......Maybe it’s a trait peculiar to the Brits, I can’t say for sure, but, in addition to doing things like supporting the underdog, I always like to see people responding to their critics and doubters in a positive way, writes John Davids.
And certainly that’s the case at The Cove condominium development at Wong-Amat.
The Cove is the first property development undertaken by Itthi Chalittamrong, the youngest son of the family that owns large areas of Pattaya’s Naglua district.
As such, of course, Khun Itthi is no underdog. Far from it! But, when he announced his intention to create The Cove he had his doubters. It was his first real step into property development and there were those who felt he might not be able to pull it off.
Here in Pattaya, as we know, doubt about the feasibility of projects seems to increase in direct proportion to the ambition shown by the developers.
But Khun Itthi has pulled it off. Within 10 months of the project being started the 17-storey (plus underground car park) structure is complete and ready to be “topped out”.
Naturally, that doesn’t mean the condo overall is at an end. The fat lady isn’t singing. Indeed, she is not even gargling with mouthwash in preparation, but the structure is there for all to see. And that’s more than can be said for some projects that get as far as the fourth floor and are then left to rust and crumble.

High-end names
To get to where he wanted to be Khun Itthi chose to surround himself with some of the building industry’s high-end and well established names.
He picked Design 103 International as his architects and Power Line Engineering to carry out the construction work. CEDA Co Ltd provide project management and engineeering designs.
The building work has been carried out at great pace, helped by the fact that financing for it was not dependent on getting buyers’ deposits in.
And there has been no shortage of construction workers. When I visited one lunchtime a few months back streams of them were leaving the site as I arrived. There must have been more than 100 of them. I had to step nimbly (well, almost nimbly, given my size) to one side as it is not a good idea to come between a builder and his or her food.
The project is due to complete in the first quarter of next year – and who would doubt it? Already a large number of the higher floor units with great views have been sold.
Jens Klein, sales and marketing manager of developers, Petch Property Development, said: “More than 40 per cent of the units have been sold and those sales account for over half of the saleable square metre floor area. The buyers are evenly split between Thais and foreigners so we are not expecting any problems over ownership quotas. In April and May we sold five units, all high floor and high value.”

Guaranteed return
Prices at The Cove start at Bt12.5m (equivalent to Bt137,500 per sqm) for a one-bedroom unit and the developers are currently offering a guaranteed 15 per cent return on investment over the first year of ownership.
Jens also indicated that special payment terms could be available to serious investors.
“Because the project does not need bank finance – and the complete structure is there for all to see – it makes the whole thing risk-free for buyers,” said Jens. Ω