PRIME VIEW BEACH HOMES AT ‘FREIA’
Premier beach resort living at the Hamilo Coast in Nasugbu, Batangas, is about to get even more luxe. SM Prime Holdings recently gave a glimpse of its latest luxury condominium development, Freia at Pico de Loro Cove, which is set to break ground before the first half of the year ends.
‘Lagoon series’
“Freia at Pico de Loro Cove is a cluster of superior two-bedroom units topped off by nine three-bedroom penthouses,” said Alexis Ortiga, SM Prime senior assistant vice president for sales.
“Freia will be at the tip of what we call the ‘lagoon series’ of condominiums,” Ortiga added. The existing condominium clusters surrounding Pico de Loro’s 4-ha man-made lagoon are Jacana, Myna, Carola and Miranda. All the condos, including Freia, were named after birds endemic to Hamilo Coast.
The condo will be built in such a way to maximize the views. Special corner units will have 180-degree balconies to let unit owners enjoy a 180-degree view of the sea and mountains.
Unit owners of Freia at Pico de Loro Cove can expect a direct view of the beach and the West Philippine Sea. It is less than a 5minute stroll to the beach club and Pico de Loro Cove’s 1.5-km stretch of white sand beach, making Freia the closest to the beach among Hamilo Coast’s cluster of condominiums.
Prime views
“We give the best of prime views here at Freia at Pico de Loro Cove,” Ortiga said. “You get the best of both worlds: you have a panoramic view of the serene and tranquil blue sea and you have a view of the lush green mountain range of Pico.”
Hamilo Coast’s newest and most prime beachfront condo will have 223 units, 214 of which will be two-bedroom units and nine will be penthouses. The two-bedroom units will range from 67 to 146 sqm in size, while penthouses are bi-level and will have three bedrooms each.
“With Freia at Pico de Loro Cove, when we planned the units, we made sure that every bedroom, every living space, be it your dining room, even the kitchen, overlooks whatever view you bought. So if you wanted the sea view, or if you wanted the mountain view, each bedroom, your dining area, is actually overlooking the sea or the mountain,” described Ortiga.
The units will have floor to ceiling glass windows to make sure that unit owners and their guests will enjoy the view.
“Our walls and windows, we got a 63-37 percent glass to concrete ratio,” Ortiga explained.
Premium amenities
Different from the other condominium developments at Pico de Loro, Freia’s unit owners will enjoy amenities that will be made exclusive to them.
It will be the only condominium to have its own swimming pools, function rooms, lush gardens and pocket parks. The existing condos— Jacana, Myna, Miranda, Carola —do not have their own amenities except for their parking spaces. Unit owners of the earlier developments will have to go to the beach or country club if they want to go swimming or use a function room. Each unit in Freia will also be furnished with basic appliances such as a refrigerator, cooktop stove, water heater and air conditioning units so future owners can move in right away. Of course, Freia will also have its own professional property manager, full-time security and will have 100 percent backup power. Not sparing any expense for Freia, SM Prime got internationally renowned Singapore-based architect Broadway Malyan to do the concept drawings, while design duo Budji Layug and Royal Pineda were tapped for the interiors of the building.
Green strategies
In line with Hamilo Coast’s commitment to the environment, sustainable green building strategies are expected to be integrated within the luxury residential development. Freia’s hallways will have natural light- ing and ventilation so that there will be no need for 24/7 air conditioning. The building will also feature a photovoltaic roof. Solar panels will be installed to provide power to the common area lighting. Other sustainable strategies will be waste segregation, recycling and rain water harvesting. “There will be a giant water tank underneath Freia which will collect all that rainwater that will be used for irrigation, especially since Freia will have a lot of gardens,” Ortiga further noted. SM Prime plans to break ground for Freia before the first half of the year ends. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. The four-year timetable may seem like a stretch for just a 13-storey condominium. But Ortiga explained that construction cannot be done on the weekends and on days when Pico de Loro Cove is at its busiest. Of course, comfort is top priority for unit owners and beach and country club members.
Favored address
Each unit at the Freia also comes bundled with a Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club share. According to Ortiga: “You must be a member, you must be a shareholder of Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club to buy into Freia, that’s how exclusive we’re going to make it.”
He explained further: “If you’re not, we bundled each unit in Freia with a share so you won’t have to buy it separately.”
Indeed, SM Prime is bent on keeping Hamilo Coast a favorite seaside address of the country’s elite and of the more discerning market.