Mornings greet you with shimmering drops of dew happily perched on treetops. The cool bracing breeze caresses you and soothes your soul. It’s nice, quiet, and safe here. Amid the cramped urban jungle, you enjoy the luxury of space. Here, there’s plenty of room to roam and be free — yes, like a bird!
Such is the stuff dream homes are made of. Fact is, your dream home just came true with Avida, an Ayala Land company. “Avida is a celebration of life, as coined from two Spanish words ave or to celebrate, and vida, which means life,” says Leo Montenegro, president/CEO of Avida Land Corp. “We came up with the name Avida after we talked to a lot of our customers on how they viewed living in our communities. They say it’s freedom — liberation from cramped spaces in the city because they used to rent in the city. They described their lives in the past as ‘buhay kalapati,’ like living in a bird house atop a pole. Now, all of a sudden, they have a lot of space, they have yards, they can breathe fresh air, and their families can enjoy the outdoors, a transformation to buhay agila!”
Leo knows exactly what it’s like living in this “no-space” age. “When I got married, I got an apartment in Sta. Ana,” he relates. “When you go out the door, it’s five steps to the fence, and when you get out of the fence, it’s the road already. It’s so noisy, what with the jeepneys plying the area. You always have to keep your doors and windows closed because of the smoke and pollution.”
In the mid-1990s, the Montenegros bought an Avida property in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. “It was an upgrade from my existing home,” Leo notes.
Accessible Locations
“At Avida, we’re serving a market that’s aspirational. This is the hardworking class who dream of owning their first home. Those who commute and bring their baon or lunchbox to work so they could save up for their dream home or the OFWs who endure the loneliness of being away from their families. Like they say, they expend dugo at pawis — blood, sweat, and tears — so they could one day buy their own home.”
Location is one of the most crucial factors that they consider when purchasing a new home. Avida developments are highly accessible via available public transport systems, so the families can benefit from reduced travel time to schools, churches, hospitals, commercial centers, and business hubs. With everything within reach, the time they save in traffic and commuting can be translated to more quality time with loved ones. Evelyn Malinao, a resident of San Antonio Heights in Sto. Tomas, Batangas who works in the nearby Philips Electronics facility, says that aside from being upgraded to a better neighborhood, the transfer cut her travel time to work and saved her rental expenses, now channeled to monthly amortizations. Best of all, her new home gives her the opportunity to garden.
Stress-free Buying experience
Avida has a wide scale of products that cater to the middle class, hardworking segments. Leo enumerates, “The entry point of first-time homeowners is Avida’s low affordable line at P1 to 2M. Then there are the affordable, where price points start at P2 to P3M, and the high affordable, at P3 to 4.5M. Then you aspire for something better and get to upgrade from one segment to another until you can now afford the other Ayala Land residential developments of Alveo and Ayala Land Premier.”
But apart from the price, the major draw of Avida is the fact that it’s an Ayala Land company. Because it’s an Ayala Land product, people expect only the best — the best quality, the best service, the best location, the best security, the best of everything.
“We believe that our customers’ buying experience is an integral part of our value proposition,” Leo affirms. “We have pre-arranged financing facilities through accredited banks, we offer a variety of financing schemes to help ease the burden of purchasing a new home. We also make sure that site visits are as informative and as relaxing as possible. Our brokers and employees adhere to strict ethical standards, while our dedicated customer hotline is readily available to address all our customers’ concerns (call 848-5200 or visit www.avidaland.com). And since more than 40 percent of our market are OFWs, we set up international offices to reach out to all our clients, wherever they are.”
It’s a wise investment, says Avida Towers Sucat condo owner Cherry Babol, proprietress of Skin Appeal Face and Body Spa and Dermatology Clinic. “Just last year, I bought an Avida studio-type unit (20 sq.m.) for only P900,000. Now, it’s worth over a million. The value appreciates fast. Plus when I heard it was by an Ayala Land company, I bought it right away because I was assured that the units would be turned over on time. I’m impressed by how professional they deal with clients. It was well-built and I furnished it myself. It’s my weekend house and I like this place in Sucat because it’s near the airport and I travel a lot. I also like the fact that the place is well-secured. Once, I asked how many security guards there are in my tower alone and they told me it’s about a dozen.”
The young and pretty bachelorette with a keen nose for business owns two other condos. And now, she’s thinking of buying another Avida property, this time in Cavite.
Quality Assurance
From affordable to high-end, all Ayala Land properties have that unmistakable stamp of construction discipline, workmanship, and quality. “We don’t do shortcuts,” Leo asserts. “We do research and even study competition. We ask ourselves, ‘Why can they afford to price their products low?’ And then we find out that their discipline is different — the thickness of the road, the quality of materials used, the workmanship, etc. are different. We build roads that last and are better than what the government requires in terms of thickness. Even at the planning stage, we ask and think: How will our clients live there?”
But because Avida is an Ayala Land company, the challenge is bigger, too, according to Avida’s workaholic staff. Leo shares, “Little things they can tolerate with other developers they can’t with us because their expectations are more. They say, ‘Ayala Land ’yan, dapat maganda ang service, quality, etc. That’s why we’re always on our toes to serve them better. To hold their hands, if we have to. There should be no failure.”
And walang iwanan. “We don’t just leave our subdivisions after we’ve turned over the community to the homeowners,” Leo stresses. “We help them nurture the community.”
Emiliana Soliven, homeowners association president of Avida San Antonio Heights in Batangas City, couldn’t be thankful enough because Avida is still around to fulfill its promise of “walang iwanan” when it could very well have left them.
Winston de Vera, a resident of San Alfonso Heights (one of the older developments of Avida), recalls that Avida was there to help the residents of Naga pick up the pieces and stand on their own feet again after the killer typhoon Reming devastated the place. “We acknowledge every action and support that Avida gave us, especially in the immediate restoration of the electrical facilities and water system of the village.”
Leo recounts, “As a responsible developer, we helped them and set up generators. It was the only place that had electricity right after the typhoon.”
Designed Beyond the Basics
Avida is also there to help nurture family ties and forge closer interaction between neighbors. To do that, it has earmarked 45 percent of its new developments in Nuvali to open spaces, where more trees and greens can be planted, picnics can be held, children can run free, and everybody can just enjoy the outdoors. Yes, pet owners are free to walk their dogs but are gently reminded to pick up after them.
“Since we normally cater to young families, they feel liberated that their kids can play outside without them worrying where their kids are,” says Leo, himself a concerned parent.
He adds, “Avida is the first to come up with the Green Ribbon concept, introduced in Avida Settings Nuvali. Here, homes are designed in such a way that the living spaces relate cohesively with the outdoor open spaces. It’s like an extension of the residents’ garden. These are walkable parks designed to foster community bonding. We have another community pattern, which is called the courtyard where a small park is surrounded by a cluster of homes. Of course, there’s the bigger park that boasts modern-day amenities like a swimming pool and the clubhouse, where Masses, social events, and parties can be held.”
Is there a fitness gym, too? “No gyms for the affordable segment,” says Leo, “but we’re looking at coming up with outdoor gym equipment for our condominium developments, meaning it’s not confined to the four walls or under a roof. It’s low-maintenance. Here, residents can do some running, they can do weights, etc..”
Relaxed Living Experience
Of course, it’s not all play and no work for the Avida communities spread out in and outside the metro. “Aside from physically securing the community and making sure that all common amenities are functioning and properly maintained, we’ve come up with several programs to teach residents how to manage their communities,” Leo says with a hint of pride.
To ensure the residents” commitment to community development, Avida launched its signature Project CLEAN & GREEN (Get Ready to Enhance your Environment Now to ensure that Community Living is Enriched And Nurtured). The inter-community competition seeks to promote harmonious village living and quality village management and maintenance. But more than that, it has served to enhance the sense of belonging between the villages and Avida.
A sparkling example of a clean and green Avida community is St. Gabriel Heights in Antipolo, a model homeowners association. Here, residents are not just talking garbage (quite literally) but also learning how to segregate waste. Winning the war on waste (WOW) and wowing other communities, St. Gabriel Heights has also turned trash to cash. They bring their recyclables to the materials recovery facility (MRF) and then sell them to junk dealers. The income is set aside for the salaries of two full-time eco-aides and other community programs.
“In unity, there is strength,” says Jose Melecio M. Palma Jr., president, San Francisco Village Phase 1 Homeowners Association in Naga City. “This is what I always stress to my fellow homeowners. At the start, when Avida turned over San Francisco Village to the homeowners association, we could hardly decide where to begin, what to give priority.”
A million thanks to Avida because now, this association has P1.5 million in the bank. The association purchased a utility vehicle to use for garbage collection. The president personally supervises the cleanliness, beautification, and planting of more trees around the village.
Mr. and Mrs. Vic Gonzales of San Jose Village 2, Biñan, Laguna give the CLEAN & GREEN project their two (green) thumbs up. “It has helped improve the quality of life in our village,” the couple agrees. “It has created awareness among homeowners to be concerned about keeping a clean and healthy environment ... The whole neighborhood is taking time out to beautify their surroundings, bringing nature into their homes. My wife and I love plants. They create good feelings. It’s nice to see friends and new acquaintances get interested in plants. It’s nice to live in a working class community and spend a quiet weekend amid nature.”
Dr. Job Mingoa of Avida Residences in Sta. Catalina will be the first to prescribe to his patients a dose of green and quiet, which he’s found with Avida. “Everyday living is bliss, trash is nil, nights are tranquil, the neighborhood is quiet, and there’s a sense of security. What more can you ask for?”
“We want to create a new city of the future that’s anchored on sustainability,” Leo points out. “Our residents are people with diverse backgrounds, wants, and needs. We guide them to be united in managing their community because at the end of the day, we want the value of that community to appreciate over time and the homeowners to benefit out of it.”
Celebrate life and live your dream of your own safe haven on earth.