CLI breaks ground for project January 13

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) will formally break the ground for the first two of four towers at Base Line Center, its new centerpiece project in the heart of midtown Cebu City, on Jan. 13 just in time for Sinulog 2016.

The groundbreaking comes three months after the company launched the project as well as its partnership with The Ascott Limited (Ascott) that will operate Citadines Cebu City which will have 180 serviced apartments in one of the two buildings.

These two buildings are Base Line HQ (Tower 1) and Base Line Premier (Tower 2). Both are slated for completion by the last quarter of 2018, according to Rose Yulo, CLI AVP for sales and marketing.

On the other hand, Citadines is set to open in time for Sinulog 2019, she added.

Citadines Cebu City will use condotel units located from the ninth to the twenty-first floor of Tower 1. The third to the eighth floors of the 21-storey condominium are allocated for Base Line HQ’s offices.

Both offices and residences will have separate lobby access.

Base Line Premier (Tower 2), on the other hand, will be a 27-storey residential condominium designed with contemporary architecture to maximize the best views of midtown Cebu with the units designed for flexible interior configuration.

A P3 billion integrated development with four towers, Base Line Center is located along Juana Osmeña St. in a site already locally known as Base Line, a landmark in sports and recreation for locales and foreigners since 1973.

The first two buildings under phase one will stand on a commercial area that will feature a supermarket and food and retail outlets surrounded by alfresco areas, disclosed Jose Franco B. Soberano, the company COO.

‘Dream  come  true’

Citadines operator Ascott is the world’s largest international serviced residence operator that has expanded its presence in the Philippines beyond Metro Manila, starting in Metro Cebu.

Citadines Cebu City will be its eighth property to operate in the Philippines, according to Arthur Gindap, Ascott's regional general manager for Philippines and Thailand.

Based in Singapore, Ascott has over 26,000 operating serviced residence units, plus 15,000 now under development, in over 260 properties in key global cities.

It runs three award-winning brands – Ascott, Citadines and Somerset – that span in 92 cities across 26 countries, 24 of which are new cities in Ascott's portfolio.

So far in the Philippines, it operates Ascott Makati, Ascott Bonifacio Global City Manila, Somerset Millennium Makati, Somerset Olympia Makati, and Citadines Salcedo Makati.

It will soon open Somerset Alabang Manila and Citadines Millennium Ortigas Manila.

CLI CEO Jose R. Soberano III said the partnership with Ascott is a “dream come true,” especially that this is CLI’s first project with a hotel component.

“Cebu is known for its thriving tourism and trade industries,” he said. “We think she deserves to have an international brand that will cater to the needs of both local and foreign investors and tourists who stay in Cebu for the long-haul.” (FREEMAN)