Mactan Township Project, Real estate giant ramps up lifestyle component

CEBU, Philippines -  Real estate giant Megaworld Corporation is beefing up the lifestyle component at the 29.3 hectare Mactan Newtown project in Lapu-Lapu City.

Megaworld Cebu Properties Inc. president Noli D. Hernandez said that the company is ramping up its lifestyle offerings as it starts turning over the first batch of condominium units to buyers at the 8 Newtown Boulevard by first semester of next year.

Last Monday, the company broke ground for the Newtown School of Excellence supervised by the Lasallian Schools Supervision Office.

The school will occupy 7,000 square meters of property and will initially open by  school year 2016-2017 for students in the primary level.

Megaworld will open five hotels at the Mactan Newtown to provide an additional 2,000 hotel room accommodations in Mactan Island alone.

It will also develop two beachfront hotels in the area, formerly Portofino Beach Resort, and another luxury hotel of international brand.

Megaworld is allocating P30-billion to develop the 29.3-hectare The Mactan Newtown within the next five to seven years.

Hernandez added that the company is bent on reviving the rich historical importance of Mactan with plans to construct a museum devoted to Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, as well as rehabilitate the present Mactan Shrine where the famous monument of native chieftain Lapu-Lapu and the Battle of Mactan are located.

“We want to pay attention to the historical importance of the area. We believe this to be a major tourism hub not just for Mactan but also for Cebu. Much of Cebu’s history is told in the famous Battle of Mactan,” said Hernandez.

According to Hernandez the company has commissioned the services of Architect Bong Recio of Recio+Casas Architects for the construction of the five-story lifestyle complex dubbed Plaza Magellan, which is poised to become a major tourism landmark at The Mactan Newtown.

“We are also coordinating with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines on how we can integrate the Plaza Magellan to the Mactan Shrine. We are also committed to help the government in the rehabilitation and improvement of the historic national shrine," he added.

Plaza Magellan will feature a museum, which will be dedicated to the life and expeditions of Magellan. Architecture-wise, Hernandez added that the mall's design will be inspired by the hilltop towns of Portugal and Spain.

It will also have a movie house, al fresco dining, restaurants and a mall.

Hernandez said the mall will have an iconic entrance plaza facing the famous Lapu-Lapu Shrine, where its main feature will be a life-sized Spanish Galleon Victoria, a replica of the first vessel that circumnavigated the globe by Magellan and his men, and the Spanish Steps, which will lead visitors to the mall's main entrance.

Hernandez said groundbreaking for the development will begin next year and is slated for completion in the next two to three years.

The company already began the groundbreaking of the 12-story office building dubbed Plaza Magellan Tower 1 that will soon house business process outsourcing companies to complement the “work-play”” lifestyle requirement of the area. (FREEMAN)