Posted on June 01, 2011 09:02:37 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
CAGAYAN DE ORO -- An Ayala Land, Inc. unit said it has sold most of the lots in Alegria Hills, its first high-end residential development in Mindanao, ahead of the launch of another nearby project.
“We are nearly 70% taken up at this point,” said Jeanette A. Japzon, corporate communication and customer affairs supervisor for Cebu Holdings, Inc., an Ayala Land affiliate.
The brisk sales appear to have emboldened the firm to launch a 53-hectare project.
“We are in the process of preparing the release of a new phase soon,” she said.
In the meantime, sales will continue for Alegria Hills’ lots which number 100 in total.
There are still more than 20 lots across three blocks based on project updates on the official Web site.
The remaining lots sell for P2.9 million-P4.5 million apiece and are promised to give residents sweeping views of the city and Northern Mindanao’s Macajalar Bay.
Ms. Japzon said this rate of uptake has been “within expectations” since Alegria Hills’ 2007 launch.
“We have noted an increase in interest over the last four months,” she added.
Alegria Hills’ clubhouse was erected just before this period. The facility and its 25-meter infinity pool was completed in November.
In addition to the clubhouse, the so-called ‘Chapel in the Grove’ for Catholic residents was finished in March 2009.
“Alegria Hills continues to attract many inquiries from interested buyers and investors,” Ms. Japzon said.
“The thriving local economy in Cagayan de Oro also contributes to priming demand for the upscale residential market,” she said.
Ayala Land Premier often markets Alegria Hills as located “10 minutes away” from Limketkai Center, the city’s biggest shopping mall.
Aside from this development, the property firm is also behind a commercial complex dubbed Centrio in the area. A 150-room hotel within the complex, tentatively called Kukun, is likely to follow later that year.
Centrio will rise on a 3.2-hectare property owned by Anflo Management and Investment Corp. and Mindanao Motors Corp. The mall will have three levels of shopping, leisure, and dining options.
This will be the firm’s second commercial complex on the island after Davao City’s Abreeza.
Aside from the Ayala Group, other property companies have also started upscale residential projects in this city. ItalPinas Euro-Asian Design and Eco-Development Corp. has just launched Primavera Residences, the first green 10-storey building in the city. Granvia Square, a condominium-hotel project of Johndorf Ventures Corp., is also under construction at this city’s Pueblo de Oro area. -- Al Gerard G. de la Cruz
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