Leisure condo in Lahug now over 90% complete

CEBU, Philippines - A homegrown property developer is aiming to stand out in the highly competitive real estate industry by introducing an integrated residential and leisure community to the Cebu market.

Duros Real Estate and Markets Management Corporation chief operating officer Francis Dexter Bandala said that the Duros Land Properties, Inc. wants to differentiate itself from the rest of the players by providing spacious plush units through the firm's flagship project, the Padgett Place, instead of cramped areas that condos are fast becoming identified with.

The Padgett Place is a premium leisure condominium project sitting on a 3,500-square meter property on Molave Street, Barangay Lahug.

It is a 22-storey tower that houses a total of 191 units varying in sizes starting from 45 square meters and ranging in prices from P5 million to P45 million.

Bandala said that the project is currently 70 percent sold since the pre-selling started two years ago.

With 92 percent of the construction completed, the company schedules to turn over its units to condo owners by July of this year.

Aside from the leisure amenities in the project itself, Bandala said that homeowners could also enjoy playing rights and access to the Duros Mountain Resort and Golf Club, another company's major project that is still in progress located a Barangay San Roque in Liloan.

It is a 120-hectare development in Barangay San Roque, Liloan that houses an 18-hole golf course and a mountain resort.

He revealed that the company shall come up with a revised masterplan for the project in the first half of this year to integrate the real estate component within the leisure community. The Duros Mountain Resort and Golf Club will undergo reconstruction by yearend.

Meanwhile, Duros Real Estate and Markets Management Corp. chief marketing officer Grace Tortor said that company offers its investors a guaranteed rental income program to ensure a hassle-free investment upon buying a unit at the Padgett Place.

She added that the program assures the investor to enjoy at least six percent return of investment for one year.

"Cebu has a growing renter-by-choice market and it has become a trend nowadays to have your units rented. Once they buy the unit, they can turn over the unit to us and we ensure them that the unit earns for them by having it rented out," she said.

Tortor cited that the real estate market in Cebu is comprised of a mixture of end-users and investors.

Both the Duros Land Properties, Inc. and the Duros Real Estate and Markets Management Corporation are members of the Duros Group of Companies, a multi sectoral conglomerate and enterprises in Cebu. /JMD (FREEMAN)