AS Metro Manila cities gradually transform into bustling urban hubs filled with imposing skyscrapers, real-estate developers have already began looking to build their momentum in building exciting mixed-use developments just outside of the metropolis.
In Southern Manila, for example, Vista Land, Megaworld and Ayala Land have all taken their respective territories, so to speak, along the 15.1-kilometer Daang Hari Road, also known as the Las Piñas-Muntinlupa-Laguna-Cavite highway.
Earlier this year, Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. announced that it is investing a minimum of P50 billion for the developments of the 1,500-hectare Vista City—touted as the biggest master-planned community in southern Metro Manila to date. The sprawling mixed-use development is highlighted by Brittany Land’s (a Vista Land company) upscale Portofino Alabang gated communities and the Evia Lifestyle Center, the project’s commercial, retail and entertainment complex. Soon to rise within the complex in the next few years are eight business-process outsourcing, a hospital, several educational institutions making the company’s “University Town” and sports facilities.
Megaworld, meanwhile, is also preparing to get construction activities started on Alabang West, its 62-hectare New Beverly Hills-themed township development in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. “For the longest time, the South has been quiet,” said Rachelle Peñaflorida, vice president for sales and marketing, Megaworld Global-Estate Inc., in an earlier interview. “Alabang West will bring back the attention to the South, and help develop the booming commercial and business district there.”
Once completed, the posh Alabang West exclusive village will offer 788 high-end residential properties ranging from 250 to 800 square meters each. Residents can also look forward to enjoying a host of Beverly Hills-themed amenities that include a first-class clubhouse and a Rodeo Drive leisure strip.
With Alabang West, Megaworld now boasts of 15 township developments under its portfolio, which also include the 18-hectare Eastwood City in Quezon City; Newport City in Pasay; McKinley West, McKinley Hill, Uptown Bonifacio and Forbes Town Center in Bonifacio Global City (BGC); The Mactan Newton in Cebu; the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo; Woodside City in Pasig; the Davao Park District in Davao; Suntrust Ecotown and Southwoods City both in Cavite and Laguna; Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island, and Twin Lakes in Tagaytay.
Ayala Land, on the other hand, also made headlines recently when it announced its P70-billion investment in Vermosa, its first master-planned community in Cavite. The 700-hectare integrated mixed-use development now comes as Ayala Land’s fourth-largest real-estate development to date, following the Nuvali development in Laguna, Alviera in Pampanga and the Makati Central Business District.
Ayala Land Inc. President and CEO Bobby Dy shared that at least 60 percent of the entire Vermosa property will be allotted for horizontal residential developments, while about one-fourth of the entire development—comprising a total land area of 165 hectares—will be set aside for open spaces.
Horizontal developments will continue to thrive
While a particularly large chunk of residential properties within Metro Manila is now being taken up by vertical developments, real-estate developers still remain keen on building horizontal developments integrated within mixed-used districts in various parts of the country.
“Metro Manila has breached its carrying capacity and it is time to push development to other areas. It now appears that it is the real-estate developers that are making this happen,” former Rep. and now Philippine Institute of Real Estate Service Practitioners Inc. President Rodolfo Valencia explained in a discussion on real-estate service and industry trends, which took place earlier this year. There is growing consensus that “the Philippines is [now] becoming less Metro Manila-centric, and real-estate developments have started to move outside the capital.”
“Cebu and Iloilo in the south, Pampanga and Bulacan in the north, seem to have been wave cities and critical catalysts of economic growth,” he added.
In New York, for example, real-estate experts have also noticed a particular reference toward horizontal developments—not necessarily from developers putting up residential estates but among offices wanting to establish their own following by shying away from high-rise office towers. “The theory is that workers collaborate better when in close proximity, and aren’t separated by stairs or elevators that inhabit interaction—a focus on the employee, rather than impressing outsiders with grandeur,” The Wall Street Journal writes.
By making the shift towards introducing sprawling mixed-use developments, especially in up-and-coming development hot spots, local property developers also allow themselves the opportunity to explore other developmental initiatives by diversifying their respective portfolios. The only major challenge, however, is how these developments can continue to sustain interest from buyers and investors alike, given that traffic congestion—among many other headaches associated with rapid urbanization—is also fast spreading outside of Metro Manila and into nearby cities and urban hubs across the country.
2 comments
Kung matatapos agad ang MRT 7 (QC – San Jose del Monte Bulacan) and LRT 1 Dasmarinas – Bacoor Cavite Extension, baka magkatotoong lumipat ang mga tao (middle class) in nearby areas, like Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan and Pampanga.. iwan sa bahay ang kanilang vios, lancer, civic, fortuner and APV van..at Mass Transport Railway ang tangkilikin..
MAss transport railway system ang susi para magkaroon ng DISPERSAL ng mga tao mula Metro Manila to Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog..
2020 matatapos ang MRT 7, while the LRT 1 Extension will be finnished by 2022..
Because of the CARMAGEDON traffic (tragic EDSA – 3-5 hr drive), FOR NOW, RENTING a small appartment in QC, San Juan and MAKATI is still the best option..
People live in condominiums so that they can be situated near their places of
work. Given the choice though, people would still to opt to buy a house and
lot property, but these are very expensive, especially in Metro Manila.
However, it is still a wise choice to invest in house and lot because this
property appreciates. What if I tell you that there’s a development that
offers affordable house and lot near Manila, priced below Php 1M? Micara
Land, Inc. offers affordable house and lot in its project, Micara
Estates-Tanza in Cavite. Strategically located and highly accessible, Micara
Estates-Tanza is only 30 minutes from Coastal Metro Bus Station, via Cavitex.
Makati is just 2 rides away! More importantly, amortization starts at Php
5,567 per month only. For more information, visit: https://micaraland.com.