Developer focuses on mixed-used developments

CEBU, Philippines - In the midst of the upsurge of the real estate industry in Metro Cebu, a local property developer commits to its brand of new and innovative mixed-used developments to veer away from the market saturation in terms of horizontal and vertical projects.

Gold Peach Properties, the property development arm of the Gaisano Capital Group, continues to capitalize on addressing the emerging and trendy demands of the Cebu market amid the real estate boom in the metropolis.

Nilo Miranda II, vice president for operations, said in an exclusive interview with The FREEMAN that the real estate market in Cebu continues to be promising with the influx of local and foreign investors coming in.

He described the Cebu real estate market as stabilized and growing with local and foreign investors, Overseas Filipino Workers, balikbayans and middle-income earners accounting the majority of the market share.

He added that it remains a challenge for property developers to still manage to come up with fresh and unique concepts of real estate projects to deviate from the so-called fear on real estate bubble.

“What we really want is to create something new in the Cebu market and provide affordable and convenient place for Cebuanos where they can live, work and play in the same space. This is relatively new in the city, a community within a community,” he said.

The mixed-used development of Gold Peach Properties started with One Pavilion Place, an integrated condo and mall development situated at R. Duterte St. in Banawa. It is a 28-storey residential tower with the first two floors as the One Pavilion Mall that feature dining, shopping, and entertainment establishments.

With its One Pavilion Place as its flagship project, Gold Peach Properties was created in 2010 to focus on various development ventures of the Gaisano Capital Group.

Miranda added that the construction which started on June 2012 is currently on track and is set to deliver in the last quarter of 2014.

He then noted that the company has sold 85 percent of the total 552 units for both towers of One Pavilion. He added that the company remains optimistic that the market that prefers ready-for-occupancy units will be attracted to buy the remaining 15 percent.

The condominium units of One Pavilion, varying from 37 to 168 square meters, range from P4 million to P5 million.

One Pavilion was then followed with the introduction of the company’s second project named City Soho, a unique concept of home-office project geared towards a market mix of young professionals, small business owners, and start-up entrepreneurs.

Miranda said that the units ranging from 23 to 25 square meters could be converted to a residential unit from an exclusive office used at daytime.

With the option to have it as a mixed home-office unit, he said that City Soho is an urban business hub ideal for dental and medical clinics, auditing firms, and professional offices. 

It sits in a 5000-square meter property at B. Rodriguez Street with a total of 225 units for commercial and 233 residential units ranging from P2 million to P2.2 million.

City Soho will have a total of 28 floors of which 11 are dedicated to commercial units, 10 floors for residential, 4 storeys of parking spaces, one floor for amenities and the first two floors to be dedicated for commercial establishments, a medium-sized department store and a mini-mall.

It started its construction period early 2013 and is targeted to be turned over by the last quarter of 2015 to first quarter of 2016.

Miranda cited that since the selling period that started in May of last year, City Soho is completely sold out for the commercial units that constitute 40 percent of the project mix.

This could be attributed to the growing interest of young medical professionals to put up their start-up clinics nearby the main hospitals in the city.

Residential units, on the other hand, are 30 percent sold to date.

Miranda further revealed that Gold Peach may possibly venture into property developments outside Cebu City in a few years’ time but shall focus its future projects on mixed-used developments in similar models of One Pavilion Place and City Soho for now.

He added that the three-year old developer envisions to create all-in-one residential communities with the mall component in the building itself as the anchor of all its projects.

The Gaisano Capital Group has established its name in the retail industry with the development of its own supermarkets for the past three decades. /JOB (FREEMAN)