Filipino-Japanese tie-up housing project breaks ground in Cavite

By Roderick Abad

SIX months after signing their joint-venture (JV) agreement for the development of an 11-hectare township in Dasmariñas, Cavite, homegrown P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corp. (P.A. Properties) and Tokyo-based Hankyu Realty Co., Ltd. officially broke ground on the P656-million master-planned community project called Idesia—boasting modern Asian-inspired homes for the Filipinos.

P.A. Properties Chairman Romarico T. Alvarez and President Jonathan G. Lu (13th and 15th from left) lead the groundbreaking ceremony for Idesia, its joint-venture project with Japan’s Hankyu Realty Co. Ltd. Present during the occasion are Hankyu Realty’s Deputy General Manager Toda Masahiko (11th from left); Pag-IBIG Fund Vice President Corporate Sales Group Elmer Gabriel Tugade (ninth from left) and Dasmariñas Mayor Elpidio Barzaga Jr. (10th from left), other officials from both companies and other VIPs.

“This project did not come on a silver platter,” said P.A. Properties President Jonathan G. Lu during his speech at the recent inaugural ceremony on the site. “It was a product of 16 months or more than a year of courtship between Hankyu and P.A. [Properties].”

Idesia is the first phase of the second housing development of P.A. Properties in the progressive city of Dasmariñas. Meanwhile, it is Hankyu Realty’s third overseas undertaking in Southeast Asia, next to Vietnam and Thailand.

“This is our first project here in the Philippines, and if it becomes successful, then, we would like to do business for a longer time here,” Hankyu Realty Deputy General Manager Toda Masahiko told reporters in an interview after the ceremonial groundbreaking.

Because both companies know the domestic market’s growing demand for “quality living,” future residents can expect Idesia to be introducing lots of green spaces and tasteful amenities on top of homes that they can be proud of.

Livable dwellings

BECAUSE Filipinos, especially the working-class, deserve nothing but a decent housing, this horizontal project in Barangay San Agustin offers them a wide sort of choices fit for their space requirements.

While initially the plan is to have 868 house-and-lot units—which the developers bared during their JV pact signing in June—this horizontal project has over 900 dwellings of various types and sizes at present. “We improved the efficiency of the land,” Lu noted. “Now, we are coming up with the 919 units [of house and lot].”

The three types of house models for Idesia are the two-story Gaia, a single-detached unit with a 63-square-meter (sq-m) total floor area and 100-sq-m lot area; the Talia, a 2-story single-attached unit that offers a 52.25-sq-m total floor area and an 80-sq-m lot area; and 2-storey Aria, a townhouse unit with 42-sq-m total floor area and a 60-sq-m lot area.

“The price range is about P1.8 million for the townhouses all the way to less than P3 million for the detached,” he said.

With their generous space complemented by clean and contemporary looks, these options are perfect for urbanites; start-up, growing or middle-income families; and those who seek to upgrade their total community living.

Apart from affordable yet attractive housing, they will get to live in a property that preserves the original greenery in the site, plus the addition of more trees and flowering plants.

Topline amenities

DESIGNED to create a “balanced” life for homebuyers, Idesia will have three zones meant to achieve vitality, have some fun and, of course, unwind.

The Active Zone features basketball and covered courts for the sports buffs. Kiddos and young-at-hearts have a place at the children’s playground. Those living a healthy lifestyle can do their marathon in a 346.71-meter-long jogging path. After sweating it out, they can freshen up at the shower area nearby.

Residents here can enjoy the adult and kiddie swimming pools at the Recreation Zone. There is also the 2-story clubhouse with semi-outdoor and indoor function rooms for social gatherings. For a more adrenaline-rush activities, there are indoor and outdoor gyms, an activity area for exercise, aerobics, dance sports and the likes. A wide provision for an open-air cinema is worth to spend with the family and the entire community.

Loosening up is at its best at the Relaxation Zone. It’s a go-to spot for reading, meditating, having a picnic, or simply lounging. This area is situated around a pond, surrounded by tall trees and flowering plants. What’s more, there’s an open space for kite-flying, yoga and other leisure activities.

Accessible

LOCATION is the main consideration of the developers, which both the P.A. Properties and Hankyu Realty want to achieve in Idesia.

In doing so, this upcoming community in the growing city of Dasmariñas is strategically located near two main arteries going to and from Cavite and into Metro Manila. Coastal Road or South Luzon Expressway is accessible by car approximately in just 45 minutes. Also, it is within the usual route of provincial buses and express vans for easy commute of the residents.

Shopping malls, such as SM City, Robinsons Place and Waltermart in Dasmariñas, are within reach from Idesia. Topnotch academic institutions abound, such as the De La Salle University (DLSU)-Dasmariñas, Lyceum of the Philippines University (Cavite campus), Saint Paul College Dasmariñas and Emilio Aguinaldo College.

DLSU Medical Center, Emilio Aguinaldo Medical Center and the GenTri Doctors Medical Center are, likewise, near the upcoming residential community—between 10 to 20 minutes from the project site. Idesia is also about 30 minutes away from vacation spots Tagaytay City and less than two hours from destinations Nasugbu, Lian and Calatagan in Batangas.

A milestone project

IDESIA is a landmark initiative that showcases cooperation between the Filipino and Japanese real-estate companies, not only benefiting the country’s economy but also the peoples’ lives.

This partnership, P.A. Properties Chairman Romarico Alvarez earlier said, will help them contribute to address the more than 5 million housing backlog in the Philippines.

Hankyu Realty President and Chief Executive Officer Ryuichi Morotomi also previously stated that they hoped the partnership would provide good housing for the working people in the Philippines, while continuing to support the nation’s economic growth.

“To achieve that, we will strive to use our existing knowledge and apply our know-how to this venture,” he said.

Appreciative of their noble causes, Dasmariñas Mayor Elpidio Barzaga Jr. expressed his gratitude to them for choosing his city of jurisdiction as the site of their JV project.

“We are proud to say that there are continuous investments in the city of Dasmariñas, as shown by the opening of Idesia here,” he noted.

“And like every relationship, I will be hoping and praying that this would be a long-lasting relationship between the two companies. It would be a very fruitful and successful business endeavor,” he added.

Future endeavors

GIVEN that development activities of the 11-hectare Idesia have already commenced following its recent inauguration, a lot more portions of the entire 37-acre property are yet to be developed.

“We are looking at two years construction of land development for the first phase, more or less, and then finish all the selling in three to five years,” Lu said.

“We are still preparing the business plan for the remaining 26 hectares. We are hoping that we can finish it early next year,” he added.

Seeing the property fit for a mixed-use kind of development, the president of P.A. Properties disclosed that Phase 2 will be partly residential-cum-commercial while the third phase will be purely commercial.

“We may put up a high-rise building in Phase 3 [since] it’s very near the Governor’s Drive. That’s the plan. We are hoping that we could complete all the developments in this area in seven to eight years,” he shared, while citing that Hakyu Realty has shown interest to also tie up with them in developing the next two phases.

Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/filipino-japanese-tie-up-housing-project-breaks-ground-in-cavite/