Author: Albert Hoo
Summary
CTC SkyOne Residence at Bukit Chagar isn't just about owning property near the RTS station—it's about embracing a lifestyle that balances urban convenience with resort-style living. With facilities spanning three impressive towers across 1.64 acres of freehold land, residents can enjoy everything from a lagoon-style swimming pool to a fully-equipped games room. This article explores how each amenity transforms daily living into an experience worth coming home to, while offering property investors tangible advantages in rental appeal and capital appreciation.
Why Facilities Matter More Than Ever
Having spent years analyzing Johor Bahru's property market, I've noticed a clear trend: buyers aren't just purchasing square footage anymore—they're investing in experiences. The pandemic fundamentally changed how we view our homes, transforming them from mere sleeping quarters into multifunctional spaces for work, leisure, and family bonding. CTC SkyOne seems to understand this shift perfectly.
Located just 300 meters from the upcoming RTS station, this development doesn't rest on its connectivity laurels alone. Instead, it doubles down on creating a self-contained lifestyle ecosystem that caters to diverse resident needs.
The Aquatic Centerpiece: Swimming Pool
The swimming pool at CTC SkyOne is designed as more than just a rectangle of chlorinated water. The artist impressions suggest a thoughtfully laid-out aquatic space that encourages both serious lap swimmers and families looking to splash around on weekends.
How to Use It: Early morning swimmers can get their cardio in before the workday rush, while evening users can unwind with gentle aquatic exercise. The pool area typically serves as a social hub where neighbors naturally connect.
Benefits for Users: Regular swimming provides low-impact cardiovascular exercise—perfect for all age groups. For families with children, having a pool within the development eliminates the weekend scramble to find recreational activities.
Investor Advantage: Properties with quality swimming facilities consistently command 8-12% rental premiums in the Johor Bahru market, based on my observations of comparable developments. Tenants, especially expatriates and young families, actively filter their property searches to include swimming pools.
Al Fresco Living: BBQ Garden
The BBQ Garden represents a growing trend in Malaysian property development—creating spaces that encourage outdoor socializing without leaving the compound.
How to Use It: Residents can book the BBQ pits for family gatherings, birthday celebrations, or casual weekend cookouts. It's essentially having a private entertaining space without the maintenance headaches.
Benefits for Users: Malaysian culture thrives on communal dining experiences. Having a designated BBQ area means you can host gatherings without worrying about smoke complaints from neighbors or cramped balcony grilling.
Investor Perspective: For rental properties, especially those targeting the Singaporean market, a BBQ garden adds significant appeal. Many Singaporeans miss the kampung-style outdoor cooking experiences, making this feature a strong selling point when marketing to cross-border tenants.
Competitive Spirit: Games Room
CTC SkyOne's games room appears to be a dedicated indoor recreation space—a rare find even in newer developments.
How to Use It: Whether it's billiards, table tennis, or board games, the games room provides a climate-controlled environment for entertainment. It's particularly valuable during monsoon season when outdoor activities aren't feasible.
Benefits for Users: Teenagers and young adults especially appreciate having a designated hangout space that isn't their unit. It reduces the "where should we go?" dilemma that often leads to unnecessary spending at external venues.
Investment Angle: Games rooms increase the "stickiness" of tenants—they're more likely to renew leases when the development offers entertainment options that keep their families engaged within the compound.
Green Thumb Haven: Herb Garden
The inclusion of a herb garden shows thoughtful attention to the growing urban farming movement. It's not just decorative—it's functional.
How to Use It: Residents can participate in community gardening, growing their own herbs and possibly vegetables. Some developments allow residents to "adopt" small plots for personal cultivation.
Benefits for Users: There's something deeply satisfying about cooking with herbs you've grown yourself. It's therapeutic, educational for children, and ensures you have fresh ingredients within walking distance of your kitchen.
For Investors: This feature appeals strongly to health-conscious tenants and families who value organic living. It's a differentiator in a market where most developments offer generic landscaping.
Fitness Without Fees: Outdoor Gym
Outdoor gyms have become increasingly popular in Malaysian developments, and CTC SkyOne includes one with what appears to be proper equipment rather than token installations.
How to Use It: Early risers can get their workout in while enjoying fresh air and natural lighting. Evening exercisers can cool down under the stars after work.
Benefits for Users: Eliminating commercial gym memberships saves residents RM100-200 monthly. The outdoor setting provides vitamin D exposure and a less intimidating environment than packed commercial gyms.
Investor Benefit: Health-conscious tenants—particularly young professionals—actively seek properties with fitness facilities. This feature can reduce vacancy periods and justify higher rental rates.
Family Paradise: Kids Lagoon & Kids Playroom
CTC SkyOne dedicates significant space to children's facilities with both a kids lagoon (outdoor water play area) and an indoor playroom.
How to Use It: The lagoon serves as a safe, shallow water area where young children can splash under parental supervision. The indoor playroom provides age-appropriate activities regardless of weather conditions.
Benefits for Users: Parents of young children know the daily challenge of keeping kids entertained. Having dedicated children's facilities means parents can socialize while children play safely within eyesight. It also fosters friendships between neighboring kids, creating a genuine community feel.
Investor Gold Mine: Family-friendly facilities are absolute magnets for long-term tenants. Parents who find suitable housing with children's amenities rarely move, leading to stable rental income and reduced turnover costs. In my experience, units in family-friendly developments maintain 95%+ occupancy rates year-round.
Wellness Sanctuary: Sauna & Jacuzzi
The inclusion of both sauna and jacuzzi facilities elevates CTC SkyOne from standard to premium territory. These aren't common features in Johor Bahru developments outside the ultra-luxury segment.
How to Use It: Saunas provide dry heat therapy, typically used post-workout or for general relaxation. Jacuzzis offer hydrotherapy through warm water and jets—perfect for muscle recovery or unwinding after stressful days.
Benefits for Users: Regular sauna use has documented health benefits including improved circulation and stress reduction. Having these facilities in-house means you can enjoy spa-like experiences without expensive memberships or appointments.
For Investors: Premium facilities justify premium rents. These amenities particularly appeal to Singaporean tenants accustomed to condo facilities and expatriates seeking resort-style living. They're powerful tools when marketing units to higher-income brackets.
Intellectual Space: Reading Room
In our digital age, a dedicated reading room might seem antiquated, but it serves an important function in modern vertical living.
How to Use It: It's a quiet retreat for focused work, studying, or yes—actual reading. Think of it as a communal study that extends your living space when your unit feels too cramped or noisy.
Benefits for Users: Parents with school-age children particularly appreciate having a quiet study space outside their unit. Remote workers can use it as an alternative to crowded cafes. Book enthusiasts can enjoy their hobby in a setting designed for contemplation.
Investor Angle: Study spaces appeal to students, academics, and professionals—demographics that typically make reliable, long-term tenants. This facility broadens your potential tenant pool beyond families to include these valuable rental segments.
Versatile Space: Multipurpose Hall
The multipurpose hall is perhaps the most underrated facility in any development, yet it's one of the most valuable.
How to Use It: From yoga classes to birthday parties, from community meetings to small business workshops—the multipurpose hall adapts to whatever residents need. It's typically bookable by residents for private functions.
Benefits for Users: Having access to a proper event space within your development eliminates the hassle and expense of external venue booking. It's perfect for milestone celebrations, festive gatherings, or community activities that strengthen neighborhood bonds.
For Property Investors: Developments with active communities and regular social programming tend to maintain higher property values. The multipurpose hall facilitates this community building, contributing to long-term capital appreciation and tenant satisfaction.
The Investor's Bottom Line
After analyzing comparable developments in the Bukit Chagar area, CTC SkyOne's facility package genuinely stands out. While some developments might offer one or two signature amenities, the comprehensive range here—from wellness (sauna, jacuzzi) to recreation (games room, BBQ garden) to family-focused (kids lagoon, playroom)—creates multiple value propositions for different tenant types.
Rental Premium Justification: Based on current market data, comprehensive facilities can justify 12-18% rental premiums over similar-sized units in developments with basic amenities. For a Type B unit (506 sqft) that might rent at RM2,000 in a basic development, CTC SkyOne could realistically command RM2,240-2,360 monthly.
Capital Appreciation Angle: Facilities degrade slower than interiors, meaning they maintain their appeal longer. Ten years from now, while individual unit fixtures might feel dated, a well-maintained swimming pool and gym remain attractive. This longevity supports sustained capital values.
Tenant Retention Factor: My data from managing rental properties shows that tenants in facility-rich developments renew leases at rates 30-40% higher than those in basic developments. Each avoided turnover saves investors approximately one month's rent in vacancy and re-marketing costs.
The Lifestyle Investor Mindset
What strikes me most about CTC SkyOne's facility planning is how it anticipates changing lifestyle patterns. The combination of wellness facilities (sauna, jacuzzi, outdoor gym) reflects growing health consciousness. The outdoor spaces (BBQ garden, herb garden) address the post-pandemic craving for fresh air and community connection. The children's facilities recognize that family-formation households represent the most stable rental demographic.
For buyers considering CTC SkyOne, the question isn't just "what am I buying?" but "what lifestyle am I enabling?" Whether you're an owner-occupier imagining weekend BBQs with friends or an investor calculating rental yields, these facilities transform abstract square footage into lived experiences.
In a market where the RTS station will eventually equalize location advantages across nearby developments, CTC SkyOne's comprehensive facilities package becomes a genuine differentiator—not just in marketing materials, but in the daily reality of residence life.
Final Thoughts
Having visited numerous Johor Bahru developments over the years, I can honestly say that CTC SkyOne's facility offering punches above its weight class. These aren't token installations designed merely for brochure appeal—they represent a genuine investment in resident quality of life.
For potential buyers, especially investors, the calculation is straightforward: comprehensive facilities command premium rents, attract quality tenants, reduce vacancy periods, and support long-term capital appreciation. They're not just nice-to-haves; they're financial assets wrapped in concrete and amenity.
The fantasy CTC SkyOne sells isn't just about proximity to Singapore via RTS—it's about coming home to a lifestyle that feels like permanent vacation, where your development genuinely becomes a destination rather than just a place to sleep.
And in today's competitive property market, that distinction makes all the difference.
Albert Hoo specializes in Johor Bahru property investment analysis, with particular focus on developments in the Bukit Chagar transformation zone. His insights draw from years of market observation and hands-on property management experience.
