Stylish living at the ‘highlands’
The new township will bring that distinct, unparalleled and much sought live-work-play lifestyle
Afew years from now, a masterplanned township will start to rise in a former steel mill in the eastern part of the metro, bringing here that distinct, unparalleled and much sought live-work-play lifestyle.
Megaworld Corp. unveiled on Monday its 24th township, the 24-ha Empire East Highland City, located along Felix Avenue in Cainta, Rizal. It will comprise of residential condominiums, mixed-use towers, lifestyle mall and retail areas, a church and an expansive green park.
This also marked the first time that the property giant is partnering with Empire East Land Holdings Inc., which will be in charge of the residential component of the said township. Megaworld owns 82 percent of Empire East, which is known for developing mid-cost housing projects in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon over the last 25 years.
“We are excited about this new township that will evoke a character of a city sitting on highlands. Empire East will develop around 38 residential towers on the elevated portion of the township. These towers will serve as a dramatic backdrop to the vision of ‘Highland City.’ Our proposed Highland Mall under the Megaworld Lifestyle Mall brand will also be a centerpiece of the development. We will integrate it with an expansive park that opens towards the township’s main entrance,” said Megaworld executive vice president and chief strategy officer Kevin L. Tan.
According to Tan, they are “highly confident” that there is a strong demand for residential spaces in the area, which enjoys proximity to several business districts and key institutions.
He further pointed out that “there are a lot of remittances going towards this area,” which means that households here have a strong capacity to invest in a home within this township.
Key features
Tan disclosed that among the key features of the township would be the expansive Highland Mall, which will have a gross floor area of around 58,000 sqm. This Megaworld Lifestyle Mall, whose offerings would be skewed towards food and beverage tenants, is poised to showcase another unique character, complementing the ‘highlands’ or sloped landscape of the property, Tan added.
Another key feature of the Highland City would be its green and open spaces, which will take up about 40 percent of the entire development.
More specifically, the Highland Park will comprise of an 8,000-sqm green and open park, that will house some retail areas and a 500-seating capacity church. The park will elevate towards the mall and will serve as a ‘grand welcome’ to the township.
On both sides of the park meanwhile, will be a six-lane road which will serve as the main street entrance to the township. Aside from the sixlane main road, the internal roads will be at least four lanes.
There are also plans to expand the accessibility of the township as Empire East further expands its residential buildings, Tan added.
Megaworld and Empire East are expected to spend P20 billion over the next 10 years to develop Highland City. Land development will commence by second quarter of this year.
Highlands City will be the first among the seven townships that Megaworld plans to launch in the next two years as it targets to have a total of 30 townships by then. Its 23 other townships, which are located in different areas across the country, include Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City; Newport City in Pasay City; Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City; Twin Lakes in Alfonso, Batangas; and ArcoVia City in Pasig City, among others.
Within its 23 masterplanned townships and integrated lifestyle communities, the Megaworld Group has so far built over 660 residential developments, 57 office towers and 17 lifestyle malls in the last 30 years.