Filinvest, Cebu City finalize property deal

The Filinvest consortium and Cebu City government on Wednesday said it completed the sale of the 19.2-hectare property in South Road Properties (SRP) with the full payment and signing of the deed of absolute sale.

The Filinvest consortium, composed of Filinvest companies and Sytengco-owned companies, signed a deed of absolute sale with the Cebu

City government for the acquisition of a 19.2-hectare parcel of land, referred to as Lot 1, in Cebu’s SRP.

The consortium has paid in full the P6.7-billion tab for the property last December 19, 2019 and, likewise, received a certificate of full payment from the City of Cebu on the same date. The Filinvest consortium won the public bidding held by the City last July 2015 for the purchase of the property.

The Filinvest consortium is made up of Filinvest Land Inc., Filinvest Alabang Inc., and Cyberzone Properties Inc., while the Sytengco-owned companies include Anesy holding Corp., Betterfield Philippines Corp. and Igold holdings Corp.

The City Council of Cebu also passed a resolution, Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution 15-16652019 (City Council Resolution) that ratified the city’s acceptance of the purchase’s full payment and granted authority to City Mayor edgardo Labella, to sign, execute and deliver the deed of absolute sale, and other documents necessary to implement the sale and turnover of the property.

“We welcome the new developments and opportunities that Filinvest consortium will bring to SRP and to the city. The purchase payment will help the city to finally retire the SRP loan and provide basic services to its constituents. Our city strives to maintain the business-friendly environment that has made us one of the top investment havens in the Philippines,” said Labella.

Filinvest is looking to build a mixed-use development with residential, office, commercial and retail components. The type of development that will be introduced in the 19.2-hectare property will complement the existing array of residential and lifestyle real-estate options in the company’s existing 40-hectare joint venture with Cebu City which is called City di Mare, and the 10-hectare Il Corso commercial development along Pond F of the SRP.

City di Mare is in a self-contained township with residential enclaves, workspaces and a waterfront retail strip. It also boasts of walkways, bike lanes and car-free zones that ensure pedestrian-friendly environs.

“We were the first investor in SRP, the first to see its high growth potentials, and the first to believe in it. We are very happy with the fulfillment of this acquisition,” said L. Josephine Gotianun Yap, Filinvest Development Corp. president and CeO.

“We now have a total developable land size of around 70 hectares which is the biggest share owned by any developer in the SRP. We are excited about what we can develop given the large size of land we have, and inf luence the trend and development directions in SRP to maximize its growth potentials,” Yap added.

Filinvest is one of the major investors in Cebu with residential, commercial, hospitality and BPO centers in the region.