Vista Land to turn 23 projects into ‘communicities’

VISTA LAND and Lifescapes, Inc. ( VLL) is looking into turning 23 existing projects into larger mixeduse developments it calls “communicities,” a top official said.

“We’re looking at about 23 potential areas right now that we want to expand to bigger multiuse areas,” VLL President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Paolo A. Villar told reporters in a media briefing in Taguig City last week.

Mr. Villar said the projects to be expanded are located in Mega Manila, which pertains to Metro Manila and neighboring provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Batangas, and Bulacan, and some provinces outside Luzon such as Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro.

VLL described “communicities” as integrated urban developments combining lifestyle, retail, prime office space, university town, health care, themed residential developments, and leisure components.

The listed property developer known for its affordable subdivision developments across the country said it will opt for joint venture ( JV) deals for these mixed-use areas.

“We’re looking to do more joint ventures.... We’re looking to do hundreds of hectares of projects that’s multi- use, probably large residential and we’ll have a commercial area. So all the big JVs will be for mixed- use,” Mr. Villar said.

The company currently has a land bank of 2,642 hectares across the country. Of this, 13% or around 330 hectares is its share in joint ventures.

VLL grew its net income by 13% in the first quarter of 2018 to P2.6 billion, fueled by its residential and commercial leasing businesses. The profit growth was supported by a 12% increase in revenues to P10.1 billion during the quarter.

The company is banking on the strong demand for residential projects to continue boosting its earnings for this year. Its profit target for 2018 is P10 billion, around 10% higher than the P9.1 billion it generated in 2017, while expecting reservation sales to reach P72 billion for the year.

VLL has allotted P45-50 billion in capital expenditures this year, P11.8 billion of which has already been exhausted in the first three months of 2018. It plans to raise around P10 billion through the issuance of bonds in the third quarter to continue funding this capex program.

Incorporated in 2007, VLL develops house and lots and residential high- rise condominiums through its six wholly owned subsidiaries, namely Brittany Corp., Crown Asia Properties, Inc., Vista Residences, Camella Homes, Inc., Communities Philippines, Inc., and VLL International, Inc.

The company also owns 88.34% of listed mall operator Starmalls, Inc. Mr. Villar said the company will be upgrading the Starmalls brand, with plans to refurbish existing malls in the coming years. —