By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) Updated September 04, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), the investment holding firm of the Gotianun family, is putting up a P3-billion two-tower residential condominium building in the Bonifacio Global City, marking its first foray in the fastest-growing central business district in Metro Manila.
In a press briefing yesterday, Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) president Joseph Yap said The Beaufort project will offer up to three-bedroom units priced at between P8.3 million and P18 million. The first tower, comprising 43 storeys, will make available a total of 145 units with each floor occupying just four units.
The first tower is now 30 percent sold and continues to attract prospective buyers due to a resurgent demand for premium residential space. In the planning stage is the second tower, which will have 42 floors.
Yap said The Beaufort, strategically located at the corner of 5th Avenue and 23rd Street, is one of the few remaining lots overlooking the Manila Golf course. Construction of the first tower began in the third quarter of 2008.
FDC has tapped New York-based Arquitectonica as architectural designer and Texeira Design Inc. as interior designer for The Beaufort.
Among Arquitectonica’s landmark projects are Walt Disney’s All Star Resorts in Florida, USA, the Dijon Performing Arts Center in France and the International Finance Center in Seoul, South Korea.
Yap said the Filinvest Group, through property arm FLI, is going full blast with the construction of ongoing and new residential projects to take advantage of a resurgent property demand.
FLI is currently developing La Vie Flats, a 22-storey residential condominium within the Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang; The Linear, a master-planned residential and commercial hub located in Makati targeting young urban professionals and Princeton Heights, a 47.8-hectare residential subdivision in Bacoor, Cavite.
It is also building more mid-rise building (MRB) communities in key urban areas in Metro Manila and other regional centers. In the offing is a Pacific Island-themed community which is expected to open in Sta. Mesa this year.
Tristan Las Marias, FLI vice-president for the Visayas and Mindanao, said the company expects to start construction of the first phase of its joint venture with the Cebu City government to develop a 40-hectare property at the South Road Properties, in the first quarter next year.
Las Marias said FLI also purchased 10.5 hectares of land within the SRP. The company is expected to shell out P25 billion for this project over a period of 20 to 25 years. The first phase will involve the construction of several clusters of MRBs and residential condominium units.
Yap said the company has developed more than 2,000 hectares of land and will continue its focus on its core housing business while simultaneously introducing new products.
He said FLI has a landbank of over 2,500 hectares, more than enough to sustain the development of projects and reach new markets.
Yap said FLI expects to register a 10 percent growth in sales this year given the robust take up of its projects as a result of renewed investor confidence in the property sector.
FLI is planning to issue up to P5 billion worth of three-year to five-year fixed-rate bonds to fund its capital requirements. The offering is slated to start in the middle of October with First Metro Investments Corp., BDO Capital and BPI Capital Corp. as lead underwriters.
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