Rifle Range Flats at Taman Rifle, Air Itam, Penang

Existing Conditions

Rifle Range consists of 9 blocks of flats.

Blocks A, B, F, G, H & J are 17 stories high (16 stories and ground floor) whereas Blocks C, D & E are 18 stories high (17 stories and ground floor).

Block	No. of Storey (incl. Ground)	Apt. unit per floor	Private Ownership	Govt. Owned Units	Gen Set/Switch Rooms	Klinik	Commercial Units	Unit for Rent	Others*	Total Units
A	17	24	393	3	1	3	8			408
B	17	24	393	2	1		12			408
C	18	24	430		1				1	432
D	18	24	430		1				1	432
E	18	24	242	4	1			184	1	432
F	17	24	396		1		11			408
G	17	24	395		1		12			408
H	17	24	394	1	1	1	8		3	408
J	17	24	62	1	1		11	333		408
TOTAL			3135	11	9	4	62	517	3	3744

* Others: Block C-1 unit is for PERDUSA; Block D- 1 unit for lift caretaker and lift contractor, Block E-1 unit for the maintenance contractor, Block H- 3 units are for the Rifle Range Development Office.

ITEMS			No. of Units
Private Ownership			3135
Quarters and Others			8
Govt Owned Units for Rental
1.  PBA Rental (Block J)		68
2.  Rented to Public
·         Block E ·         Block J	153 129
		282
3. Empty Units
·         Block E ·         Block J	9 8
		17
4. Damaged Units
·         Block E ·         Block J	22 128
		150	517
			3660

Typical Floor Plans - not to scale

1 Bedroom Unit
1 Bedroom Units are intermediate units of 36 s.m. There are 3072 units.

2 Bedroom Unit
2 Bedroom Units are end units with an area of 38.7 s.m. There are a total of 588 units.

There are a total of 62 units of commercial lots at the ground floor of all the blocks - 11 end units of 17 s.m and 51 intermediate units of 36 s.m.

Issues

There are two main issues that plague Rifle Range at present - a lack of car parks and illegal hawkers.

Cars and parking

Even though the residential units are meant for low wage income owners, over the years, tenants have been able to own cars.

According to a report conducted by University Sains Malaysia, there is approximately 1 car to 3.3 residential units. This makes finding a car park space in the evenings a nightmare both for residents as well as visitors.

Illegal hawkers

Presently, there are also approximately 80 roadside hawkers who ply their trade in between the open spaces of Blocks F, G, and H from 5 p.m in the evening to 10 p.m at night.

Although popular with the inhabitants, there is concern on proper sanitation, disposal of rubbish, as well as health and safety for the people who visit the space.

There is also a bazaar (covered market) which has a total of 259 stalls -134 hawkers and 124 retail stalls. This bazaar is operational from 7 a.m to 2 p.m.

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