ETON Properties Philippines Inc. (EPPI), the listed real-estate arm of the Lucio Tan group, has created a new vehicle called Belton Communities Inc. to serve low- to middle-income homebuyers.

In a briefing Wednesday, company president Danilo Ignacio said Belton’s first major residential development will be the North Belton Communities, which will occupy a 13.8-hectare prime lot along Quirino Highway in Novaliches, Quezon City.

“Through Belton, affordable, strategically located and well-designed masterplanned residential communities will be made available to a greater number of families,” he told reporters.

The project will be undertaken in four phases, Ignacio said, failing to mention North Belton’s development cost.

The first phase is The Manors, an enclosed community of 14 five-story mid-rise buildings, with each comprising of 100 units. Conveniently sized at 30 square meters, each unit will have two bedrooms, complete with dining and living areas, for P1.2 million.

“Our target markets here are the OFWs and families earning about P30,000 a month. When we thought of this, what we had in mind was to come out with a product with a monthly amortization of below P10,000. And I think, that will make this project attractive,” said Ignacio.

The turnover of the first tower, Bianca Manor, will be on June 2009.

After the initial stage, Belton will start with another residential development to be followed by the townhouses and the commercial centers.

“The success of the North Belton will be our gauge if we will implement more of this kind. Maybe we can also do the same in areas like Parañaque and Pasig,” Ignacio said.

Although Eton Properties will continue with its foreign road shows to attract investments from OFWs, Ignacio said that the company will skip the US market because of the prevailing economic slowdown.

“We will not conduct road shows in the US until we see some improvements. Right now, our focus will be countries like Australia, Dubai, Singapore, France, Spain, Hawaii and Guam because they are somewhat insulated from subprime woes,” he explained.

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ETON Properties Philippines Inc. (EPPI), the listed real-estate arm of the Lucio Tan group, has created a new vehicle called Belton Communities Inc. to serve low- to middle-income homebuyers.

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