Developer breaks ground for first child-friendly condo

CEBU, Philippines -  Five months from its launching, Sundance Residences has formally marked its construction stage through a ceremonial groundbreaking and concrete pouring ceremony last November 29 at its development site in Barangay Banawa, Cebu City.

As the pioneering venture of  WorldWide  Central Properties, Inc. (WWCPI), member of the homegrown WorldWide Steel Group, Sundance Residences takes pride in ensuring that the development has every convenience a modern family needs within reach, according to WWCPI president and chief executive officer Kent Ong.

Ong, also an engineer, said Sundance Residences will be the first child-friendly condominium project in Cebu.

“The parents are so much preoccupied with their work already that they should not bother where to send their kids for tutorial classes, for example, or where to find leisure activities for them,” he said.

“As a parent myself, I can relate to other parents wanting a place where they could work while having that peace of mind that their kids are safe,” he added.

The condominium’s features that will support its child-friendly claim are its anti-mosquito environment, kiddie toilets and urinals, columns with rounded corners and balconies with higher than standard railings.

WWCPI officials said Sundance Residences will also feature a professionally managed day care center and other child-friendly establishments like music, language and arts schools, as well as tutorial centers where children could get holistic education.

In addition, they have also partnered with premier child-care safety brand safety first to ensure safety for children by child-proofing most common areas of  the development like the lobby, among others. 

Balconies will also cater to the safety of young residents, with higher and more compact railings.

Sundance Residences is a mid-rise development composed of two towers. The first tower is 16 stories high, while the second one is just about the same height. The architectural design of the two-tower development is spearheaded by Architect Antonio Trillanes, Jr. 

At its formal launching last July, company officials said the units in the first tower are expected to be turned over to the tenants within the second quarter of  2015.

“Our project boasts of having units that are larger than the average-size of most developments, ensuring that space planning is efficiently maximized,” they said.

WWCPI has earlier identified accessibility as one of Sundance Residences’ cutting edges.

Located in a 3,200-square meter property along S. Duterte St. in Barangay Banawa, it is some three-minute drive to grocery stores and five to 10 minutes away from hospitals, schools, universities and the central business district.

In an interview, Ann Leslie Ngo, president of WorldWide Group, shared that before deciding to step into the real estate business with this particular project, it took them two years to do all the research and planning.

“It’s a well thought out project,” Ngo said. “Since it’s our first project, we wanted to make sure that we hire the best consultants in town.”

For this development, WWCPI has hired the technical assistance of celebrated furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue for the building’s interior design.

The studio units, taking up a total area of 29 square meters including the balcony space, are currently selling at P1.9 million. One, two, and three-bedroom units are also obtainable. (FREEMAN)