State Tower

[DavidBrown]

Hi. I have found a state tower condo I like very much and I wanted to check here before I buy it. Are there any horror stories I should know about? Is there a huge crack down the middle I havent seen yet? Thanks everyone

[trogers]

This project has a rather interesting history. State Tower is the fourth name of the project. First name was Rangsan Tower, then Silom Precious Tower, and Royal Charoen Krung (RCK) Tower. Main contractor was the Korean Samsung Construction, an affiliate of Samsung Corp. Quality of construction was pretty good and the specified strength of concrete of the vertical members is still one of the highest of a high-rise. Columns and shear walls are built with 550KSC concrete, compared with 350KSC for buildings over 35 floors. I know this because the structural design engineer is a personal friend.

I have only one reservation in buying a condo unit in this project - it is a mixed development of hotel, service apartment, office and condo. What facilities belong to who, and how is the common fee calculated and shared among the different owners?

[DavidBrown]

This project has a rather interesting history. State Tower is the fourth name of the project. First name was Rangsan Tower, then Silom Precious Tower, and Royal Charoen Krung (RCK) Tower. Main contractor was the Korean Samsung Construction, an affiliate of Samsung Corp. Quality of construction was pretty good and the specified strength of concrete of the vertical members is still one of the highest of a high-rise. Columns and shear walls are built with 550KSC concrete, compared with 350KSC for buildings over 35 floors. I know this because the structural design engineer is a personal friend.

I have only one reservation in buying a condo unit in this project - it is a mixed development of hotel, service apartment, office and condo. What facilities belong to who, and how is the common fee calculated and shared among the different owners?

Wow thanks trogers- Im glad I asked!

The condos have an unusual agreement with Lebua hotel- they dont pay any maintanence fees because it is paid for by the hotel. In exchange the hotel gets control of the swimming pool and gym- if I want to use them I have to pay 30,000 baht plus VAT a year. I have no idea how long this exchange will last or what could potentially happen afterwards but as things stand Im ok with it.

Thats great that your friend is the structural design engineer and youre not warning me to avoid it- very reasurring

Edited July 3, 2010 by DavidBrown

[rak sa_ngop]

I find the huge internal well space of State Tower with the abandoned upper gallery levels terribly depressing, coupled with the netting to catch the jumpers. Mind you I did once meet somebody renting who enjoyed living there.

[samtam]

All the points made by previous posters are valid. If you feel comfortable in this environment, then proceed to buy. I looked at State Tower about 7 years ago - several units, there were a lot of empty ones. I do not know know what the occupancy is now, but I had a very uneasy feeling about the whole building - very "dead". I know my remarks are not scientific, but State Tower would be the last place I'd buy a condo, and there must be many good deals going in Sathorn/Silom. If you're new in Bangkok, I'd look around a bit more.

[trogers]

All the points made by previous posters are valid. If you feel comfortable in this environment, then proceed to buy. I looked at State Tower about 7 years ago - several units, there were a lot of empty ones. I do not know know what the occupancy is now, but I had a very uneasy feeling about the whole building - very "dead". I know my remarks are not scientific, but State Tower would be the last place I'd buy a condo, and there must be many good deals going in Sathorn/Silom. If you're new in Bangkok, I'd look around a bit more.

Perhaps because this project was a victim of the Asian Financial Crisis. Construction started in early 90s. Thus, the change of project owners and names.

Location wise, it is not for those who like nightlife and pub-hopping. But in terms of access to local and chinese food, Bangrak area is a favourite among locals. Next to Robinson is the area that does wholesales trading in seafood. I worked on the construction of the Shangri-la hotel for almost 3 years in the early 80s and thus is familiar with this area.

[123ace]

Without wanting to get in to too much detail (so I won't),but i would not buy in this building. It was certainly affected by the 97 crisis, however the problems with this builidng appear to run deeper than that.

Simply put, this buidling was never going to really work and the '97 crisis had little imapct on the eventual outcome. This is evident in how it has failed to really perform in the market in the 13 years following the criss, yet dozens of other buidlings have been concieved, launched and have successfully sold during this period.

Whilst I may think the design is utterly unoriginal and just followed the designers pet design theme at that time, others may appreciate its 'mock Grecko - Roman - Sino' theme. It's sister buiding over the river remains a shocking eyesore with little hope of gaining traction.

[trogers]

Without wanting to get in to too much detail (so I won't),but i would not buy in this building. It was certainly affected by the 97 crisis, however the problems with this builidng appear to run deeper than that.

Simply put, this buidling was never going to really work and the '97 crisis had little imapct on the eventual outcome. This is evident in how it has failed to really perform in the market in the 13 years following the criss, yet dozens of other buidlings have been concieved, launched and have successfully sold during this period.

Whilst I may think the design is utterly unoriginal and just followed the designers pet design theme at that time, others may appreciate its 'mock Grecko - Roman - Sino' theme. It's sister buiding over the river remains a shocking eyesore with little hope of gaining traction.

Those roman balustrades are the trademark of Prof. Rangsan. The sister (and failed) condo is not across the river, but across the T-traffic light junction - called Sathorn Unique Tower.

[trajan]

all my out of town visitors invariably really enjoy the Sirocco and Skybar and Distil bar drinks at the top of State Tower....

a few have also stayed at LeBua Hotel in the building and have had very good reviews...

I dont have any experience in the private condos in the building, but as an entertainment area its pretty good...(plus just a very short taxi hop to Silom entertainment zone)

I would imagine that if you got the right unit, you would have amazing views too....(plus river views)

Im not a big fan of the building style, but understand that the per meter price for a condo is pretty low and with the extra funds can probably customize very very nicely.....

however, one comment I always get from visitors is "why is the lobby area so empty"??? The hotel lobby area is nice, but the commercial podium area in the lobby is strangely empty, which is odd because of the steady stream of foot traffic? not sure why...

[trogers]

all my out of town visitors invariably really enjoy the Sirocco and Skybar and Distil bar drinks at the top of State Tower....

a few have also stayed at LeBua Hotel in the building and have had very good reviews...

I dont have any experience in the private condos in the building, but as an entertainment area its pretty good...(plus just a very short taxi hop to Silom entertainment zone)

I would imagine that if you got the right unit, you would have amazing views too....(plus river views)

Im not a big fan of the building style, but understand that the per meter price for a condo is pretty low and with the extra funds can probably customize very very nicely.....

however, one comment I always get from visitors is "why is the lobby area so empty"??? The hotel lobby area is nice, but the commercial podium area in the lobby is strangely empty, which is odd because of the steady stream of foot traffic? not sure why...

Commercial podium area serves the offices above, and thus, is rather empty. It is not a shopping centre, though there may be a few shops serving hotel guests.

[RAZZELL]

however, one comment I always get from visitors is "why is the lobby area so empty"??? The hotel lobby area is nice, but the commercial podium area in the lobby is strangely empty, which is odd because of the steady stream of foot traffic? not sure why...

Commercial area next door is a empty. Traffic can be a nightmare to Suk.

How much is it?

President Park and adjoining Towers have decent units for sale which might be worth a look.

RAZZ

[trogers]

Traffic can be a nightmare to Suk.

RAZZ

Foreigners who choose to stay in Sathorn and Riverside are usually not lovers of Sukhumvit...

[quiksilva]

A while back I visited this property, looking for 1 bedroom condo units, and did not find them to my taste.

The entrance door opened to a windowless living room, with a door to the bedroom which thankfully did have windows with nice views. the layout was narrow and deep, so the windowless living room was dark in the day time and needed to be lit and if you wanted natural light, you'd need to have the bedroom door open.

Perhaps other rooms are better.

[trogers]

A while back I visited this property, looking for 1 bedroom condo units, and did not find them to my taste.

The entrance door opened to a windowless living room, with a door to the bedroom which thankfully did have windows with nice views. the layout was narrow and deep, so the windowless living room was dark in the day time and needed to be lit and if you wanted natural light, you'd need to have the bedroom door open.

Perhaps other rooms are better.

You can still find such so called 1-bedroom condo unit in new projects, when they should be classed as studio. A proper 1-bedroom would have window or sliding door/balcony for both bedroom and living area.

[jcon]

A while back I visited this property, looking for 1 bedroom condo units, and did not find them to my taste.

The entrance door opened to a windowless living room, with a door to the bedroom which thankfully did have windows with nice views. the layout was narrow and deep, so the windowless living room was dark in the day time and needed to be lit and if you wanted natural light, you'd need to have the bedroom door open.

Perhaps other rooms are better.

I think all of the bare shells were just long rectangular shoeboxes. Any "1br" that you would have seen would have been most likely just a partition between the two "sides" of the shoebox, which leads to the situation that trogers described where you won't get sun in the ''other'' part of the unit unless the partition is open.

I think the design with all units opening into the giant ''atrium'' is pretty depressing especially if there is nobody living there. I never noticed the netting that another poster mentioned, but certainly understand why they'd need it! I wouldn't be so happy to open my door and just see a giant ''dead nothing'' out there... That type of layout is better for a Holiday Inn or a prison IMO (Perhaps the 5th iteration of that building? )

OP I'd say buy somewhere else. The only thing good about that building is Sirocco and the land value of the building if it were razed to the ground. Just my 2 cents but it seems others pretty much come to the same conclusions.

[MrE]

I lived on the 40th floor of State Tower for a year from 2003-4. It was incredibly noisy, ie you could hear every cough, footstep or fart from the eight adjoining apartments including those above and below, TV, music, electrical appliances and every use of doors, cabinets and drawers. There were people on my floor who would cook the most nauseating smelling food with their door open and the stench would come into my apartment. I would often walk out of my apartment to find what I assumed were construction workers/repairmen lying around on the floor, or smoking or eating in the hallways. I never felt that my girlfriend was safe when I was not there. I complained about all of these things to management but they couldn't or wouldn't do anything to stop them. Like every other condo, serviced apartment or hotel in Thailand, their security was a sham. They had security doors and CCTV but no one was ever watching the monitors. The door guards would let in any white person or rich looking Thai or delivery person if they just said they were going to visit a fictional resident and gave an apartment number. Maybe things have changed since LeBua moved in since their management is exemplary.

[trogers]

I lived on the 40th floor of State Tower for a year from 2003-4. It was incredibly noisy, ie you could hear every cough, footstep or fart from the eight adjoining apartments including those above and below, TV, music, electrical appliances and every use of doors, cabinets and drawers. There were people on my floor who would cook the most nauseating smelling food with their door open and the stench would come into my apartment. I would often walk out of my apartment to find what I assumed were construction workers/repairmen lying around on the floor, or smoking or eating in the hallways. I never felt that my girlfriend was safe when I was not there. I complained about all of these things to management but they couldn't or wouldn't do anything to stop them. Like every other condo, serviced apartment or hotel in Thailand, their security was a sham. They had security doors and CCTV but no one was ever watching the monitors. The door guards would let in any white person or rich looking Thai or delivery person if they just said they were going to visit a fictional resident and gave an apartment number. Maybe things have changed since LeBua moved in since their management is exemplary.

This is a classic case of poor architectural concept. Building a tower enclosing a courtyard is a copied concept from the West, but, not copied in totality. Hotels with this concept usually have sound insulation and absorption treatments, and the central courtyard is air-conditioned - see Amari Atrium at New Petchaburi rd.

A condo means communal living. And if some occupiers do not understand such a style of living, you have noise, smell, and other disorders. I have not come across any condo that has sound treatment in the corridor area, nor is this area air-conditioned.

There are 2 styles of condo design that I personally will not touch, either as a buyer or tenant, a floor layout where there is no natural ventilation and light in the lift lobby and corridors (meaning this area is lit by artifical light 24/7), and a condo that has its swimming pool under cover (meaning no rain and direct sunlight will be on to the pool).

The first style is suited for a commercial building, and not a home of residence. And the 2nd style is only applicable to countries with snow and ice.