Circo @ Pantai

Bangsar South is a modern, master-planned township on the southern edge of Bangsar, built by UOA Development over the last two decades on the former Kampung Kerinchi land. It is first a place to work: the commercial half has been an MSC Malaysia Cybercentre since 2010, and its office towers hold international employers including Alibaba, Lazada and Pfizer. High-rise serviced apartments and condominiums fill the rest, and they house the people who work there, young professionals above all, plus students from the University of Malaya next door.

Once written off as a day town that emptied at night, it has matured into a self-sufficient neighbourhood. Nexus and The Sphere hold shops, restaurants and cafes, from roti canai stalls to international chains, with groceries and convenience stores throughout, and Mid Valley is a short drive away. Covered walkways and link bridges connect most of the township, so a resident can walk to the office, the shops and the train without crossing a main road in the rain. Landscaped streets and a large forest reserve with hiking trails along one edge soften the towers.

Transport is its strength. Kerinchi and Universiti stations on the LRT Kelana Jaya line serve it, a free township shuttle runs to the stations, and the Federal Highway, the New Pantai Expressway and the SPRINT all feed in. An MRT3 station is planned for the nearby Pantai corridor. Being ringed by highways has a price: traffic noise from the roads and the LRT, and local roads that are narrow and jam at peak hours.

Building has not stopped, and new residential and office towers keep arriving. Supporters call it a well-planned township that is still maturing; critics call it a concrete jungle with too much supply. Prices sit well below Bangsar proper, which is much of its appeal.