Gaysorn Property Co is opening its third residential building in Thong Lor, a luxury condominium marketed towards hip, wealthy Thai families.
The Tela Thonglor is a 32-storey, 84-unit building on Sukhumvit Soi 55 with four units on each floor that Gaysorn began developing 4-5 years ago, taking 1.5 years to complete the design. The building has about 90% occupancy, with only five units left including the penthouse. Some 90% of the tenants are Thais.
Units start at 73 million baht, with the four-bedroom, fully furnished, designer penthouse going for 255 million baht.
"It's not just about the condominiums but the concept as a whole," said Charn Srivikorn, chairman of Gaysorn Property. "We wanted to include aspects of quality design, craftsmanship, services and engaging activities to build a community."
Mr Charn said Gaysorn was able to attract spillover clients from previous projects to fill Tela Thonglor -- those interested in the company's designs but who were not able to snag a condo at the developer's last two properties.
"We believe in adding to the neighbourhood," he said. "We're less concerned with selling out condos as much as creating a community."
The condo building offers community events around holidays and communal spaces for tenants to throw parties and events.
Gaysorn also used its resources to beautify the surrounding block, building a new sidewalk in the alleyway at Thong Lor Soi 13 and sprucing up the motorcycle taxi stand in front of the Tela building.
Fafuen Temboonkiat, managing director of Gaysorn Property, said the Tela building is the company's biggest and most ambitious residential project yet.
The other two residential spaces, Domus on Sukhumvit Soi 16 and Mode Sukhumvit 61, are eight-storey, low-rise luxury buildings with similar high-brow aesthetics to Tela Thonglor.
"The real estate market is in a period of uncertainty," Mr Fafuen said. "Prices are still quite high, but there remains much uncertainty in the market for investors."
With a possible recession looming globally, some real estate investors are getting skittish. Mr Fafuen said Tela had success in selling its units to people actually intending to live in the residence, apart from those simply investing in new assets.
Gaysorn is heavily promoting its one-of-a-kind custom penthouse (still on the market), called the Tela Sky Villa, a four-bedroom residence fully furnished by italian designer Roberto Cavalli. Adorned with silk, leather and velvet, the penthouse is a quasi-collectible item for the ultra-rich.
"We're looking for condo collectors," Mr Charn said. "It's truly one of a kind, and once it's gone, it's gone."