| 1 Utama | |
|---|---|
 | |
 1 Utama Shopping Centre | |
 Interactive map of the 1 Utama area | |
| Alternative names | One Utama, 1U, OU[1] |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Shopping mall |
| Architectural style | Contemporary |
| Location | Bandar Utama, 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama,Petaling Jaya, Malaysia |
| Coordinates | 3°08′53.34″N101°36′57.03″E / 3.1481500°N 101.6158417°E /3.1481500; 101.6158417 |
| Current tenants | AEON, Jaya Grocer,Parkson,TGV Cinemas,GSC Cinemas[1] |
| Opened | August 19, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-08-19)[2] |
| Renovated | June 2011; 14 years ago (2011-06)[3] |
| Cost | RM 89 million[3] |
| Renovation cost | RM 160 million[3] |
| Owner | Bandar Utama City Centre |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 5,590,000 sq ft (519,000 m2) |
| Floor area | 2,190,000 sq ft (203,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Developer | See Hoy Chan Holdings |
| Awards and prizes | EdgeProp Malaysia's Best Managed Property Awards 2019 |
| Designations | .png){kind=icon} Gold |
| Known for | Above 10 years retail category |
| Other information | |
| Number of stores | 713 |
| Number of anchors | 4[2] |
| Parking | 14,000 |
| Public transit access | KG09 SA01 Bandar Utama MRT station |
| Website | |
| www | |
| References | |
| [4] | |
1 Utama[1] is ashopping mall inBandar Utama,Selangor,Malaysia, with an area of 5,590,000 square feet (519,000 m2) and containing 713 stores. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Malaysia and the seventh-largest shopping mall in the world beforeIOI City Mall inPutrajaya surpassed it in 2022.[2] The first phase of the mall, now known as the "Old Wing", was opened in September 1995. With the increase in customer traffic and demand for retail spaces inside the mall, a second phase called "New Wing" was added in 2003.
An additional expansion of 592,015 square feet (55,000.0 m2) was added in 2018 with the addition of 1 Utama E. Today the mall houses multiple retail areas, restaurants, cafes, sports facilities, arainforest, and a bus station with national and international services. Current anchor tenants of the mall includeAEON Department Store and Supermarket, Jaya Grocer, and department storeParkson. The mall formerly housed Singaporean department storeTangs,[5] Japanese department storeIsetan,[6] and the firstIKEA store in Malaysia in 1996. The mall has received several awards, including Gold inEdgeProp Malaysia's Best Managed Property Awards 2019 (retail category)[4] and the Platinum Award for Shopping Complex of the Year in the Retail World Excellence Awards 2006/07 edition.[7]
In the 1990s, See Hoy Chan Holdings Group started developing a new town known asBandar Utama comprising both residential and commercial areas. As market demand for this location surged, the developer planned to build a mall in this town. The developer looked for inspiration for such a mall in theUnited States in 1993 before designing the first phase of the mall known as theOld Wing today. As the developer believed that the mall should come withanchor tenants, they signed an agreement withAEON to openJusco (later rebranded as AEON) as the main tenant in the mall.[2]
The mall was officially opened on August 19, 1995 with all premises fully rented by various tenants.[2] The cost of the construction of the first phase of the mall was RM89 million.[3] The firstIKEA store in Malaysia opened on April 25, 1996[8] in the mall with a good reception from customers during the first few days after opening. At that time, most IKEA products sold there were made in Malaysia includingdining tables,chairs,coffee tables,venetian blinds,cutting boards,toys andbed frames.[9] The IKEA store covered 7,431 square metres (79,990 sq ft) of space inside the mall.[10] Due to increased demand for IKEA products, the store was relocated to a bigger space inMutiara Damansara on August 14, 2003, becoming the largest IKEA store inAsia-Pacific at that time[11] until it was surpassed by another store inGwangmyeong,South Korea in 2014.[12]
As the mall faced increased demand for retail spaces, leading to a long tenant waiting list, the director of See Hoy Chan Holdings Group, Teo Chiang Kok, planned an expansion of the mall. This led to construction of the second phase, known as theNew Wing, to further accommodate increasing numbers of customers. Construction cost RM300 million and increased the number of retail lots from 220 units[13] to 600 units. The two blocks are connected by a covered pedestrian bridge.[14] The new section also includes anaviary,zoo,diving pool andclimbing wall. The mallsoft-opened on December 13, 2003,[13] with the grand opening taking place on April 2, 2004, officiated by theSultan of Selangor,Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. Ownership and management of the mall was transferred to Bandar Utama City Centre.[14]
The first renovation of the first phase (orOld Wing) took place in June 2011, 16 years after it opened, and cost RM160 million. The renovation included a relocation of the Jusco supermarket to the new area, additions of cinema screens, and a new entrance to the 1 First Avenue office building.[3] An additional expansion of 592,015 square feet (55,000.0 m2) inside the mall included the third phase (known as 1 Utama E) which was opened on January 24, 2018.[15] It features asurfing pool, askydivingwind tunnel and severalrestaurants andcafes which aim to make the mall a multi-sport and entertainment venue alongside shopping. The mall also added 500 more parking bays and pedestrian access toBandar Utama MRT station. Development of this phase cost RM150 million.[16]
1 Utama contains 203,000 square metres (2,190,000 sq ft) of retail space. Its 713 stores appeal to all economic strata,[4] from department stores such asAEON andParkson,[2] to high-end international chains and multiple restaurants such as the Food District food court,Din Tai Fung,KFC,McDonald's,Texas Chicken,Dunkin' Donuts andCarl's Jr. and twocinema chains,TGV Cinemas andGSC.[1] This mall previously housed the firstIKEA store in Malaysia,[11]Cold Storage,[17]MPH Bookstores.[18] andIsetan department store.[19] Aside from retail, 1 Utama offerssport amenities to the public including abowling alley,[20]baseball cage,[21]climbing wall,[22]surfing pool andskydivingwind tunnel.[23] Therainforest inside the mall was grown on October 25, 2003. It was done by extracting aTabebuia rosea tree from a nearby forest carried into the mall to create theforest canopy, whereas an additional 200 samplings of other species such asAlocasia,wild banana,Johanesteijsmannia,Aglaonema andPhyllagathis will be used asshrub layer. The rainforest opened to the public in November 2003.[24] As of 2019, the mall attracts more than 33 million visitors annually,[4] with peak traffic occurring during theholiday season.[25]
The mall is connected to several major roads includingLebuhraya Damansara Puchong[26] and Lebuh Bandar Utama.[4] In addition to providing 14,000 parking bays for cars, the mall also providesbicycle parking.[27] The car park is also equipped withelectric vehicle charging points.[28] The mall is accessible viapublic transport, includingMRT viaBandar Utama MRT station[29] or viabuses fromRapidKL bus service.[30]
There were twofires that broke out in the mall. The first fire was on February 25, 2013, which started in a storage facility in the children's playground equipment store which caused the whole building to experience apower outage.[31] The second fire occurred on July 11, 2014, when the fire broke out from thekitchen of one of thefood court. Both fires were minor, and no casualties were reported.[32]
In response to the abduction ofCanny Ong in a shopping center inBangsar which led to her death on June 13, 2003,[33] many shopping malls inKlang Valley strengthened their security in order to protect their customers, including One Utama shopping mall where the management deployed additionalpolicemen,guard dogs andsecurity guards to patrol the mall.[34] Despite this, there were several false alarms when some customers reported to police that theircars were stolen, when in fact the customers forgot where they had parked their cars.[35] DuringChinese New Year in 2014, a burglar stole jewellery worth RM10 million in one of the jewellery shops. The heist was planned by aLatin American gang in advance before executing the burglary, which included hiding inside the mall as it closed, cutting off electricity, disabling theburglar alarm system, stealingCCTV recording units and melting safe doors using anoxy acetylenetorch.[36]
A woman fell to her death from the 4th floor at the new wing on 19 May 2021. The incident happened at 1 pm. The mall emergency response team quickly handled the situation before handing it over to the police. The management of One Utama has confirmed that the police will be investigating the matter further.[37]
