Alcove Sukhumvit 49 is a boutique condominium built on half a rai of land in a relatively quiet part of a bustling strip.

The medium-rise tower, currently being built at the 225-square-wah estate, is about 200 metres from the main Sukhumvit thoroughfare.

Alcove is selling its units for about Bt80,000 a square metre. Its smallest 48-square-metre freehold apartment is commanding a price tag of Bt3.86 million.

The price includes air-conditioning units and kitchen, but not items such as water heaters or built-in furniture.

Its sales office is located on Soi Thonglor 23, at a newly completed serviced apartment, also called Alcove.

A visit is recommended as the serviced apartments here will give you a good idea of the quality one can expect from the builders.

The ceiling height of the units is 2.4 metres. And, because the residential products are meant for more international residents, such as Japanese and Westerners, the bathroom fittings are superior to the cheap toilets offered by more localised projects that do not have bathtubs or proper balcony space.

The parking will be on the ground floor and the residences are from the second to eighth floors. On the rooftop are a swimming pool and fitness centre. The pool measures about three by eight metres.

Nexus agency is handling the sales for the project owner, Samirano Property, which is based on Charan Sanitwong Road in Thon Buri.

The good news is the project's eight-floor structure, being a small-scale project, will not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval.

This will save an enormous amount of time and the building should be completed faster than many others that are launched earlier but are so big that they require much scrutiny by the EIA board.

As such, Alcove should be completed without much delay by December this year.

"Buyers should be able to move in after the rooms are fitted in January next year," said the sales assistant at the site.

The front of the project faces west, with most of the apartments facing either south or north. The views from units facing south may be partially blocked by a tall building. However, those facing north will have relatively better views.

Itthi C Tan

The Nation