The 18th Residence

by | Mar 16, 2020

The 18th Residence consists of two twin towers of 33 floors (133 meters). Simply called North and South, they are an extension of Taman Rasuna, a massive residential complex of 17 towers. For this reason, they are often called the 18th and 19th Taman Rasuna towers, even though they actually do not share any common facilities with it.

Completed in 2007, the 18th Residence holds a total of 750 units (375 in each tower). With many 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units, it targets mostly young professionals, young couples and students.

It was developed by PT Bakrie Swasakti Utama (BSU), a subsidiary of PT Bakrie Land Development, which is the owner of the Rasuna Epicentrum superblock.

I stayed in the 18th Residence twice, for a couple days, and this is my complete review of it:

Location:

The following section is partly copied from my review of Taman Rasuna, which is located next to the 18th Residence.

Neighborhood

In which neighborhood of Jakarta is the 18th Residence located?

Location the 18th Residence

The 18th Residence is located in Karet, Setiabudi. It is a rather strategic location if you work in the Kuningan business district as you can access most offices on Jalan Rasuna Said in less than 15 minutes. It is also less than 30 minutes away from Jalan Sudirman, Jalan Gatot Subroto, Jalan Thamrin and Mega Kuningan.

More precisely, the 18th Residence is part of Rasuna Epicentrum, a 50-hectare superblock where you can also find the Epicentrum Mall, Club Rasuna (sports facilities), Plaza Festival, Aston Rasuna, Grand Rubina Business Park, restaurants, cafés, bars, etc.

By car, with normal traffic conditions, how far is it from:
– Jakarta Airport (CGK): 60 minutes
– Grand Indonesia Mall: 15-20 minutes
– Sudirman Business District: 20 minutes
– Kota Tua: 70 minutes
– Kemang: 40 minutes

How does it look like around the apartment?

Surroundings of the 18th Residence

Surroundings of the 18th Residence

What are the important landmarks nearby?

Nearby, there are a few landmarks you can go to:

Malls:
Epicentrum Walk (5 minutes by foot): A modern shopping center, quite small, with some affordable restaurants (Asian food), a bar, a well-stocked supermarket (Farmer’s Market), and an XXI cinema. It is between 2 minutes and 6 minutes walking distance, depending on which tower you are staying in.

Plaza Festival (10 minutes by foot): A middle-class mall with a variety of cheap shops, a Matahari department store, cafés and restaurants (including fast food like McDonald’s, A&W, Pizza Hut).

Supermarkets:
Farmer’s Market in Epicentrum Walk

Restaurants:
There is a cheap food court in Taman Rasuna with some warungs serving Indonesian food. You also have a café near the swimming pool.

For better quality, you can go to Epicentrum Walk or Pasar Festival. Most serve Indonesian food for a decent price (around IDR80,000 for a meal). For Western food, I like Aphrodite, Liquid Exchange or the upscale Bluegrass (on the ground floor of Bakrie tower). 2 minutes from it, you can also try the restaurants of the Grand Rubina Business Park such as Trattoria (Italian), Saigon Café (Vietnamese) and Carl’s Jr (Burgers).

A bit further away (10 minutes), you can go to Setiabudi One. It is a food court with a large variety of restaurants and coffee shops: Gula Merah, Dapur Sunda, Burger King, Starbucks, Duck King, etc.

Bars and Nightlife:
Two expat bars are located nearby: Aphrodite (sports and billiard) and Liquid Exchange (sports). Both are quite popular and they belong to the same owner. Another option, more sophisticated, is the trendy Bluegrass that specializes in steaks and grilled meat.

Finally, for real party, you can go to the nightlife district of Mega Kuningan (Basque Bar, Loewy, Bauhaus, etc).

Universities:
Bakrie University

Junior/High Schools:
Royal Primary Academy (Sekolah Royal Tunas Mulia): This school is inside The Kuningan Place.
Highscope (from preschool to high school)

Preschools:
ISEC preschool in Epicentrum Mall.

Hospitals:
MMC Hospital

Parks:
About 10 minutes away by car, you have small parks like Taman Menteng or Taman Tangkuban Perahu. You can also walk a bit in the Rasuna Epicentrum area, for instance along the river:

Surroundings of Epicentrum mall, just 5 minutes walking distance from the 18th Residence

There is a nice garden in Taman Rasuna as well, but you are normally not allowed to use it. However, if you tell the guards that you want to meet some friends at the café by the pool, they will let you in.

Walking track in Taman Rasuna’s garden

Offices:
Many office towers are nearby: Bakrie, Cyber 2, Menara Karya, etc.

Embassies:
Many within easy reach: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, India, Holland, India, UK, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Belarus, Hungary, etc.

Transportation

Is there a Transjakarta bus stop nearby?

Halte Busway GOR Sumantri to The 18th Residence

Transjakarta near the 18th Residence

The closest Transjakarta station is GOR Sumantri in front of Plaza Festival. You can go there by foot in 10-15 minutes, or use a free shuttle. GOR Sumantri is served by the lines 6A, 6M, 6F, 6H and 4D, going directly to Ragunan, Dukuh Atas, Senen, Lebak Bulus, Manggarai, and TU Gas.

Is there a train station nearby?
Not really. The closest ones are Manggarai and Sudirman but they are at least 3 kilometers away.

How about the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) or LRT (Light Rapid Transit)?
In the future, an LRT station should be located at GOR Sumantri in front of Plaza Festival.

Building Quality

Building and Architecture

What is the reputation of the developer?
The 18th Residence was built by PT Bakrieland Development Tbk (through its subsidiary PT Bakrie Swasakti Utama). This company is behind most projects in Rasuna Epicentrum such as the Bakrie Tower, Taman Rasuna, The WaveThe Grove, Aston Rasuna, Plaza Festival and Epicentrum Walk.

I visited all the properties listed above and they are often disappointing (except Taman Rasuna which is still ok after 20 years). There is a gap between the marketing (what is promised) and what is actually delivered. Also, the Bakrie Group is behind many controversies in Indonesia and it is not particularly known for its integrity (see Sidoarjo mudflow).

Who is the architect?
The 18th Residence was designed by Arc Pac (Architects Pacific Group), an international firm that designed, among others, Taman Rasuna, Plaza Indonesia, Batavia Apartments, Menteng Eksekutif, Casablanca Apartments and Puri Casablanca.

Who is the contractor?
The contractor was PT. Hutama Karya, a company that also built the Bakrie tower, Senopati Suites, the Grove, and H Residence. They are currently working on Jakarta’s MRT.

What is the situation with the land certificate?
The developer has a Hak Guna Bangunan Murni, which means the property was built on its own land. As an apartment owner, you get a “Strata Title di atas HGB Murni”.

Design and Appearance

How does the building look like?

From Outside (Facade):

From the outside, it is not really pretty to be honest. It is a massive concrete block with an ugly grey paint. Hopefully, they will repaint it soon because it looks quite old now.

Google Street View of 18th Residence

Architecture The 18th Residence

Entrance:

Entrance of 18th Residence Jakarta

Entrance The 18th Residence

Reception/Lobby:

There are two reception desks and two lobby, one for each tower (North and South):

Reception Desk The 18th Residence

Lobby of The 18th Residence

Landscaping and Public Areas:

The public areas in the 18th residence are very small. Basically, there is only the swimming pool and no real garden.

Swimming pool in The 18th Residence

Corridors and lifts:

They look small and a bit dirty:

Apartment door of The 18th Residence

Corridor near lift in The 18th Residence

Lifts in corridors of The 18th Residence

Corridors of The 18th Residence

Lift in The 18th Residence

Floor of lift in The 18th Residence

How spacious are the apartments?
The apartments’ size is the following:

– 1-bedroom units = 38m2, 44m2, 48m2 (1 bathroom)
– 2-bedroom units = 61m2, 73m2 (1 bathroom)

Materials and Equipment

What is the quality of the materials, furniture, and equipment used in the construction?
This is an evaluation of the quality I observed (ranked from 1 – worst – to 10 – best):

In common areas:
Tiles lobby: 4
Tiles corridors: 5
Painting: 3
Lighting: 4
Doors: 4
Ceiling: 4
Elevator: 5
Gym equipment: 5
Pool equipment: 5
Furniture: 4

In the apartments:
Tiles/Parquet: 5
Bathroom equipment: 5
Kitchen equipment: 5

Overall Quality: 4.5/10

Comfort

Facilities and Services

What are the facilities provided in the property?

– Swimming pool: It is quite small considering there is only one for 750 units. I wish they had planted more trees or plants to make the area feel more relaxing. Also, the water is cold as it is almost always in the shade.

I advise you to go to the Taman Rasuna pool instead (as I mentioned before, you are not allowed to but you can tell the guards you want to go to the café).

Swimming pool The 18th Residence

– Gym: It is small but if you just want to train casually, it will do the job.

Gym and fitness in The 18th Residence

Gym in The 18th Residence

What are the services available within the property?
There are a few services available on the ground floor: An ATM, a minimarket, a café and a laundry. If you walk for 5 minutes, you can reach the retail space of Taman Rasuna with a food court and a few useful shops (including a salon).

ATM and Convenience store in The 18th Residence

Food court and retail space in Taman Rasuna

Are there issues with the electricity supply?
None that I know about.

Are their issues with parking?
None that I know about.

Are there enough lifts?
Yes.

Atmosphere

Is the property busy?
Yes, it is quite busy. There are 750 units on a small property so you can always see other people.

Is it noisy?
Yes, the eastern side can be noisy during prayer time as it faces a kampung with a couple of mosques.

Kampung next to the 18th Residence (East side)

What is the background (ethnicity, social status) and attitude of residents?
Most residents are young executives, students or couples. There are also about 20% of expats.

Management

Maintenance

How old is the property?
It was completed in 2007.

Are there visible damages?
Yes. Sometimes, it looks even worse than Taman Rasuna which is 10 years older. Here are a few maintenance issues I saw:

Maintenance issue – Paint is damaged in corridors

Maintenance issue: The button should really be repaired

Facade of The 18th Residence – Needs to be repainted!

Overall maintenance rating: 5/10

Cleanliness

I found the property to be clean enough.

Overall cleanliness rating: 6.5/10

Gardening

No real garden

Overall gardening rating: No Rating

Security

Guards: On duty at the lobby 24/7
CCTV cameras: In the lobby and lift
Access: You need an access card to reach the lift.

Overall security rating: 8/10

Hospitality

The staff is friendly and professional. However, a few times there was nobody to be found at the reception.

Overall hospitality rating: 7/10

Rooms and Prices

Prices at the 18th Residence may vary depending on many factors such as the floor, the unit type, the room condition and the furnishings. Some units also have a private lift.

Be aware that you may also need to pay for additional fees: Service charge, parking fee, electricity and water bills, etc. Here are a few examples of prices and ratios for this property:

1-Bedroom (48m2) – Well-furnished:

  • Rental 1 Year: Approximately IDR 66 million (or 5.5 million per month)
  • Buy: Approximately IDR 950,000,000
  • Break Even Point (Buying Price/Gross Annual Rental): 14.3 years
  • Average buying price/m2: IDR 19.8 million/m2

Investment Potential

Reasons to buy:
Relatively strong demand from renters as there are not many budget/midrange apartment complexes in this area of Jakarta
Popular location for expats

Reasons NOT to buy:
Disappointing property in terms of facilities
Poor maintenance
There are better apartment towers that are opening with similar price

Would I buy this property? (On a scale from 0 = “not at all” to 10 = “yes absolutely” ): 4/10

Address

The 18th Residence Apartments
Jalan Taman Rasuna Timur, Menteng Atas,
Setiabudi, South Jakarta 12960, Indonesia
Website: Rasuna Epicentrum – 18th Residence
Phone number: +62 878 82 22 98 88

 

More Photos

My Ratings

I do my best to write honest and detailed reviews of the apartments I visit. If you disagree with my rating, please let me know why and leave your own rating at the end of this page.

The 18th Residence
2.8 / 5 My Rating
{{ reviewsOverall }} / 5 Readers' Rating (3 votes)
What I Liked
- Location near Jakarta's business district
- Affordable price
- Many services available nearby, especially in Taman Rasuna's retail space and in Epicentrum Mall
What I Didn't Like
- Small public area and no garden
- Maintenance should be improved
- Limited facilities
Location
Quality
Comfort
Management
Value
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