THERE is a new twist in issues relating to an office tower at Empire City Damansara, an integrated lifestyle commercial development by Mammoth Empire Holdings Sdn Bhd (MEH).
It had been reported that Tower H of Empire City posed safety hazards despite having a Certificate of Fitness.
However, MEH group executive director Datuk Danny Cheah said the allegations were baseless.
“We wish to clarify that the 20-storey building is currently tenanted. MEH is occupying four floors. Grab has taken up four floors and we have been operating here since 2017. If the building is unsafe, Grab and MEH will not be here,” he told NST Property.
A report by Campaign Asia-Pacific had alleged that Tower H had several issues that are believed to have been raised mainly by employees of WPP, one of the building’s tenants.
WPP had signed a tenancy agreement with MEH on July 1 2018 to take up 10 floors in Tower H for five terms of three years each. In the same month and August, WPP moved 13 agencies and agency groups including Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Group M, Ogilvy, Geometry Malaysia, Wunderman and J Walter Thompson to Tower H.
Campaign Asia-Pacific stated that the employees were worried about their safety.
The publication reported about a series of “incidents” that included long power disruption, unreliable lifts, pest infestation, shattering windows, poor emergency procedures and safety.
It was also reported that five floors in Tower H were still technically under construction when more than 700 WPP employees moved into the building.
The final straw came on November 13, when the power supply to Tower H and two other blocks was interrupted during working hours.
It was also reported that following the incident, WPP had issued a statement, saying it had closed its offices in the building pending an investigation.
According to Campaign Asia-Pacific, agency employees were operating out of coworking spaces spread around the city, while WPP works with the building owner on the issues.
A recent phone call to WPP office, however, confirmed that some of the group’s agencies are still occupying two floors (11th and 20th) in Tower H.
Cheah said the issues highlighted in the articles were isolated incidents and as a responsible developer, MEH had taken immediate measures to address, remedy and resolve the issues.
He also said WPP and MEH are in constant communication to upgrade the building for the safety and comfort of the occupants.
“As a matter of fact, there are other tenants occupying the building including the staff of MEH, hence any purportedly claim of unsafe building is untenable. MEH takes cognisance of the situation encountered by WPP and gives them assurance that safety has never been an issue and is not compromised under any circumstances.
“We are completing the additional improvement works requested by WPP. We want to meet stringent and international standards, so we must go through all these and will accommodate their request,” said Cheah.
Empire City Damansara is the flagship and largest mixed development by MEH in Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya.
The RM5 billion project will have 11 towers upon its full completion which is expected before end-2020.
Cheah said eight towers had been completed.
“The remaining three towers will be completed between the second and fourth quarter of next year.”