THE Department of Education must be doing something right, as the country’s literacy rate in the high 90s stands as one of the best in the world. The National Capital Region leads the country’s impressive literacy with a 99.2-percent rate—99 percent for males and 99.4 percent for females. A key source of this outstanding education is called the “University Belt,” a subdistrict central to Metro Manila that hosts the city’s and the country’s highest concentration of colleges and universities.
The University Belt contains close to 30 of the country’s top tertiary schools. Spanning the San Miguel district, and the nearby Sampaloc, Quiapo and Santa Cruz, the U-Belt as it is nicknamed, generally includes España Boulevard, Nicanor Reyes Street, Claro M. Recto Avenue, Legarda, Mendiola and several other side streets. The approximately 27 or so colleges and universities here are actually within walking distance from each other.
In the northern part of the Metro, earning itself the moniker “Quezon City’s University Belt,” Katipunan Avenue feeds into three of Metro Manila’s, and the Philippines’s, top learning institutions—Ateneo de Manila, Miriam College and the University of the Philippines. The three universities currently serve about 98,000 students. With the student population increasing by 7 percent to 8 percent annually, that means that in 2016, that number could grow by another 6,000.
With that many schools concentrated within the U-Belts, and the country’s student population increasing at a rate of about 7 percent to 8 percent each school year, student housing has become a key concern. In an effort to support our student body, Vista Residences Inc., (VRI), the condominium arm of the country’s premier property developer, Vista Land, has created its “University Series—” vertical villages that are designed around students’ and teachers’ needs, rising particularly in areas with a dense concentration of colleges and universities.
The University Series features four projects that are already sold-out: The Crown Tower University Belt in España and, just across it, the second property in the area called 878 España; Vista 309 Katipunan across Ateneo, and Vista Taft beside Dela Salle. Just last year the group launched Vista GL Taft, Vista Heights, situated in Legarda and Vista Brenthill in Baguio. The eighth and ninth in this roster of VRI’s pioneering solutions to student housing is Vista Recto and Vista Pointe, the group’s second condominium project on Katipunan Avenue.
Vista Recto: Perfectly located to uplift students’ lives
Conveniently situated within Manila’s U-Belt, Vista Recto will rise surrounded by the Far Eastern University, University of the East, Manuel L. Quezon University and Philippine School of Business Administration. It will also be within easy reach of San Sebastian College and the University of Santo Tomas. An easy ride down C. M. Recto Avenue and one finds Centro Escolar University, La Consolacion College, San Beda College and College of the Holy Spirit.
This means its residents will have access to malls, markets, hospitals and churches found within the famed San Miguel district, Quezon Boulevard and J.P. Laurel. Making it even more desirably located is that an easy 200 meters away is Quiapo, one of the more enterprising areas of Manila. Living at Vista Recto allows students easy and quick access to their schools, and puts them right in the center of one of the most fascinating sections of Metro Manila.
Vista Recto’s 36-story high-rise tower includes a Garden Units floor where each residence has a balcony-cum-garden. Three more floors will be given over to covered parking, and the ground floor will be the guarded reception area, as well as commercial establishments providing goods and services needed by the residents. Each residence is a studio unit that comes complete with a living and dining area, kitchen and bath.
Vista Pointe: Raising the level of student homes in Katipunan
Vista Pointe will soon tower over Quezon City’s U-Belt, right at the corner of Katipunan and B. Gonzales Street—in front of the border between Miriam College and Ateneo de Manila. Uniquely laid out, the tower’s triangular footprint makes perfect use of the three-sided, more than 1,000-square-meter property. The tower will rise up to 37 stories with six for parking, two for businesses, the ground floor for commercial, and an additional floor for an amenities area. The remaining 27 stories will be residential, with 24 units per floor.
Vista Pointe is located perfectly for anyone studying or working in Ateneo, UP or Miriam College. Beyond it being designed with amenities that respond to the specific needs of students and academe, the tower stands right in the middle of one of Quezon City’s commercial and residential hubs.
With the Light Railway Transit (LRT 2) a brisk walk or quick ride away, residents not only have easy access to the rest of Quezon City, but to most of Metro Manila, as well. At the foot of Vista Pointe is an expanse of the Metro’s popular restaurants, groceries, bookstores, gyms and Internet cafés. While right behind the frenetic Katipunan is a spread of residential villages, offering a perimeter of quiet and safety. Further down sprawls the newfangled UP Town Center. This allows residents even more lifestyle options and a place to destress and bond—creating the “student friendships” that last most lifetimes.
- vistaresidences.com.ph