Nature & nurture

This development is home to some of the most colorful characters you will ever meet. Some are very social, some prefer to be alone, and some like to display themselves, which suits the watching neighbors just fine. What they do have in common is that they all built their homes to painstaking perfection, one layer at a time, to nurture their young, to rest at the end of the day. They scouted for the right location until they found the perfect spot – either close to the ground or high up where they could mingle with others and enjoy the views.

We’re not talking about people, we’re talking about birds: the Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker, the Scale-feathered Malkoha, Zebra Dove, and Pacific Swallow are just some of the birds that continue to make their home at Ayala Greenfield Estates, a 500-hectare property jointly developed by Ayala Land and Greenfield Development Corporation.

That wooded areas and greens were left untouched in such a big development is something of a miracle in these times of flattening lands and building at breakneck speed for profit. Greenfield Estates, located quite a distance from Manila, in Calamba, Laguna, prides itself on the fact that you are not only surrounded by nature, but also that you are, in fact, far away from Metro Manila.

"It’s not for everyone," says Ayala Land senior vice president Angie Lacson, who also heads the company’s Land and Houses Group. "It’s not, for instance, for people who have to be at the office at 8 a.m. It is, however, for people who have control of their time, like retirees and heads of their own businesses, who have a special need which is to be in a nature setting."

And what a setting it is! Nestled in the foothills of Mt. Makiling, the property has views of the mountain, of Laguna de Bay, the Calamba plains and Tagaytay Ridge. With its own 18-hole, 72-par golf course designed by Robert Trent Jr., you can be assured of a vast expanse of greens even if golf is not your cup of tea. Thanks to the varied elevation and height restriction, homes will not be blocking each other’s views – even when all of them are built on the 600 lots that comprise the first four phases. Lot sizes are from 600 to 1,800 sq.m., with a price tag of P9,000 to P12,000 per sq.m., similar to the prices of Westgrove Heights, another Ayala Land development, located nearer Manila in Silang, Cavite.

"We believed in the beginning that Greenfield would attract mostly retirees, and true enough, most of our initial buyers fit the profile. Lately, we’ve been getting younger buyers, families with children, couples in their mid-thirties and executives."

Pol Tanco, Ayala Greenfield Estates project manager, adds, "Right now there are 30 houses that have been constructed in the subdivision and half of the owners are actually living there full-time, while half of them use their homes on weekends. As the accessibility improves, we expect more people to be living there full-time."

Angie says, "We interviewed some of our residents and asked why they chose to live there even if they have to be in Manila every day. They said it was because they like the lifestyle, they value nature, and are willing to make the sacrifice of commuting every day. Hopefully the travel time will be reduced as infrastructure improves – and it will, the government has plans for that. The key is infrastructure, it adds value to the land."

It was raining when we visited the site last month, but when the rains cleared, we couldn’t have seen bluer skies or greener woods or better views of Mt. Makiling. You realize that apart from all the views that surround you, this is actually an exceptional place to nurture your family – just as the birds have done for generations. There is no nature vs. nurture here, no wondering down the road whether your children are products of your genes or a bad neighborhood that forces them to keep indoors, because here it’s all you. One of the things parents today complain about is that kids stay indoors too much, glued to their computers and TV. Here, surrounded by leadwood and gliridia trees, it is easier to get them outdoors to teach them to appreciate nature, to enjoy being outside in the sun, flying kites, running with their dogs or playing golf with their parents. The developers saw to it that families will not want for activities they can do together. There’s a lagoon for fishing, hiking trails, picnic grounds, camping grounds, bird-watching spots, wild flowers to provoke their curiosity, and the developers are studying what kind of animals they can introduce into the ecosystem. It’s like being in camp all year round.

"Camping is a big family activity everywhere except in our country," says Angie. "It’s about time our kids enjoyed this activity."

Okay, but given that these are rich families with kids that have it easy, are they going to cave in and build Philippe Starck toilets and snack bars nearby? Angie laughs and says, "No, no, no. It’s going to be very rugged and located in the woods. It’s camping as it should be."

And when it rains, the kids can still do sports at the village clubhouse’s indoor badminton, tennis and basketball courts, or race their RC choppers and cars. Designed by Leandro V. Locsin and Partners – the firm that also designed the public areas of Laguna Towers in Greenbelt, and Serendra – the clubhouse, with its massive, slatted roofs, is well integrated into the masterplan designed by the San Francisco-based firm Wallace, Roberts and Todd, and the landscaping by IP Santos and Associates, Aurelio + ACL Asia and Gardens by Sanders.

"This is going to be a fully integrated development in time," says Angie. The four phases that are now open, 90 percent of which are already sold, comprise just a third of the total development.

"It’s probably going to take another 15 years. By that time we should have the commercial and residential communities completed. We have an allocation for an eventual school, we just have to find the school willing to transfer. That’s always part of the plan – a school and a church. It’s pretty close to Westgrove, which has a lot of schools in its area like Brent, St. Scholastica and La Salle."

As for property value, will Greenfield have the same appreciation as Ayala Alabang? "In time, yes. It took a long time for Ayala Alabang to reach its present market value. Greenfield and Westgrove will have that, too, especially as progress advances in the south. Housing is a basic need and if we continue to grow the way we are growing, we will always be building. We’ve been selling a lot to our high-end market, and even though this is a small market, their children will also need homes so it continues."

Angie adds that what sets an Ayala property apart is "the thoughtful planning, from conceptualization all the way to when the property is turned over to homeowners. We’re with our customers for a very long time, helping solve problems. The property is managed by Ayala Property Management Corporation (APMC) and they ensure that the development works not only during construction but up to the time they’re managing it themselves. It keeps the value of the property high, whether it’s a horizontal or vertical development. We can’t foresee everything that will happen, but we anticipate what may happen 10 to 20 years from now, how the development will grow, and we prepare for that. The roads are wide, the waterworks anticipate the growth, the lighting is studied carefully. We are confident that way into the future, we will be able to sustain the community."

Pol adds, "Ayala Land has established its heritage in building communities. We’re with them for a very long time."

APMC runs the property for two or three years, and establishes the homeowners’ association, which then decides whether or not to retain the group or hire another firm. "More often than not, they retain APMC because they see the value they bring in – mind you, it’s not cheap because they think of everything, they really are on call. I was just talking to a homeowner in one of our condominiums. Something was wrong with her faucet, she called up at 11 p.m. and the plumber arrived promptly. She realized why the dues cost the way they do."

Angie confesses that if she were to build her dream house, it would be at Greenfield. Like many of the potential buyers they’ve talked to, it’s the mountain setting that makes the site unique: mountains at the back, water in front. "If you look at the different developments – even our own – we don’t have a mountains setting save for Greenfield. Yes, we have rolling hills at Westgrove, but it’s not on the mountainside, which is why we were able to develop on the varied elevations."

The birds, too, must enjoy the views of Greenfield and they’re probably chirping among themselves about the colorful characters that inhabit the community.

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For inquiries on Greenfield Estates, call Ayala Land sales and marketing at 848-5000, send e-mail to ayala-sales@ayalaland.com.ph, or visit www.ayalaland.com.ph.