Puri Garden is a midrange apartment tower of 31 floors for a total of 320 units. Built in 2005 by a developer called PT Mitra Prima Sejahtera, it has been plagued by issues including a fire and a permit violation.

I visited the property with an agent in 2019 and this is my full review of it:

Location:

Neighborhood and Transportation

In which neighborhood of Jakarta is Puri Garden located?

Location of Puri Garden in Jakarta

Puri Garden is located in West Jakarta, in the district of Kembangan. More specifically, it is in Puri Indah, a rapidly-developing area that is currently being transformed into a new business district of Jakarta. These changes are initiated by three companies, the Pondok Indah Group, Ciputra International, and Lippo Group. You can read more about this on Wikipedia:

Wikipedia about Puri Indah

As a result, even though it is quite far from the city center of Jakarta, it is a rather modern neighborhood with good infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, malls, hospitals, schools, offices, apartments). Another interesting thing about this location is the proximity to the airport.

How does it look like around the apartment?

Surroundings of Puri Garden in Puri Indah

Surroundings of Puri Garden

Surroundings of Puri Garden

By car, with normal traffic conditions, how far is it from:
– Jakarta Airport (CGK): 35 minutes
– Grand Indonesia Mall: 55 minutes
– Sudirman Business District: 50 minutes
– Kota Tua: 60 minutes
– Kemang: 60 minutes

Public transportation and access to highways:
Suprisingly for a business area, the public transportation options in Puri Indah are very poor. There is only 1 TransJakarta line going there, 3E from Puri Kembangan to Sentraland Cengkarang. It stops about 350 meters from Puri Garden at the halt Walikota Jakarta Barat 1.

There are also no MRT, no LRT, and the nearest train station, Rawa Buaya, is almost 5 kilometers away.

It’s better if you use a car since you have a major highway interexchange 400 meters away that gives you access to the Jakarta Outer Ring Road and the Jakarta-Tangerang Toll Road.

Landmarks Nearby

What are the important landmarks nearby?
There are a few landmarks you can go to within a short car ride or even walking distance:

Malls:
Puri Indah Mall (5 minutes by foot): A large mall targeting the upper-middle class with many popular brands (fashion, sports, accessories, beauty, kids, home, etc). It has a Metro department store, a XXI cinema, a Hero supermarket, a Celebrity Fitness gym, and an F&B area.

Lippo Mall Puri (5 minutes by foot): This new shopping center, near Puri Indah Mall, is more upmarket and trendy. It has Sogo and Parkson department stores, a FoodHall supermarket, fashion stores like H&M, Forever 21, Uniqlo and Zara, a XXI Cinema, and a Fitness First gym. It also has a good selection of restaurants and cafés.

Px Pavillion (5 minutes by foot): Upmarket boutique mall, just opposite Lippo Mall. It has a Gold’s Gym, a Ranch Market, a bookstore and several cafés/restaurants.

Supermarkets:
The nearest supermarkets are all within just a few minutes:
– Hero in Puri Indah Mall
– Hypermart Puri Indah
– Carrefour Puri Indah
– FoodHall Lippo Mall and Ranch Market Px Pavillion (best selection of imported products)

Restaurants and Nightlife:
You will find several decent restaurants in Lippo Mall, Px Pavillion, and Puri Indah Mall (all types of cuisine: Western, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc). There are also a few cafés selling alcohol, and an expat bar called Double Doors just 3 minutes by foot from Puri Garden.

Education:
Because it has a strong Indonesian Chinese population, you have many reputed schools in the area of Puri Indah. Most of them are private and Christian.

– Universities: Raffles College, Universitas Mercu Buana
– Schools: IPEKA, Global Sevilla, Global Nusantara, Bukit Sion, Ichthus School West Campus, Springfield, Notre Dame, Makarios, Holy Angels are within 5-10 minutes. A bit further (15 minutes), you have the international schools Bina Bangsa and Tunas Muda.
– Preschool: Acacia House, Kinderworld Montessori, Cedar World Academy Preschool, Tunas Muda Nursery, Tiara Kasih

Hospitals:
RS Pondok Indah (Puri Indah Branch) – Just 2 minutes away from Puri Garden.
A bit further: RS Siloam Kebon Jeruk

Offices:
Several companies (like Lippo, Ciputra, Pondok Indah Group) are developing the area of Puri Indah and along the Jakarta Outer Ring Road into a business district. Currently, there are already a few complexes such as Ciputra International, Puri Indah Financial Tower, and Lippo Office Tower.

Building Quality

Building and Architecture

Who is the developer?
Puri Garden was developed by a company called PT Mitra Prima Sejahtera. It is quite mysterious and I’m not sure it still exists. When I searched for it online, all I could find was that it was involved in a permit violation scandal.

Who is the architect?
The architect for this project was Megatika International. This local consultant company specializes in midrange properties, housing or apartments, and it is a frequent collaborator of Agung Podomoro Land. Some of their completed projects are Metro Park, Mediterania Garden Residence 1 and 2, Sudirman Park, Permata Hijau Residence, Bellezza Residence, Alam Sutra Mall, Da Vinci Tower, etc.

Who is the contractor?
The contractor was PT Cipta Sukses, a company that has been involved in projects like Megamas Manado or Metro Trade Center Bandung. I’m not sure it still exists. It may have been absorbed by Nusa Raya Cipta.

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):
This design is typical of the apartment towers built in Jakarta in the 90s and early 2000s (for instance the Mediterania complexes). It is a massive concrete building with small windows and balconies, painted in with a Mediterranean colour palette.

Puri Garden

Puri Garden architecture

Puri Garden facade

Entrance and Lobby:

Entrance to Puri Garden

Car drop off in Puri Garden

Lobby entrance of Puri Garden

Lobby of Puri Garden

Lobby Puri Garden

Reception desk in Puri Garden

Garden and landscaping:
There is a small garden surrounding the pool area:

Garden area in Puri Garden Apartments

Corridors and lifts:

Lifts in Puri Garden

Corridors in Puri Garden

Door to an apartment in Puri Garden

Size and Types of Apartments

The apartments’ size is approximately the following:

1-bedroom units (1 bathroom): 35-45m2
2-bedroom units (1 bathroom): 56-70m2
3-bedroom units (1 bathroom): 73-77m2

Here are a few photos I took inside a unit:

Kitchen in Puri Garden

Puri Garden Bathroom

Living room in Puri Garden

Bedroom in Puri Garden

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: 4.5
Tiles corridors: 4
Painting (wall, ceiling): 4
Lights: 4
Doors: 4.5
Windows: 4.5
Elevator: 6
Gym equipment: None
Pool equipment: 3
Furniture: 3.5
Artwork: 2

In the apartments:
Tiles/Parquet: 4
Bathroom equipment: 4.5
Kitchen equipment: 4.5

Overall Quality: 4.5/10

Comfort

Facilities and Services

What are the facilities provided in the property?

– Swimming pool (kids and adults):

Swimming pool in Puri Garden

Pool in Puri Garden

Pool area in Puri Garden

What are the services available within the property?
One of the posititve things about Puri Garden is that you have several convenient services on the ground floor: Minimarket, laundry, café, property agent, ATM, etc.

Services on the ground floor of Puri Garden

Shops in Puri Garden

Are there issues with the electricity supply?
I don’t have information about this.

Are there issues with parking?
I don’t have information about this.

Are there enough lifts?
Yes.

Atmosphere

Is the property busy?
The lobby is quite busy as there seems to be some offices in the first floors of the complex.

Is it noisy?
Not so much but you can hear cars.

What is the background of residents?
Most residents are Indonesians (including Indonesian Chinese).

Management

Maintenance

Are there visible damages?
Yes, it does feel like an old property eventhough it is “only” 15 years old.

Overall maintenance rating: 4.5/10

Cleanliness

The cleanliness was OK but some areas would need to be improved.

Overall cleanliness rating: 6/10

Gardening

The garden was properly maintained.

Overall gardening rating: 7/10

Security

– Guards: There are 24/7 guards at the gates of the property.
– CCTV cameras: In the lobby.
– Access: You need an access card to reach the lift area:

Overall security rating: 7.5/10

Hospitality

The staff is friendly and professional.

Overall hospitality rating: 7.5/10

Rooms and Prices

Prices at Puri Garden may vary depending on many factors such as the floor, the unit type, the room condition and the furnishings.

Be aware that you may also need to pay for additional fees: Service charge (IPL), parking fee, electricity and water bills, etc.

Here are a few examples of prices and ratios for this property:

2-bedroom (56m2) – Well-furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: Approximately IDR 48 million (or IDR 12 million per month)
• Buy: Approximately IDR 900,000,000
• Break Even Point (Buying Price/Gross Annual Rental): 18.75 years
• Average buying price/m2: IDR 16 million/m2

Would I buy this property? (On a scale from 0 = “not at all” to 10 = “yes absolutely” ):
2/10 because old, many problems in the past, and not a reputed developer.