For future projects Developer considers lessons learned from 2013 disasters

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) intends to integrate the modern construction era on all of their property developments that could withstand the forces of nature such as high-intensity quake, strong winds and storm surge.

“We want to make sure it addresses the lessons we learned after everything that has happened. The location of the properties should be ready for it and we even modified the designs accordingly,” CLI president and chief executive officer Jose Soberano said.

And as CLI now nears the completion of its projects this year, the home-grown real estate developer is now eyeing more vertical developments, economic and socialized housing projects and mixed-use developments in Cebu for 2014.

Soberano said that they plan to maximize the opportunities in the booming real estate industry of Cebu before they expand outside the province.

 â€œThe Cebu market is not yet saturated. There are still a lot of opportunities. We are pushing it forward and making it happen this year,” he said.

He revealed that they already have existing expansion plans in Bohol, Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro.

He said that they are eager to capitalize on a stronger real estate market despite the calamities that struck the country last year.

Soberano further revealed that they are eyeing to embark on a socialized housing development in Balamban under the project name “Villa Casita”. They will also replicate the same concept in Linao, Minglanilla for its planned six-hectare economic and socialized housing project that will house 650 units.

He added that they shall soon launch an office project in a 3,000-square meter property they have acquired in Cebu Business Park and announce its partner in the next few months.

CLI is also planning a major mixed-use development in the Baseline Complex that shall start on the last quarter of 2014.

“We are still ironing details with the Cañizares family,” Soberano said.

Last Monday, CLI officially opened the 400-square meter showroom of its 12th project, Mivesa Garden Residences which sits on a 1.8-hectare property in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

Soberano described the new showroom as the biggest and most functional facility for the company’s brokers and real estate agents to negotiate with prospective buyers.

Mivesa Garden Residences is a mid-cost condominium project that is divided into three phases of construction and is composed of seven mid-rise buildings of six to ten storeys. It shall house a total of 1,495 units with an average of 160 to 250 units for each building.

The first three buildings are currently 97-percent sold while the fourth and fifth buildings are 50-percent sold to date. Most of their buyers are yuppies, families and overseas Filipino workers.

CLI is pouring an investment of P1.3 billion for the contemporary-inspired condominium project.

The construction of the first two buildings is set to be completed by June 2015 to be followed by next three buildings on the latter part of the year. The entire community is targeted to be developed in the next three to four years.  (FREEMAN)