AboitizLand to invest P5B in Batangas project
ABOITIZ LAND, INC. is moving forward with its foray into Luzon with the launch of the first phase of a beachside residential development in San Juan, Batangas.
The real estate arm of listed conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) unveiled Seafront Residences at a beach-themed event in Bonifacio Global City on Wednesday, capturing the feel of the project designed to be a vacation home for growing families and retirees.
In a press briefing, AboitizLand First Vice-President for Operations Rafael Fernandez de Mesa said the company is investing P5 billion for the project in a span of 15 to 20 years.
“Seafront Residences highlights how we approach real estate as a whole, as a company. It starts with being a beachside community, but we didn’t stop there. We designed the community so that it would offer more to the people living there,” AboitizLand President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick B. Reyes said during the same event.
The 43-hectare Seafront Residences will be the company’s first full build-out property, with Mr. Reyes saying they have noticed how people buy lots but wait several years before building a house.
“There are a lot of communities sitting empty and don’t have a vibrant community, so we decided to offer a new product to the market where we will actually build the homes for the people for most of the development so they could start making memories,” he said.
Seaside Residences can accommodate 800 homes or around 1,000 residents, with the first phase comprising 250 to 300 units. Unit sizes range from 150 to 275 square meters, valued at P6.5 million to P9 million during pre-selling.
“These prices are expected to rise quickly after the launch,” Mr. Reyes said.
Construction of the first phase is expected to be completed in the next two to three years.
AboitizLand officials said the launch of the next phases will depend the take-up of units in the first phase.
The property developer is targeting the high-end market for Seaside Residences, specifically families with kids who want a second home and retirees who would most likely use the unit as their primary home.
“There is also a positive response from overseas Filipino workers who eventually would want to come back,” Mr. Reyes said.
AboitizLand is looking to launch four more projects in 2017, including a 9.3-hectare shopping destination in Lipa, Batangas and two-gated developments in Northern Luzon. The group will maintain its presence in Cebu through two residential communities.
In 2016, the property firm’s revenues dropped by 7% to P2.4 billion, contributing only P188 million to parent AEV from the previous year’s P536 million. The 65% drop in income contribution to AEV was attributed to “deferred industrial business unit revenue recognition, planned increases in operating expenses intended for the organization’s future growth.”