THE launch of the residential phase at the RM1.8bil Edusphere in Cyberjaya yesterday saw all 352 units snapped up within hours.

The swift take-up defies the trend in the current soft market and is a repeat of developer HCK Capital Group Bhd’s success in June where all 505 units of its Edusentral@ Setia Alam service apartments sold out within hours of the launch.

The launch yesterday involved the first two of its six residential towers – Covington Suites and Foster Suites.

The units were priced between RM272,000 and RM538,000, making the project one of the most competitively-priced in Cyberjaya.

“Buyers know that having an education component will enhance demand for accommodation as well as retail traffic and this is why we went ahead and build the education component first,” said HCK Capital Group executive chairman Tan Sri Clement Hii.

Both Edusphere and Edusentral are part of the group’s “edu-series” projects that comprise residential, commercial and education components designed as a self-contained community.

HCK Group Growth Strategies and Alliances group executive director Clifford Hii said the heart of the project is education, whereby they included the Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS) and Peninsula International School Australia in Edusphere and Edusentral, respectively.

“Education is the only thing that cannot be digitalised in this digital era and by putting education centres in our projects, it will command a constant traffic inside the area,” he said.

CUCMS will have a capacity of 12,000 students and will commence classes in the first quarter of next year.

Peninsula International School Australia will also start their classes in early 2018.

Edusphere is on 97124.5 sq m freehold land comprising six towers of service suites, an office tower, 66 units of retail shop lots and CUCMS.

The units come with energy-saving features such as rainwater-harvesting system and some of them have dual-key access to allow for multi-generational living.