By Efleda P. Campos / Senior Editor
On Wednesday, March 29, 2017, AboitizLand Inc. marks a milestone in its 20-year operation: It will launch in San Juan, Batangas, its first development project in Luzon.
The project, called “Seafront Residences” is a second-home community located along the town’s white-sand beach. It has 800 house-and-lot packages featuring two model types: Three-bedroom and four-bedroom offerings, said Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, a fifth-generation Aboitiz and first vice president of operations of AboitizLand.
The houses are two-story structures following a modern Filipino architectural design. The architect used green technology, maximizing natural lighting and ocean air, utilizing indigenous materials and featuring a roof deck, an azotea (porch in Spanish) and ventanilla (small window), de Mesa said.
“We use the latest trends and devices for our projects, combining these to build our heritage structures,” he said.
“The house-and-lot package costs from P6 million to P10 million, targeting the upper-mid to high-end markets,” he said. “It is a community that is ready for occupancy.”
The development occupies 45 hectares of prime beachfront land, a short walk to the beach and 2.5 hours away from Metro Manila. It has a natural lagoon and will also have a chapel and parks, he said.
“It is meant to be a weekend getaway for newlywed couples, families with children, high-level company executivies and even retirees who love the beach and solitude,” de Mesa said. Also in the plan for Seafront Residences is a town center by the main road, with a café and a deli to serve the basic needs of the residents.
De Mesa said the project in San Juan, Batangas, would be followed this year by another project north of Manila that would offer mid-level house-and-lot packages. Two other new projects will be launched in 2017, he said.
De Mesa said the company has allotted P5 billion in capital expenditure to fund ongoing projects and land acquisition within the next few years.
The company began land-development projects in Cebu in 1997 and has presence in the Visayas and Mindanao. It is eyeing sites to develop in Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao, mainly mid-market development in provincial locations.
“AboitizLand will be moving its headquarters from Cebu to Makati in June,” he said. “We already have offices here.”