FOR DECADES now, the Araneta Center and its surrounding districts in Cubao have held a distinct advantage of being at the core of Metro Manila. It is the site of the country’s first mall. It is where the MRT and LRT rails cross, one over the other. It is a transport, shopping, and entertainment hub.
But over the years, being the center has taken its toll. For one, contamination has marred the area. Toxic fumes and lack of greenery expose people passing, working, and living in Cubao to harmful levels of pollution.
However, the face of Araneta Center will soon change, as Megaworld Corporation, the top residential condominium and business process outsourcing office buildings developer, will plant a “green heart” in the metropolis through its newest project, Manhattan Parkview Residence in Manhattan Garden City (MGC).
Manhattan Parkview will be the second set of condominium towers to rise in MGC after the sold-out three-tower Manhattan Parkway. Manhattan Garden City is an enclave of residential high-rises accessible to both the MRT and LRT 2 via a 729-meter, elevated garden walkway that will connect all the towers. Manhattan Parkview will have an outdoor development plan highlighted by a “walkable” interconnected area and green spaces.
“Most of us would prefer living in a home that is a sanctuary from the stresses of life, a softening haven where we can rest and rejuvenate,” said Megaworld Central Properties Inc. President Anthony Charlemagne Yu. “A study has shown that well-placed plantings offer privacy and tranquility by screening out street noises and reducing glare from headlights. Another research found out that green space is beneficial to children in terms of improving their functioning. It enables them to think more clearly and cope better with life’s stress, which is surely the same case for adults. Manhattan Parkview will give such advantages through a nature park experience. It will have tropical plants, large foliage, wild flowers, accents, and water features.”
In contrast to common manicured or formally laid out landscapes, the tropical gardens of Manhattan Parkview will have free-form planting arrangements. “Mass tropical planting will create a micro-environment, giving one a natural feel while walking,” Yu added.
Varieties of flowers in happy colors will lift the spirit and beautify MGC’s other amenities: the pool, benches, sun decks, trellises, and others. They will also give privacy to outdoor amenity users. “There is growing evidence that plants lower blood pressure, reduce muscle tension related to stress, improve attention, and minimize negative feelings,” noted Yu.
Economically and health-wise, Manhattan Parkview will have other benefits as well because it is considered a green rooftop development concept. “A green rooftop insulates the building against both heat and cold, using less energy while creating more oxygen,” Yu explained. “It contributes greatly to human comfort and health in an urban area such as Araneta Center by cutting urban surface temperatures, reducing storm water run off, and filtering pollutants and carbon dioxide.”
Breathing in cleaner air and refreshed by greenery, MGC residents can move in greater speed and comfort as well to other commercial areas, to universities, and to business districts through a grand transfer pavilion to the LRT and MRT.
A joint venture of the Araneta Group and Megaworld, Manhattan Garden City is the first and only transit-oriented development linked to two mass transit systems. It will be connected to all spokes of the metro but complete and self-sustaining. It will rise in the same complex as countless dining, shopping, and entertainment establishments.
MGC’s various amenities will promote neighborly interaction and appeal to a wide range of habits and aspirations. Fitness and sports buffs can schedule sessions in the gym, lap pool, tennis court, or basketball court. Young families can fill the picnic area and playground with their laughter. The meditative types can sit by the reflective pool or tread barefoot on the reflexology path. Finding one’s own nook will be easy as a landscaped area will embrace every block of MGC at the fourth level.
The Manhattan Garden City showroom and its elegantly appointed model units are conveniently located at the 3rd level of Gateway Mall. Please call 810-3333 or email inquire@themanhattangardencity.com to make a viewing appointment.