The ambitious project is being developed by Cathay Land Inc., whose projects in the past have included Astoria Plaza in Mandaluyong City, Regency Townhomes in Dasmariñas Cavite, the Dynasty Towers in Manila and an industrial estate in Carmona, Cavite, among others.
Certainly this is the most ambitious project of Cathay Land. Situated in 250 hectares of land in Cavite – just off the Sta. Rosa exit of South Superhighway and 40 minutes from Makati – South Forbes Golf City has just completed the model units of its first cluster of residences: The South Forbes Villas. To give you an idea of how big the community is going to be, think of another self-contained community, Rockwell Center which is 15 hectares, and multiply that by 16 times.
What’s distinctive about the South Forbes project is that the masterplan by Palafox and Associates includes a variety of housing options to suit different tastes and budgets. Homeowners have a choice of buying just the lot or a house and lot. Development of South Forbes Villas is almost finished and to follow are the "mansions" with bigger land cuts: Bali Mansions, which is the next to be completed, has 250 to 350-sq.m. lots with the architecture following Bali style; Kyoto Mansions, with 300 to 500-sq.m. lots, follows Japanese architecture; Shanghai Mansions; and the British style Oxford Manors. Also in the plans are medium-rise condominium buildings overlooking the golf course.
Like the new communities sprouting abroad, which put stronger emphasis on the needs of a changing population and lifestyles, South Forbes’ masterplan throws out conventional suburban patterns and adheres to new urbanism, new codes of community planning where homes are within walking distance to leisure facilities, and just a stone’s throw away from office and commercial areas.
"There’s always a demand for well-planned quality projects," says Jeffrey Ng, president of Cathay Land Inc., on why the company is undertaking such a huge project – so huge that the entire city is envisioned to be completed in 15 years, in 2020, with the next two years focusing on the completion of the golf course designed by the International Management Group (img), which represents the top golfers and athletes in the world; the next five years for the residential subdivisions; and then followed by the cluster of condominiums around the fairway; and then the cyber park, city center and commercial and shopping areas.
"We’re not looking at our residences as ‘second homes’ but as first homes for families because it’s very accessible to Makati, places of work, educational facilities, and leisure. But whether it’s a weekend house or one’s base, it’s a great place to live because there’s no pollution, there’s nice weather and it’s surrounded by green."
"Green" is precisely why Cathay Land decided to build a golf course when it could’ve just used the land to build more houses. It’s a bonus that lot owners get free golf club membership and even if you’re not a golfer, you will reap the benefits of having a course because it ensures a lot of open spaces – "the lungs of the community," as Jeff puts it. "Besides, a lot of people may not be golfers now, but then they might decide to take up the sport later."
The Mediterranean-themed South Forbes Villas has the most modest size lots ranging from 150 to 250 sq.m. and priced at around P7,500 to P8,100 per sq.m. while the house and lots go for P4 to P5 million.
"We chose Mediterranean style because it’s easy to build for homeowners who choose to buy just the lot," says Jeffrey Ng.
Two model units now open for viewing were designed by the energetic and lively sisters Ivy and Cynthia Almario of Atalier Almario, who also designed Cathay Land’s Astoria Plaza, Kris Aquino’s Shanghai Tang-style condo unit, and the homes of businessmen and radio moguls Francis and Mary Anne Lumen, and Atom Henares.
Atalier Almario and Cathay Land have had a 10-year working relationship. Ivy says, "There’s already trust, respect and friendship. We don’t want to disappoint them and for their part, they already know what we can deliver. There’s no more handholding. For the most part, the biggest challenge was the deadline."
Both South Forbes Villas model units – one in a 150 sq.m. lot and the other in 250 sq.m. – have three bedrooms: not too big, but just enough for a family with two growing children, a maid’s room and three toilets and baths, and a powder room.
As with any space designed by Atalier Almario, there’s a certain grace and stylishness to it, no matter what the size is. Viewing the model units gives you inspiration on how to be creative in small spaces and how to do children’s rooms that they won’t outgrow so easily. It helps, of course, that the units have very efficient layout and interior architecture – double-volume ceiling in the living room, powder room beneath the staircase, an open kitchen, and a living room that opens to the carport when you need that extra space for parties.
"Considering that some of the condos we’re designing are even smaller than these, these are relatively luxurious," says Ivy.
Cynthia explains that to make the space look bigger, color is very important. "We used a single color palette, as opposed to contrasting colors, to create a sense of continuity." They also used colors – but not in the way you expect it – to define the bedrooms on the second floor.
The Alicante model unit employs champagne, beige and brown tones on the walls and draperies in the ground floor. What’s interesting about the living room is how the furniture pieces, which are not exactly small-scaled, are arranged. Rather than the main sofa being positioned against one wall, it is positioned diagonally so windows on two walls flank it. A mirror coffee table is positioned in front with two mismatched occasional chairs for extra seating. Instead of hanging paintings on the tall wall, the designers chose to put a stencil design of climbing vines and matched this on the opposite walls with framed prints of flora from Pietro Gallery.
In the dining room, the same colors are applied, with a touch of distressed eggshell green on the wooden chairs. The six-seater dining table has a beveled glass top – the use of glass again being another trick to mask the small space because it lets the eyes flow through the table, something a solid table wouldn’t do.
One of the most difficult things in such a small space when it comes to the bedroom is storage. With boys unwilling to give up their toy trucks and GI Joes until their teenage years, there’s just no space to store them, even in the closet – unless you create one under the bed, space that would have otherwise been wasted. The boy’s bed is raised with a two-step ladder helping the ascent and under it you can put either a trundle bed or his toys.
Atalier Almario designed the girl’s room around the color lilac with matching bedspreads, blinds, wainscoting bordered by white, accessories, and framed prints of lilacs flanking the bed.
The same pattern is used in the girl’s room of the Castellon model unit. But this time, green gingham is even in the padded walls. The wainscoting here is unusually high and with good effect – it serves as a headboard for the bed. For this room, the girl has a desk with lots of storage space for her books, diaries, and dolls. Temporarily though, the designers put in white decorative plates which they joked were handed down by grandma who got them at a flea market in England’s countryside.
The girl’s room in the Castellon unit shares a toilet and bath with her brother, separated by sliding doors (again, a space saver), whose own room is designed around a nautical theme – just in case the boy turns out to be interested in the sea. Here, furnishings take on new duties, like a boat-shaped wine rack being used as a wall unit for storage.
For both units, the master’s bedrooms use light colors for a light, airy feel. Light blue and gray for one, white and cream for the other, both with sheer draperies to diffuse the light from the windows behind the beds, and for a romantic but not overly feminine feel.
What’s also interesting about the treatment in the Castellon unit is the use of mirror in the dining room. Because this space is much smaller – it doesn’t have the benefit of a lanai beyond the dining room as the other unit does – Ivy and Cynthia put a mirror on the entire wall facing the circular dining table. As you walk in, you get the illusion of depth instead of restricted space.
The model units have MFI kitchen cabinets from the UK, distributed by Federal Hardware with its showroom located on Pasong Tamo corner EDSA in Makati. They’re laminated wooden cabinets that come in widths fit for small kitchens to large ones.
Jeffrey Ng says that South Forbes Villas is a great option for people who are either starting their own families or those who have retired. Either way, if you’re looking to escape the urban sprawl of Metro Manila and taking in some fresh air, the roads are leading all the way to the south.