If you were living at TRAG, life indeed would be just a stone’s throw away from work and play, and everything in between. Or, as a friend of ALP head Angie Lacson jokingly puts it, "You can drink at night and crawl up to your home." Naturally, Angie was horrified when we mockingly proposed that maybe that’s what the Greenbelt slogan should be: You can drink yourself into oblivion and nobody would be the wiser the morning after, except perhaps the doorman.
Designed by William J. Higgins Architectural International, the Manila Tower of TRAG, launched just this week, is 48 storeys high and is the third of the towers – the last chance you’ll get to buy into TRAG since the first has been sold out and the second is nearing sellout stage.
Manila Tower boasts views of Manila Bay, the Makati skyline, and views as far as Laguna de Bay. It also prides itself on the kind of interior finishing and living experience that ALP is known for – high-end, luxurious and classy. They’re also foreseeing this project as one of the best real-estate investments one can make given its location, location, location!
Speaking of location, Angie says that when buying a home, it’s usually the husband that decides on the location (and price), and the wife on everything else – including how big the unit should be. With TRAG, it is kind of a no-brainer when it comes to the first rule of real estate. As for the size, it offers one-, two-, three-bedroom units, and a handful of lofts designed for residents with different needs and budgets: families with young to teenage kids, empty nesters, young couples, bachelors and bachelorettes.
Majority of the units at Manila Tower are one-and two-bedroom units, costing between P5.8 million and 11 million while each of the seven penthouses goes for P26 million.
We all know that while most people buy condo units to rent out to expats, TRAG may be an exception since it’s just so damn good to pass up living there yourself. Angie says that for Manila Tower, they are expecting more singles and couples to buy. "It also caters to the OFWs who want a place of their own when they come home. A home that’s not too big since they come back here only once a year or once in two years."
The OFW market was proven in the San Lorenzo Tower, whose buyers – as much as 30 to 35 percent – were Filipinos living abroad. "We have a sales force dedicated to catering to the overseas market in the US called Ayala Land International Sales Inc.," says May Precilla, ALP marketing manager. "The OFW market is categorized into two. One is the first-generation immigrants who are retirees, and the second is the full nesters. If they’re going to visit the Philippines, they want a place to stay rather than having to bunk with the family or staying in a hotel."
Angie adds, "We learn from each project. From TRAG, we learned that a lot of buyers are coming from big houses and so they need more space. For empty nesters like grandparents, it’s important to be in a location that their grandkids would want to go – and who wouldn’t want to go to Greenbelt? For balikbayans, it’s important that they retain their independence when they’re in the country – it’s too much of a hassle to depend on relatives to drive them around, they don’t want to impose or depend on anyone and they want a place that’s easy to maintain and very secure since it’s going to be empty most of the time."
As for the foreign buyers, more expats and foreign corporations are getting condominiums in the center of Makati rather than renting a huge house in Forbes Park. "It’s more compact, you have housekeeping and security services, and you don’t have a high-maintenance cost."
The TRAG showroom houses model units by Joel Songsong and Ogie Periquet (one-bedroom unit), Budji Layug and Royal Pineda (loft), Andy Locsin (two-bedroom), and Gerry Contreras (three-bedroom) for different kinds of residents in mind. ALP gives them very specific briefs on the residents – the kind of lifestyles they lead and careers – which they draw from past client profiles.
"We look at the designers’ portfolio and their works, and match them with our target markets," Angie explains their choice of designers. "They know how to adjust and they’re flexible because deadlines are always tight when we do model units. Also, it’s a matter of taste, since designers have their own styles and have our own market’s taste. Our market really varies; some like contemporary, others like Oriental or Filipino. It changes every now and then. The target, of course, is to give future homeowners ideas on how they can design their homes."
May adds that when they did a survey of what buyers liked about TRAG, they were surprised that most of their clients answered "the church and Ayala Museum." They thought it would be shopping and the dining options that would top the list.
"Greenbelt in the morning is really something," says Angie. "Going to church, and then having coffee here – it’s nice, it’s open, you can commune with nature."
Last week, ALP also unveiled its new showroom at the third level of Greenbelt 3, designed by B+C Design, a boutique graphic and communication firm with nine years of local experience. This new space showcases the kind of lifestyles TRAG residents are envisioned to lead once the turnover of the three buildings – Laguna Tower (in 2008), San Lorenzo Tower (2009 and 2010) and Manila Tower (2011) – is completed.
"We wanted to show how, being in the center of it all, people’s lives are connected," says Baby Imperial, managing director of B&C Design, Inc. "We also wanted to show how the residents’ lives are diverse, yet fluid and well-centered."
The photo panels covering one wall show what could be a typical a day in the life of a TRAG resident, and by the looks of it, it’s going to be an exciting, convenient and glamorous one. "We’ve created a narrative to accentuate the concept that everything here is connected, everything is accessible," says Baby. "We want visitors to be drawn to the stories, identify with the people in the photos and feel what it’s like to live in this environment."
Another wall is covered with samples of the interior finishing that TRAG is using, from the granite and ceramic flooring to wood, and the bathroom fixtures.
The three towers have their own amenities – including gyms and game rooms – and also share a 5,000-sq.m. podium with pools, courts, a gym and mini theater.
So if you want to live in the center of it all, well, there’s only one address that can give you that.