Ayala Heights up for re-branding

Ayala Heights, a high-end residential development of Ayala Land Inc. in Busay Hills, is up for re-branding and repositioning, as it now aims to include leisure and tourism-related component to the project.

This year ALI will start the planning, market research, and conceptualization on re-branding the project, that was heavily affected by several issues, such as watershed concerns, immediately after the aggressive marketing of the subdivision was about to take off, few years back.

ALI vice president Francis O. Monera said the company will have to put in additional investment to provide a tourism component of the used-to-be residential project, although he is not certain what is the specific tourism infrastructure will be built in the area.

"As of now we are still trying to make some research, and will start to conceptualize a good tourism component to be built there," Monera said.

Ayala Heights' phase one, which utilized only about 6.8 hectares, is already sold out, about 113-hectare lot is still underdeveloped.

According to Monera, the company may also consider putting up retirement village, as there is now a strong drive for retirement facilities in Cebu.

Ayala Heights is supposed to be another "millionaires' haven" in Cebu, aside from Maria Luisa Estate Park, Beverly Hills, and other upscale exclusive subdivisions, but because of several issues ALI chose to temporarily suspend the aggressive marketing of the project for years now.

Instead, ALI's affiliate Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) recently developed a 46-hectare (also upscale) seaside village called Amara, located in Lilo-an, north of Cebu, which is now selling like "hot cakes."

Ayala Heights was developed in the latter part of 1990s when the country's economic shape was crippled due to the lingering effect 1997 regional economic crash.

Immediately after 1997, one of the badly hit industries was the real estate sector, thus aside from the social issues the development of Ayala Heights may have also been affected by the real estate fall down which negative effect lingered up to early 2000.

Now, ALI is seriously considering pushing through the Ayala Heights development with some revisions of the old plan.

He said the company rests its repositioning to the current economic drivers, tourism, and the dollar earner market or the Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs).