Vol. XXI, No. 170 [ Business World Online ]
Tuesday, April 01, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
LISTED PROPERTY developer Robinsons Land Corp. is set to convert the one-hectare former site of the Medical City in Ortigas into a mixed-use residential complex.
In a media launch yesterday, company President Frederick D. Go said the project would consist of two residential towers, a hotel, and an office building.
"This is a strong opportunity for us to build a prime project in the Ortigas Central Business District (CBD)," he said.
Mr. Go noted that Robinsons Land is already known for developing the Cybergate Complex in Mandaluyong and Pasig cities aimed at business process out-sourcing companies.
While declining to disclose the project cost, Mr. Go said the company would first construct a 29-storey residential tower which would be marketed to rich buyers.
"We dedicated a sales team committed to the higher end of the market, from our usual mid-income market. This is our first upscale project from a pool of three and this will be our high-end project in the Ortigas CBD," the Robinsons Land chief told reporters.
The two residential towers, named Sonata Private Residences, would be offering one- to three-bedroom units at a minimum price of P2.9 million.
Mybelle V. Aragon-Gobio, vice-president for business development, said the number of units per floor decreases as one goes up, based on a principle of "privacy."
"Here you cannot expand horizontally or vertically. What’s unique with this project is that there are certain floors wherein units contain one bedroom. Other floors have two bedrooms and succeeding floors, as you go up, have three bedrooms," she said.
Unit sizes, which will vary from 36 square meters to 155 square meters, will have their own balconies.
The two residential towers will be connected through the second floor, which will also serve as an area for amenities such as a private theater, a music room, a lounge reading area, and a gym.
The Sonata Private Residences will be completed by 2012, Mr. Go said. The design for the hotel and office components has yet to be finalized.
"The office building would be launched in the latter part of the year and as far as the hotel is concerned, we’re still in the process of choosing which hotel operator we’ll go with. There’s no timetable yet," he said.
The Sonata Private Residences is the first of the three residential condominiums scheduled to be launched by Robinsons Land this year.
"The other high-end residential project will be in Fort Bonifacio Global City, and the other in the Cybergate Complex in Ortigas but [the latter is] for the middle-income market," he said.
Robinsons Land would be spending P13.9 billion for the development of three malls, two hotels in Metro Manila, and three residential subdivisions in the provinces.
From October to December, the first quarter of its fiscal year, the company posted a net profit of P681.9 million as revenues grew to P2.35 billion.
Robinsons Land is the property arm of the Gokongwei group of companies. Its shares yesterday fell by 2.38% or 25 centavos to P10.25. — Lovely Nica P. Lee
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