[ Manila Bulletin Online ] August 1, 2008
By JONAS REYES
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — An P80-million retirement community has opened here to cater to the needs of investors and retirees in this premier Freeport.
Grand Pillar International Development Inc. (GPIDI) has invested some R80 million in the transformation of the Kalayaan area here into the Greenville Estate, the first exclusive community in the Freeport zone.
GPIDI Chief Executive Officer Josephine Chua said that the company has reconstructed 100 Mediterranean-style houses, the swimming pool, the basketball court, and a clubhouse and these are now at par with international standards.
"We are banking on the growing number of foreign investors and retirees that find Subic Bay Freeport as the ideal area for raising their families," Chua said.
"At present, we are about 90 percent occupied although there are still some clients looking at the unoccupied houses," Chua said, adding that there is a 24-hour private security for the area.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza said that the investment of GPIDI in the retirement community is a part of the government’s thrust to encourage more foreign retirees to invest and stay in the country.
"We want Subic Bay Freeport to become the country’s retirement destination. Subic Bay is an excellent place to retire, boasting of a dive site, adventure tourism areas, nighttime entertainment, and malls and restaurants that accommodate foreign tastes," Arreza said.
Arreza also said that the cost of living is much cheaper here than in their homelands, and this edge makes foreigners prefer the Philippines, especially Subic Bay Freeport, as a place to retire.
GPIDI Chief Business Development Officer Johnson Yang said that the unitsare two-storey, five-bedroom houses with a floor area of about 220 square meters, and other units have three or four bedrooms with lease prices ranging from 0,000 to 0,000.
