Local condo project outshines competition

By Property Reports
The Nation
Published on August 15, 2008

Column Residence offers accessibility, luxury, fine dining

Local condo project outshines competition

Interior design of Column Residence

Amid high competition in the propertydevelopment mar¬ket, particularly from foreign companies, Thai condominium Column Residence outshines the others on Sukhumvit Soi 16 - a loca¬tion preferred for foreigners and businessmen.

Column Residence, an executive servicedapartment project, is locat¬ed in the Column Tower between Ratchadapisek Road and Sukhumvit Soi 16.

Located in the heart of the city, the project offers the added benefit of proximity to Bangkok's BTS, MRT and highways.

Although most condominiums and serviced apartments in the area are operated by foreign chains, Column Residence is efficiently run by a Thai management team.

Developed by Gateway Estate under the MDX Group, Column Residence was refurbished in February into modern serviced apartments after the economic cri¬sis of 1997 and is now available for short and longterm stay.

Gateway Estate is also the owner and developer of Column Tower, which offers office space and serviced apartments for rent.

The Column Residence began with an initial capital of Bt1 million in 1990, which later increased to Bt200 million in 1995.

Pracha Hetrakul is a major share¬holder with a 70 per cent share, fol¬lowed by Jakkris Matechanan and Kwokwa Oyeng.

Column Residence deputy gen¬eral manager Charlie Jutabha said that the company had initially planned to hand over management to a foreign company but certain conditions made them change their mind.

"We decided to run the project ourselves and that was the best deci¬sion we could have made," Charlie said, adding that the company has gradually opened more rooms for rent to cater to the rising demand.

Column Residence, a luxurious tower with 42 floors, has serviced apartments from the 26th to the 42nd floor, with 234 rooms avail¬able for rent.

The company provides spacious rooms with amenities that combine comfort and quality to encourage customers to stay for long durations.

At present, up to 50 per cent of residents are longstaying cus¬tomers, who stay for more than three months.

Thirty to 40 per cent are corpo¬rate customers who rent the apart¬ments for daily or weekly use.

The rest, mostly Japanese and American customers, stay for at least a year.

As of now, most of the customers of the apartments are from the Middle East.

Charlie said this project stands apart from other serviced apart¬ments due to its location, which offers a view of the lake in Bangkok's Benjakitti park, next to Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

It is also enables convenient com¬muting via BTS, MRT, Sukhumvit Road and Rama 4 Road.

Visitors can enjoy the unique Thai restaurant Long Table on the 25th floor.

The restaurant, designed with modern Thai decor, is a creation of the Orbit Design Studio.

Long Table showcases works of art using a widescreen LCD televi¬sion. Besides contemporary fine, Thai dining, the restaurant also daz¬zles the diner with Bangkok's night view. The restaurant is open from 11 am to 2 am.

The apartments come with luxu¬ry facilities, such as bathrooms equipped with a separate shower area and a bath tub, independently controlled airconditioning system, parquet flooring and a safety deposit box in each room.

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Local condo project outshines competition

Column Residence offers accessibility, luxury, fine dining

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