the home offices are all about 30 square wah.

The offices each have a built-up area of about 290 square metres, while the villas contain more than 330 square metres of usable space.

Chayika said Dalaaburi was targeting both local and expatriate buyers who are seeking a centrally located enclave on the island.

Shin Home president Yowvares Shinawatra said that while the company is a new venture, she had personally worked on several commercial properties with a fair degree of success in the past.

"It's always the location that matters most. If a project succeeds, it is because of its location," she said.

Shin Home was recently created after the tsunami wrecked her family's silk and handicraft outlet at the site in December 2004.

Instead of rebuilding the shop, Yowvares decided instead to create a residential-commercial complex on the land.

Yowvares said Shin Home has no affiliation with business interests formerly belonging to her brother, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"There are today about six Shinawatra families involved in the family's silk business, and all of them conduct their business independently.

"Many people wrongly assume we operate collectively," she said. "It is a perception that we wish to rectify."

Her daughter Chayika is handed the critical task of developing housing types that will appeal to home-buyers.

"The family has more projects planned in Phuket," said Yowvares. "But we like to take one step at a time. We are not in a rush to expand. We prefer to complete one project properly at a time."

"What I like about Dalaaburi is the site allows residents to commute to every part of the island within 20 minutes," she said. "It is close to international schools, to the major shopping malls and luxury estates and marinas."

The company is constructing a number of units to serve as show homes at the site. The executives expect sales to pick up once the model homes have been completed.

Itthi C Tan

The Nation