Charming old south, exciting new communities

I travel south of Manila often because of my consultancy work and journalistic jaunts. Travel down SLEX is thankfully getting better as improvements to the highway are progressing well. Soon it will be as smooth and convenient as the NLEX.

I remember when it was considered a viajeng probinsya (travel to the province) to go anywhere past Parañaque. My mother’s side of the family is from Santa Rosa, Laguna and the Gonzalez clan has an ancestral house there. My dad would pack us all into the car twice a year to go down there. This was for the annual Christmas party, and in summer we went for the annual golf tournament at the old Canlubang estate.

I have fond memories of both regular treks. In the ‘60s it took three to four hours to get there from our home in Quezon City using the old provincial road. The long drives were rewarded with gifts and food for the Christmas trip. The summer trips involved duck pin bowling and yummy picnics while our dad chased those little white balls down stretches of coconut and sugar-fringed greens.

The idyllic setting that was the Canlubang estate was in fact part of my family history. My grandfather Jose Gonzalez was the company doctor for the Americans who ran the sugar operations before the war. My mom told me stories of how Lolo would ride on a horse to do his rounds of checking on the health of the workers.

Little would I imagine that the whole area from Alabang to Canlubang, and further south of Santa Rosa, would be turned into residential and leisure developments a scant 40 years later. These developments have been sprouting fast since the ‘80s but not all of them were sensitive to the lay of the land or the history of the place.

The Canlubang estate is one of the last holdouts as most of the ticky tacky “subdivision” developments happened close to the highway. The Ayala Land Corporation started with its signature style of master-planned residential projects in Alabang. This evolved from the ‘70s to ‘90s to become the preferred address south of the original villages in Makati.

Today, Ayala continues this type of high-value-added, distinctive-community-making, up-market real estate development with Nuvali. This new and extensive project is the fruit of Ayala Land Inc.’s long partnership with the Yulo family who owns most of the old Canlubang Estate.

Since its launch a few years ago Nuvali has spread its coverage southwards and it was natural to extend the transformation and the relationship with the Yulo family through additional projects. The latest addition is Montecito, a 60-hectare development centrally located in the estate and   blessed with beautiful rolling terrain, great views, and expansive green, open spaces. It even has its own lake.

Here, Jose Yulo Jr. envisioned a community where he could share the beauty and rich heritage of Canlubang with family and friends. Yulo Jr. wanted Montecito to be based on a solid social backbone: the concept of family and friendship.

Yulo took that real estate concept into physical translation by having the project’s designers craft the community to encourage family and close friends to interact with each other — the way good neighbors used to. This is done through Greenways, which are linear green connectors between lots. These serve a dual purpose. First they ensure that there is enough space between houses to guarantee valued privacy and then they also make it convenient and attractive for neighbors to come together and socialize.

The lake is another example of a dual purpose element. It is a central water feature for visual appreciation as well as a locus for activities like fishing, running and biking. Physical amenities like this flesh out the overall vision of gracious living with the aim of preserving timeless values. These are concepts that Ayala Land Premier, the specific arm of the Ayala Land Inc in charge of Montecito shares.

Montecito aligned with the existing projects of Ayala Land Premier through its “five pillars of excellence: prime location, distinctive communities, unsurpassed quality, hassle-free service and worry-free ownership.” Montecito is also surrounded by Nuvali, so as far as Nuvali conveniences are concerned, Montecito enjoys similar advantages as other ALI projects within Nuvali.

Montecito is additionally distinct because of the Leandro Locsin-designed Yulo estate that sits within Montecito, which has been donated by the Yulos to the community. The sprawling complex of houses, pools and gardens is now being made over by Ayala Land Premier consultants in association with Andy Locsin of Leandro V. Locsin and Partners to convert it into a village clubhouse that will be called Pasa Tiempo.

I had the opportunity to ramble in and around this classic Locsin design and his spaces still work well. In fact, it should be studied as a benchmark for luxury in living spaces that find few contemporary counterparts. Probably no other development offers potential residents the opportunity of such heritage of modern architecture. This former mansion is also going to be the largest clubhouse that Ayala Land Premier will have in its current portfolio of high-end projects. Furthermore, Pasa Tiempo will be complemented by a new Leandro V. Locsin and Partners-designed chapel in the next few years.

Montecito is a short drive from the heart of Sta. Rosa. Compared to when I used to visit, Sta. Rosa has become a bustling, vibrant town with developed exclusive communities, shopping centers, medical facilities and top private educational institutions like La Salle and St. Scholastica’s.

The larger context to remember is that Montecito is embraced by Nuvali. Ayala Land Inc. is reportedly developing Nuvali as the regional center of the south and as such there will be more developments to complement the first ones. Planned are a complete and integrated business district, a retail hub, BPO campuses, and there urban elements to make this regional center fully functional and ultimately attractive as a destination and place of permanent residence.

My memories of golden summers and happy Christmases persist and these, too, will make up future memories of those who choose to move to this new valley of good neighbors and great neighborhoods.

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For more information on Montecito or Nuvali log on to www.ayalalandpremier.com, or e-mail ask@ayalalandpremier.com. Feedback is welcome. E-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.