Taiwan Land Development Corp (TLDC, 台灣土地開發) aims to build more than 600 “green” homes in Hualien that will not be put on the market, but made available for purchase only to “qualified” members via an invitation.
“We will limit the sales of the apartments to members who share the same longing for a healthy lifestyle and the same appreciation for nature and the environment,” TLDC chairman Chiu Fu-sheng (邱復生) said at a media briefing in Hualien.
The media personality-turned-developer plans to invite 500 members nationally and abroad to be part oh the home project called “Sunrise Village.”
The village is to have of 637 furnished apartments on a 37,000 ping (122,100m2) plot of land in Hualien Bay (洄瀾灣), beginning at NT$10 million (US$301, 606), Chiu said.
It is the first time the concept of membership is to be used in local real-estate purchases, although the practice is commonplace in foreign markets, Chiu said.
About 100 artists, physicians, academics, entrepreneurs and in Taiwan and Hong Kong have expressed buying interest, Chiu said, adding that all potential buyers are subjected to a review by a standing committee to help guarantee the living quality of the complex.
TLDC has joined forces with UK engineering consultant firm ARUP, Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group, and Japanese information science professor Ken Sakamura in turning the undeveloped lot into a “smart” and “green” community.
There will be no light switches in Sunrise Village apartments. Owners can control their electronic, electrical and home appliances via handsets, tablets and personal computers, Chiu said.
People will be unaware of high-technology in future living spaces, as there will be no more “user controls,” Chiu said, citing Ken Sakamura.
Rather, residential functions are likely to be controlled through sensors on the Internet of Things, making life more convenient, the builder said.
The community is also to be built with smart meters and other energy-efficient devices and materials, allowing residents to cut electricity consumption by between 27 and 32 percent a year, compared with average residential buildings elsewhere in Taiwan, Chiu said.
TLDC has yet to finalize the pricing strategy for the vacation home project, which is part of a plan to develop a resort hotel, movie theaters, restaurants, retail stores and other commercial spaces in Hualien Bay.
The company plans to complete construction on the home project by 2017, after the Suhua Highway improvement project is finalized, Chiu said.
Shares in TLDC yesterday closed up 0.47 percent to NT$10.65 in Taipei trading, outpacing the TAIEX’s 0.11 percent rise, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
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