Manila-based developer targets Cebuano buyers

CEBU, Philippines - Instead of investing and building projects in Cebu, property developer Ortigas & Company instead is calling on Cebuanos to invest in Manila.

The 83-year-old real estate development company is offering a diversification of investment for the Cebuano market to seize the big market potential in Metro Manila.

The company is offering its products, especially the luxury residential condominium units as potential investments for the Cebuanos.

"We understand that there is a lot happening in Cebu right now [in terms of property developments]. But, investment is all about diversification–not putting everything in one basket," said Joey F. Santos, senior vice president of Ortigas & Company.

Santos, together with executives of the company were in Cebu yesterday through real estate broker Georgia Osmeña to introduce its new development in Manila, the 10-hectare Capitol Commons, which will have a total of five residential high-rise towers and will offer over a thousand residential units.

Initially, the company introduced the 62-story “The Imperium Tower” which will provide a total of 232 residential condominium units.

"One hundred percent of Ortigas & Co's land bank is in Manila, and for us Cebu is still a frontier market. While we can’t build residential communities and retail centers here just yet, we want to open real estate investment opportunities to Cebuanos," said Santos in a press conference yesterday.

Osmeña said there are a lot of Cebuanos looking for "nice" projects, with good yield and fast return-of-investments.

Ortigas & Company has transformed the former site of Rizal Provincial Capitol into a 10-hectare mixed-use development in Pasig City called Capitol Commons.

This latest project of the company also features Estancia, an upscale mall slated to open in the coming months, Unimart, which will span 10,000 square meters, offering residents a quality grocery experience, Paragon, an upcoming lifestyle and entertainment hub, and Gastro, a food and beverage strip,

The Imperium’s studio unit measures 35 to 40 square meters with price at an average of P6 million and a one-bedroom unit is pegged within P10 million to P12 million.

Ortigas & Company is the property developer behind Manila's famed residential spaces like Valle Verde, Greenmeadows, Greenhills subdivision. Its commercial developments include Greenhills Shopping Center and Tiendesitas.— Ehda M. Dagooc (FREEMAN)