But with the way the Philippine National Railways (PNR) rehabilitated the Southrail Line – from Tutuban to the Bicol Region – what we have is a railroad system that is neither modern, fast nor reliable.

If our railroad system is to live up to its full potential, its modernization should be left in the hands of the private sector. And if there’s one company that has the motivation, vision, ability and financial muscle to do it, it is Ayala Corporation.

Let’s look at the timeline:

1987: During former President Fidel V. Ramos’ visit to Los Angeles, US financial and industrial giants Bechtel Enterprises and GE Capital signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ayala Corporation signifying their entry into a US$600 million railroad project.

… Dubbed the MCX or Manila-Calabarzon Express, it was to provide commuter and freight service between Metro Manila and the southern provinces of Luzon… Additional phases in the plan include extending the line to the southern port of Batangas City thus linking it to the deep-water port of Manila. An additional lateral section can connect Lucena City in the east to Sangley Point, Cavite in the west thus opening up the entire southern Luzon area to a modern transport facility…

The plan didn’t push through. But the vision and motivation of Ayala Corp. for wanting to modernize PNR’s Southrail Line at that time will be clear if you consider the succeeding events.

1988: Ayala Corporation spun off its real estate division into a separate company, giving birth to Ayala Land, Inc (ALI).

1989: Laguna Technopark, a 387-hectare industrial park was opened by ALI together with two other multinationals, in response to the government’s call for private sector participation in countryside development. Technopark straddles Sta. Rosa and Binan, Laguna and is now home to almost 100 of the biggest manufacturing/assembly corporations in the Philippines.

1990: Known for high-end commercial, office and residential projects primarily in Makati, ALI decided to test the middle-income housing market by establishing Laguna Properties Holdings, Inc. (now known as Avida Land)

LPHI acquired a 400-hectare property from the Yulo family in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and developed it into Santa Rosa Villages, San Jose Village and later, the Santa Rosa Estates. These were followed by various projects in Batangas and Lucena City in Quezon.

1995: A consortium of five local companies was formed to acquire controlling interest in what would later be called Metro Rail Transit Corporation Ltd. to develop and maintain EDSA MRT 3. These were Fil-Estate (a real estate company), Ayala Land, Inc., Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp (that owns National Bookstore among others), Ramcar (the car battery company that also owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Mr. Donut and Tokyo Tokyo) and Greenfield Development Corporation (of the Camposes who own Unilab).

Anglo Philippine Holdings has minority stake in Shang Properties, Inc, the upscale developer of The St. Francis Shangri-La Place, The Shang Grand Tower, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, The Enterprise Center (in Makati) and currently, One Shangri-La Place – all are within spitting distance from MRT 3.

Greenfield is one of the biggest landowner in the country. Together with ALI, it has controlling interest in Bonifacio Global City. It has vast properties in Laguna. It is currently focused on its 11-hectare mixed-use development along Shaw Boulevard called the Greenfield District, just across Shangri-La Plaza, again just a stone’s throw away from MRT 3.

1999: EDSA MRT 3 started operation

2001: North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation was incorporated by three of the original consortium-members of MRT 3 – Fil-Estate, ALI and Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp – to develop the 20-hectate TriNoma Mall. Did you know that this mall sits directly on top of MRT’s huge depot?

2005: ALI and Greenfield Development Corporation formed a joint venture to develop Ayala Greenfield Estates – a 350 hectare upscale residential development in Calamba, Laguna with an 18-hole, par 72 championship golf course designed by Robert Trent.

2007: Ayala Land launched Nuvali, a 1,800 hectare mixed-use development that straddles the cities of Sta. Rosa, Calamba and the municipality of Cabuyao in Laguna. It is envisioned to become the Makati Central Business District of the South. It is one of the country’s most ambitious real estate projects that will be completed in 30 years. The various residential developments in Nuvali are handled by its three units – Ayala Land Premier, Alveo and Avida.

April 2010: ALI established its fourth residential unit, Amaia Scapes, this time for the class C market. It offers house and lot packages from P605,000 to P1.25 million. Currently, Amaia has developments in Cabanatuan, Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, Lipa, Batangas and Negros Occidental.

December 2010: The Inquirer announced that Ayala Corp was looking into the possibility of participating in the development of the PNR’s (Southrail Line) service to Southern Luzon up to Legazpi City in Bicol.

… the PNR line can directly link the Makati central business district to suburban communities being developed by ALI in areas in Laguna… It’s logical for them to participate in the development of that corridor. They have a lot of developments near the PNR line.

So far, nothing new has come up regarding this plan.

August 31, 2011: ALI puts up its fifth residential unit, the South Maya Ventures Corp. to cater to the largest but most neglected segment of the housing market – the underprivileged and homeless. Called “socialized housing,” each unit will cost P400,000 and below. Its first project was scheduled for launching within the last quarter of this year in Gen. Trias, Cavite. To remain feasible, expect succeeding projects to be located farther down south where lands are cheap.

The timeline indicates the following:

1. Bechtel’s and GE’s MOU with Ayala Corp. in 1987 to construct the MCX railroad project was meant to lay the groundwork for the latter’s future projects in Laguna. The freight service was certainly partly intended to transport cargoes to and from the various locators in Laguna Technopark. The commuter service was meant to “pull” its early middle-income real estate projects closer to Metro Manila.

With hundreds of real estate projects that have sprouted in Laguna and other provinces in the south since, plus the seventeen economic zones in Laguna alone, a modern railroad system is imperative and feasible now more than ever.

2. MRT 3 illustrates that those who have the greatest motivation to invest in transportation infrastructure are big commercial, office and residential real estate developers whose properties lie near this transportation line. An improved transportation increases demand for and, therefore, value of their properties.

It also indicates that ALI has the ability and experience in building and managing a modern transportation infrastructure.

3. With the pattern of its real estate developments, ALI clearly sees the high growth potential of the South Luzon Corridor. It is the only big developer that has invested a very large part of its resources south of Metro Manila. ALI probably knows something that other developers don’t.

The private sector is motivated to participate in the construction of transportation infrastructure not only because of the revenue they will gain from it but more importantly, because of the boost it gives in the demand for and value of their real estate developments.

And with the way Ayala Land has lined up many of its projects near PNR lines, it shall reap the biggest benefit from a modern railroad system in the south.

Thank you so much

I’m completing a directory of the many condominiums in Metro Manila like the Products and Services Directory that I currently have.

What made me decide to come up with this directory is their sheer number – condominiums are sprouting like mushrooms. With so many projects to choose from, I hope this online directory can somehow ease the decision making process of those on the lookout for a condominium, either to own or to rent, before they even go out to actually look for one. The directory will include a link to the satellite map of each condominium project so prospective buyers or renters can examine online the institutional, commercial, office establishments and other special points of interest within its vicinity.

There’s a long way to go before I can complete this directory, but so far, I have counted 189 “condominium brands.” I said brands because 1 condominium doesn’t necessarily mean 1 building. Many brands usually come in two or three towers, and still some come in clusters like the Azure Urban Resort Residences (next to SM Bicutan) that will have nine buildings, each at 20 stories tall.

[See the location of the soon-to-rise Azure. To see the street names, place your cursor on “Map Type” in the navigation bar above and click “Google Hybrid” in the drop-down list]

There are interesting facts I learned while making this directory.

Major players in condominium development

It appears that Megaworld Corporation is the most aggressive developer of condominiums. Among others, it owns Eastwood City along C-5 Road in Libis, Quezon City. It is host to at least 12 luxury residential condominium towers and at least 5 more and 1 hotel are coming up. Megaworld managed to squeeze these plus several commercial and office buildings in a 17-hectare property.

To get an idea how relatively small Eastwood City is, Trinoma Mall, including its open spaces, along EDSA, sits on a 20-hectare property, while SM north EDSA nearby, occupies an area of 16.5 hectares.

Megaworld is also an aggressive player in Bonifacio Global City and in Araneta Center Cubao.

Talking about aggressiveness, Mr. Lucio Tan’s Eton Properties Philippines, Inc., a mere 3-year old company, has started 30 major major projects. Its projects, though, are a mixture of vertical and horizontal developments for residential, commercial and office use.

Ayala Land, Inc. which controls Bonifacio Global City together with the Bases Conversion Development Authority and Evergreen Holdings, Inc. of the Campos Group (of Unilab fame), continues with its strategy of opting for quality over quantity. In my opinion, its Serendra project is the best in the area.

Condominium developers rarely give out the number of units in their projects

Whenever I visit the official website of a certain condominium development, the number of units are often not disclosed, even if just an approximation. Features, amenities and other details are readily made available, but most of the time, I would have to dig deeper, even going to other websites, to find out the number of units. I can only guess that this is meant to downplay the disadvantages of living in a condominium where each unit owner shares the building/s with hundreds, sometimes, thousands of other people.

The condominium boom appears to be demand-driven

Unlike the real estate boom in the early to mid 1990’s which was speculation-driven, the current real estate boom appears to be demand-drive. There appears to be real demand for condominiums… so far. Many are selling like hotcakes.

This has been made possible largely in part by the easy and flexible payment terms offered by many developers. It’s now common for developers to ask for 20 to 30% down payment payable in 2 years. Others even offer full payment payable in 4 years at zero interest.

These payment terms were unheard of in the 1990’s when full down payment was customary to be paid within 30 days upon reservation.

Is there a condominium bubble that’s waiting to burst?

With so many condominiums that have been built, are being built and about to be built in Metro Manila and with many new players joining the fray, I sometimes wonder when it will ever stop. It’s a universal law that whatever comes up will eventually come down.

I am a subscriber to the newsletter of a leading real estate developer. I remember last year when it called on other developers not to start new condominium development because of what it perceived to be an oversupply of condominiums. It even encouraged them not to finish projects that year in order that earlier condominium projects be sold out first. Obviously, no one listened.

Let’s just hope that these developers will be prudent enough to recognize when enough is enough.

Thank you so much

Not that they will leave the Makati CBD, but they admitted that with Nuvali, they can start with a bigger canvass (it’s eight times the size the Makati CBD), where they intend not repeat whatever mistakes they committed in their Makati development.

Given the sheer size of Nuvali and the fact that it will be composed of several residential, commercial and office components, it’s easy to see that Nuvali will become a virtual city in itself. And it is a city that will be built with sustainability as its focal point.

The best known definition of sustainability, sustainable living or sustainable development is the one by the Brundtland Commission or the World Commission on Environment and Development. It is defined as

forms of progress that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Sustainable (or green, that word again : ) living, has been with us for a long time. Wikipedia offers a list of publications and events that chronicles the long history of sustainable living dating as far back 1854 when Henry David Thoreau published his book Walden.

But it is only recently that sustainability gained serious attention because we have begun to realize that the threats to ourselves and to our planet are real if we continue to ignore it. Earth is the only home we have and we have nowhere else to go if we do not take care of it.

On this premise, Nuvali was designed as a cutting-edge community that encourages residents and transients to live and work comfortably, simply and responsibly without putting too much stress on the environment and, therefore, giving future generations a chance to experience the same lifestyle.

As ambitious and complex as Nuvali’s Master plan is and the fact that the Ayala’s were lucky enough to start with a large blank canvass with it, are there lessons from Nuvali that our local governments can learn and apply? Can old dogs learn new tricks from a puppy like Nuvali?

My answer is yes if local governments would be honest enough to admit their own mistakes and modest enough to realize that there is a modern community on the rise which plans, or at least parts of them, are worth emulating. I’m not asking these cities to start from scratch; that’s ludicrous, but they can start with what they have and make the most of it.

Here’s a satellite image of Nuvali, and see how vast it is.

Thank you so much.

The following is a picture show that showcases the fine features of an actual house and lot (not brochure pictures) in one of the residential components of what is to become, according to the Ayalas themselves, the “next Makati Central Business District.”

The owner knew what he wanted. This beautiful Avida Settings house sits on a corner and morning-sun lot, i.e. it faces east. The living room and masters bedroom are bathe with sunlight in the morning

Take note of the corner windows

For me the most beautiful, functional and refreshing parts of the house are the corner windows. I will tell you the reasons later.

Living Room

Take note of the columns on both sides of the piano; and on the right side of the main door.

Kitchen

Part of the dining /living rooms on the way to the second floor

landing going to the second floor / Bedroom one

Bedroom one / Bedroom two

Entertainment Area

Masters Bathroom

Masters Bedroom

Reasons why corner windows are special

Here’s the part where I explain why I find the corner windows the most beautiful and the most refreshing part of the Avida Settings house. It’s also the most challenging.

• Each window gives you two exterior views at the same time.

• From an engineering perspective, it’s difficult and, therefore, expensive to make. The corner posts appear to have been “cut.”

So, how can this design be pulled off without compromising the structural integrity of the whole house?

Take a hard look at the image above. Where there are corner windows, there are no corner posts. Instead, two separate columns were constructed to support the house and framing the corner windows.

With two columns instead of a single post supporting each corner, installing corner windows makes them a very expensive design proposition.

Corner windows is not a new design concept. Engineers, architects and interior designers have long wanted to work on this design but very few developers were willing to execute them precisely because they are expensive. But from an engineering perspective, they make the house very strong, user-friendly and beautiful.

With an ordinary window, you are given a single vista. If you want to look at another, you would have to put your head out of the window : )

And why is it functional? Take a look again at the image of the living room below and you will notice that the columns at each side of the corner windows created a sort of a shadow box in the wall.

Also look at my personal collection.

I am a toy collector and I specialize in diecast cars. I have hundreds of Hotwheels, Matchbox, Tomica and Johnny Lightning toy cars. On my home-office walls, I have display cases like the ones shown. That shadow box is perfect for my collection.

Let your creativity take flight and explore the unlimited design possibilities for this shadow box.

To you, Mr. Avida Settings home owner, your wonderful wife, children and relatives, may the Lord shower you all with perfect health, more bountiful harvest and long and happy lives. It was our first time to meet but you were so gracious to have welcomed me to your beautiful home as if I were a long-time friend. Thank you for the great food (I felt bloated for the next 2 days : ), interesting conversation and warm reception.

Congratulations on achieving your dream house and more power to you!! Mabuhay ka, Sir.

One of the reasons why I decided to take this tour was to find out more about an important matter that was related to me by a friend. She emailed to me an image from Phivolcs indicating that there might be an active fault that traverses part of Sta. Rosa. It’s called the Valley Fault System.

I will talk about this active fault at the end of this post.

But first, let me tell you about the tour my daughter and I did yesterday. What was originally intended to be a casual visit to Nuvali turned into a 12-hour trip that extended up to the swollen shore of Laguna Lake.

We arrived at Nuvali around 9:00 am and left for home at 9:00 pm. Needless to say, my daughter and I had a blast the whole time.

My second trip to Nuvali

This is the second time I visited Nuvali in less than a month. The admiration I had for it during our first visit became even more intense after I found out that what looked like opaque walls of One Evotech were actually transparent; they’re probably glass curtain panels. The photo that was taken at 8:30 pm clearly shows the bicycle ramps that one can use to go up and down the building using his bike.

I have so much more pictures of Nuvali that I am keeping for possible use in my future website.

Where I will build my first dream house

Like I said in the past, I will build my first dream house in Sta. Rosa in two to three years. I am reasserting this not knowing where the money will come from or if it will actually come. But I have to do so to keep me focused on working hard to fulfill my dream. With God’s help, it shall happen.

Given the time frame I’ve set for myself, Nuvali is definitely out of the question (maybe in five years : ), lol. That’s the reason why the tour brought me and my daughter to Old Sta. Rosa.

Even before yesterday, I already knew the subdivision where I want to eventually acquire a vacant lot – it’s in Olympia Park Subdivision in Bgy Labas. Kindly see its map here.

What made me want to live here

• Many places are still feeling the effects of Ondoy. This subdivision was not in any way affected by Ondoy except perhaps its northeastern and eastern parts. It’s the barangays along the shoreline of Laguna Lake that were worst hit by Ondoy. The farther you move away from Laguna Lake, towards the west, the higher the elevation is. This explains why most parts of this subdivision was spared by Ondoy; it’s relatively far from the lake.

• If you go back to the map, you will notice that Olympia Park is just a short distance from the soon-to-be constructed station of the Philippine National Railways that is being rehabilitated. Why is this important? Kindly read my post about PNR’s rehabilitation.

Look closely at the following pictures of the old PNR station in Bgy Labas. If you ask me, it’s a heritage structure that must be preserved. It’s the one tagged in the map.

Going farther into Old Sta. Rosa

I call the eastern part of Sta. Rosa “old” because… it is. Like anywhere else, the first settlements were born along the shoreline of important bodies of water. Laguna Lake, the second largest lake in Asia, was the main source of livelihood for many people who lived along or near its shore. It was via this lake that goods were transported to and from the different communities surrounding it.

In fact, I had it from a very reliable source that the three barangays of Sta. Rosa along the shore of Laguna Lake – Sinalhan, Aplaya and Caingin – were major trading posts even before the Spaniards came. They have archaeological artifacts to prove it.

Like I said in my older post, do not equate the word Old with Ugly. Old Sta. Rosa has a charm that is uniquely its own.

Below are a few pictures of houses in Old Sta. Rosa.

What could have been the best real estate in Sta. Rosa

Moving farther, my daughter and I decided to go to what “could” have been the best real estate in Sta. Rosa, a certain barangay along the shoreline of Laguna Lake.

The Ayalas and Mr. Lucio Tan have spent millions to build and maintain man-made lakes in Nuvali and Eton City, respectively. Other developers orient their projects facing Laguna Lake to afford their buyers a little view of this once majestic lake. But here’s a place that gives you a fantastic view of Laguna Lake.

Note: the pictures below were taken at a much later date. The day my daughter and I went there, the lake was still swollen and visibility was very poor.

Bundok ng Susong Dalaga (or Maiden’s Breasts Mountains) are actually two identical conical hills that do look like a maiden’s breasts, they are the highest points in Talim Island. The other hill cannot be seen from Sta. Rosa; they are best viewed from Mt. Sembrano in Jala-Jala, Rizal, on the other side of Talim Island.

Here are more fantastic views:

Visibility that day was less than ideal. On a perfect day, these mountains are colored in blue. At night, you’d see countless pinpoint lights emanating from houses in Talim Island. The lights resemble diamond necklaces that can put you in a trance. I know this for a fact because I used to frequent this place (for reasons I’ll just keep to myself).

As fantastic as the views may be, living in communities in Sta. Rosa, along the shoreline of the lake has become impractical. During Ondoy, majority of its population was displaced. Moreover, these communities have become blighted.

But imagine if it were not. Imagine building your mansion by the lake and mooring your yacht and jet skis at a dock on your backyard. There is hope, though.

The fault line that’s believed to traverse Sta.Rosa

I’ve already emailed this to the executives of Ayala Land, Inc. I will also ask for the input of the City Government of Sta. Rosa (hopefully from Hon. Mayor Arlene Arcillas-Nazareno) and Phivolcs.

Whatever answer they give about this perceived active fault, whether good or grim, no one and nothing will stop me from wanting to relocate to Sta. Rosa.

Our lives, whether we live long or die young, are not dependent on active faults, the melting of the ice caps, or the sinking of the world’s great deltas. Our lives have all been written long before we were woven in the womb of our mothers.

Thank you so much to Ms. Nanette Sison for sending me this very important information. She’s a friend who also happens to own a property in Nuvali.

Thank you so much and my best regards to everyone.

P.S. Here was my bodyguard during the tour. Ariel Marie, my 11-year old princess, one of my reasons for being. My prince, 14-year old Lucas Julian couldn’t be convinced to come; he was busy playing PC games at home.

P.S.S. This post was originally titled My Succeeding Posts. It was revised and reformatted on September 16, 2010.

Only days before, CALABARZON and Metro Manila, were hit hard by a massive storm- Ondoy (international code name Ketsana), the worst tropical depression to hit the Philippines.

On the day of our survey, said areas were still reeling from the devastations wrought by Ondoy and preparing for another, super typhoon Pepeng (international code name Parma)

But lo and behold! New Sta. Rosa was spared by Ondoy; not even a hint of it was apparent.

We took so many pictures and below are just some of them. The following are images of Nuvali.

Upon taking Sta. Rosa exit, turn right to Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road. A few kilometers away is Nuvali Boulevard on your left. It is 60 meters wide and will have two lanes in the middle for mass transit, 3-car lanes and a bicycle and pedestrian lane in each direction.

Nuvali will have a total of 51 kilometers of bike lanes along main roads and trails and will cut through and lead to different developments including workplaces like One Evotech.

Bike lanes appear to be around three meters wide, enough for a car to fit.

Evoliving

Evoliving currently serves as the sales office for Nuvali. It’s a fine example of an office campus, the current buzz word in the world of office building architecture. It’s a trend that was started by IT companies in Silicon Valley, California. Microsoft has one in its Redmond, Washington HQ, and so does Google in its Mountain View, California HQ.

The current benchmark in building design and construction is the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Standards. Ayala Land envisions the buildings it will construct itself in Nuvali to be LEED-compliant.

Evoliving features cutting-edge amenities that require non-renewable energy, but they are balanced with those that do not and promote a lifestyle that is healthy, efficient and environment-friendly.

Notice the bike ramp leading to the roof of Evoliving? You can get to its rooftop by simply biking.

What I failed to take pictures of is my second favorite part of Evoliving, the green roof. Parts of the roof are covered with soil and vegetation thereby minimizing rainwater runoff to the drainage.

One Evotech

One Evotech is another example of a mixed-use building that was built according to the LEED Standards. By incorporating bicycle ramps inside the building, employees who bike to work need not leave their bikes outside the building.

To the right is a picture that was taken at a much later date. Where in the Philippines have you seen a building whereby, from your home, say in Avida Settings, you can bike not just going to the building but “into” the building up to, say, the 4th floor where your office is?

Convergys, a business process outsourcing company, is a current locator in One Evotech. Others are Bank of the Philippine Islands, 7-11, Reyes Barbeque, BoNa Coffee Company, Kanin Get It, Indulgence Day Spa among others.

Solenad

Solenad is the retail component of Nuvali and has become a popular destination in Sta. Rosa. It is home to some of the most familiar dining places like Yellow Cab Pizza, Conti’s, Italiani’s, Starbucks, Domo Tomo, Pig Out among others. National Bookstore also has a branch at Solenad.  The images above were taken at around 12:00 noon when it was still raining hard in Metro Manila.

The man-made lake

This 4-hectare lake is an integral part of Nuvali’s water conservation, recycling and sustainability effort. It not only beautifies the development but also serves as rainwater harvesting system and reservoir for “grey” water for non-human use.

It is complemented with a double-piping system in every household whereby water pipes for human use like drinking and bathing are separate from those used for flushing the toilet, watering the plants and general cleaning.

To recharge the ground, lake and the aquifers, only high vehicular traffic roads are paved with concrete. Water permeable paving blocks are used whenever possible like on bike and pedestrian lanes and on parking areas.

Below are more random pictures of Solenad and the lake.

We did the tour with me mostly riding my folding bike that I fondly call Bumblebee. While my very dear friends, Atty Noel and Mrs. Liza Jocson rode in their car and took most of the pictures. This day-long tour would not have been made possible without their kindness and generosity. Thank you so much, Noel and Liza : )

I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour as much as we did.

Thank you so much.

Note: This post was revised on March 17, 2010. I noticed that my website was taking too long to load due to so many pictures that were taking too much space in my host/server. Some pictures from the original post were either removed or resized and fused with other pictures. Some of my other posts have already been similarly revised.

You will only appreciate this article if you read my three previous posts – Perfect type of housing, parts 1 and 2 and News that will impact on Philippine real estate. I strongly urge you to read them first before moving on.

This place has impressed me so much that my family will definitely relocate to this place within the next two to three years.

Most important rule when buying real estate

Think MACRO

The digital photography industry has misused this term; it uses the term macro mode to mean close-up view of an image. In Economics it’s the opposite, macro means taking a very long, wide and far perspective. Other economists describe macro as taking a “top-down” view of things, i.e., you look at something, in our case real estate, as if you are riding in a helicopter.

Most say that the three most important things to remember when buying real estate are “location, location and location.” But how can you choose the best location if you don’t think macro?

You have to take a TOP-DOWN view: You have to remember that when buying real estate in the Philippines, you’re not just buying, say, a 300 square meter lot. You’re buying into the:

Region

Province

City or Municipality

Barangay and

Neighborhood

of that 300 square meter lot.

Make the wrong choice in one of them and you will be disappointed with your acquisition.

So, fasten your seat belts as I take you on a ride to see where the best real estates are in the Philippines.

They are in Santa Rosa, Laguna

Originally named Barrio Bukol when discovered by the Spanish Conquistador Juan de Salcedo in 1571, Sta. Rosa is now a premier city that is part of CALABARZON or Region IV-A.

It has a land area of 54.1 square kilometers and is divided into 18 barangays with a population of 266,943 per NSO’s latest survey.

Here’s a brief history of Sta. Rosa (PDF file), its demographics and its rapid industrialization. It was reprinted (with permission) from a book edited by former Finance Undersecretary, Hon. Juanita Amatong, who’s now with the Bangko Sentral. You won’t find these facts anywhere in the internet.

I posted a teaser for this entry on Aug 19. Oddly, two days later, this came out in the Inquirer.net. (Check the date just below the title of this post. It is only today, September 18, that I published this.)

Salient parts of that report are:

… When the 387-hectare Laguna Technopark, the country’s first industrial estate opened here in 1980, Sta. Rosa was deemed as the “gateway” to the Calabarzon Region…

… our income reached P1.2 billion last year. These came mostly from the business and realty taxes paid…

… Sta. Rosa is regarded as the Philippines’ motor city housing 4 of the country’s major car manufacturing companies… that account for 90 percent of the total car manufacturing output of the country.

What the report didn’t say is that the remaining 10 % of the car output are produced by Isuzu in Binan, just spitting distance from Sta. Rosa, in the same industrial park where the other car manufacturers operate : )

Sta. Rosa has been dubbed in so many ways:

• Motor City ala Detroit, Michigan
• Wikipedia calls it the Investment Capital of South Luzon
• Gateway to CALABARZON
• Just last year, it was voted the Number One Next Wave City in ICT by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology and by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (or BPAP).
• Mr. Lucio Tan’s company calls it the Silicon Valley of the Philippines where some fifty semiconductor manufacturers operate.

But my favorite is: Santa Rosa – the Next Makati Central Business District.

My tip when buying real estate:

Think as the tycoons do; invest where they do.

The most successful people in real estate are all visionaries; they see things that we ordinary people don’t. They look decades ahead and behind; they are astute students of history, i.e., they never forget their mistakes and they learn from their own mistakes and from those of others. When we see mountains, they see anthills… they all think MACRO, and they all ride in helicopters. (To save on gas, I use Google Earth and Wikimapia instead.)

Today, billions have been and are still being invested in Sta Rosa (and in its periphery) by the who’s who in Philippine real estate: the Ayalas, the Sta. Rosa pioneer whose current flagship project is Nuvali, Mr. Lucio Tan of Eton Properties Philippines, Inc., the Gotianuns of Filinvest, the Ng’s of Cathay Land, Inc., the Quiros family and Britanny Corp., the Yulos who have partnered with the Ayalas to develop Nuvali, the Campos of Greenfield Development Corporation and so many more.

So, what do they see in Sta. Rosa that we don’t?

Two faces of Sta. Rosa

Below is the map of Sta. Rosa City, its 18 barangays, their population and its major thoroughfares.

Do take note of the soon-to-be rehabilitated PNR double-tracked railways. (that’s why you should read my previous post, “News that will impact on Philippine real estate”)

I consider Sta. Rosa as having two faces: the Old Sta. Rosa and the New

From the north, after taking the Sta. Rosa exit, you will face a dead end. You either turn left towards what I call the Old and quaint Sta. Rosa or turn right to the New and cosmopolitan one, along the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road (let’s call this SRT Rd.), the corridor to Tagaytay.

In the mid 1990’s, SRT Rd. extended only up to Laguna Blvd. Beyond was a dense woodland and there was no access to Tagaytay. Sta. Rosa, then, was mainly known for the two Coca-Cola plants (the biggest outside the United States), Toyota, CIGI and the now defunct Filsyn.

Fast forward to the present

Sta. Rosa has so much to offer in terms of real estate opportunities; I cannot discuss them all in this entry; I will have to divide this topic into several parts.

NEW STA. ROSA

As mentioned, Sta. Rosa was discovered by the Spaniards in the 1500’s. But the New Sta. Rosa emerged only in the 1980’s when Laguna Technopark was established. It’s a joint-venture among Ayala Land, Inc., Mitsubishi Corporation and Kawasaki Steel Corporation. The New Sta. Rosa was master planned by the local government, and to a large extent, by the Ayalas.

How well-planned is the New Sta. Rosa?

The most important principle in my second post is:

Inherent geographic characteristics, scarcity and cost of land, population density and availability of commercial establishments, varied job opportunities and conveniences determine the suitable type of housing in a given area.

Job opportunities in Sta. Rosa

Below is the map of the New Sta. Rosa indicating its Economic Zones (in blue texts)

I only indicated the most relevant companies in these Ecozones. Kindly use Wikimapia or Google Maps to see other companies operating there. There are hundreds of them in these ecozones that include some of the most reputable in the world. And so many are ISO-accredited.

You will not run out of jobs in Sta. Rosa.

But what if,… just what if, you can’t find a job in Sta. Rosa?

You can try the other ecozones in Laguna; it currently has seventeen and many are just stones-throw away from Sta. Rosa. Excluding the ones in this city, these are:

• Carmelray Industrial Park I; Calamba; 46 has.
• Carmelray Industrial Park II; Calamba; 145 has.
• Filinvest Special Zone; Calamba; 250 has.
• Laguna International Industrial Park; Binan; 32 has.
• Light Industry and Science Park I; Cabuyao; 67 has.
• Light Industry and Science Park II; Calamba; 64 has.
• LIIP Calamba Industrial Community/Calamba Premiere; Calamba; 66 has.
• Prince Cabuyao Special Economic Zone; Cabuyao; 26 has.
• Silangan Industrial Park; Calamba; 197 has.
• Southwoods Ecocentrum Tourism Estate; Binan; 71 has.
• Terelay Industrial Park; Cabuyao-Calamba
• White Lily Industrial Park I; Calamba; 145 has

For call center agents, there are at least two BPO’s operating in Sta. Rosa, Convergys and KGB (30 are nearby in Muntinlupa and 11 are in other places in Laguna).

According to Mr. Jaime I. Ayala, President and CEO of Ayala Land, Inc., a number of BPO’s have already bought into their Evozone in Nuvali.

Listen very intently on what Mr. Ayala says in the first video below and pay very close attention especially on that part where a “security guard” is biking.

The office buildings in Evozone Nuvali are called “office campuses,” the current buzz word in modern office design that first became vogue in the real Silicon Valley. Microsoft has them in its Redmond, Washington “campus,” so does Google in Mountain View, California.

(I’m getting ahead of myself, but this is something I have to discuss now). These office campuses in Nuvali will be built according to the LEED standard. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The buildings (actually, the entire Nuvali) are designed to encourage people to move around using means that do not require non-renewable energy. Of course, there will be facilities like elevators, escalators and artificial lighting that require energy but they will be balanced with those that do not.

The first office building in Nuvali, One Evotech, has “bicycle ramps inside,” i.e., you can ride your bicycle from your house (there will be dedicated bike lanes across the entire Nuvali and they will cut through developments (wala pong putol; tuloy-tuloy!) to your office then continue biking your way “into” the building “up until” you reach, say, the fourth floor where your office is. (you’ll see these bike ramps in the video). You can reach your office cubicle without riding a bus, without using the elevator and do the same when going home.

Isn’t that fantastic?!That’s the finest example of what Green Living and Working is all about.

Now is your chance to invest in properties that will become… “tomorrow’s” Forbes Park, Urdaneta or San Lorenzo at… “today’s” prices!

For foreigners who follow this blog, the three property developments mentioned above are the Gold Standard in Philippine real estate; the equivalent of Redwood Shores in Redwood City, California, the SW3 between Chelsea and Brompton in England, or The Palm in Dubai.

See here an example in the US of an office campus and its concept.

Below are videos of the 2 real estate giants whose projects in Sta. Rosa are vying to become the Next Makati Central Business District. In my opinion, there is no conflict in their projects. I think they will even complement each other and, together, they will turn this city into the next Makati CBD sooner than expected.

Do watch out for more; I have barely scratched the surface.

Rest assured that Sta. Rosa has something for you regardless of your economic stature.

Thank you so much.

Acknowledgment:

This article would not have been made possible without the generosity of the City Government of Sta. Rosa particularly the Hon. Nelly C. Gomez, the City Assessor and the wonderful people in her department under the “Geographic Information Center” -  Messrs. Alfie Tamayo, Jerico Layosa, Rey Arnobit and Arnold Rico. They’re the ones who provided me the maps using their cutting-edge Geographic Information System (it’s Sta. Rosa’s giant version of Pinoy Big Brother : )

I’m also grateful to Mr. Aries Zapanta, City Public Information Officer who was my first contact in the City Government.

Thank you so much also to the Hon. Juanita Amatong who gave me permission to reprint part of the book she edited – Local Government Fiscal and Financial Management: Best Practices.

Thank you also to Engr. Gilbert Patulot, Area Division Manager under the Engineering Department of the Philippine National Railways and to Mr. Wilfredo Llabitan for the invaluable information they gave me.

Last but not the least, thanks to my buddy, Mr. Andy Adan for his patience in teaching me Photoshop and Corel Draw.

Disclaimer:

The satellite maps given me by the City of Sta. Rosa are accurate, reliable and up-to-date. It’s the way I edited them that may not be accurate. So, please don’t use them for navigation purposes nor for choosing real estate in Sta. Rosa. Kindly conduct your own due diligence.

Done right, condominium development is the most profitable residential project to undertake in the Philippines. With a minimum of one thousand square meters of land, a developer can build a mid-rise condominium building of five to ten stories high (note that the number of stories is subject to the city’s or municipality’s building restrictions). For argument’s sake, with just, say, a very conservative number of six units per floor, that translates to 30 to 60 units per building.

The more stories or horizontal levels a residential project has, the less its cost per square meter becomes. This is true not just for condominiums but also for townhouses and single houses. Savings, ergo profit, is realized because of the following basic reasons:

• A single roof is needed for the whole structure.

• Only one foundation is needed. The taller the structure is, though, the more complex and more robust the foundation should be and, therefore, costlier. Add to that a much stronger set of columns.

• The land is optimized, i.e., with a small plot of land, so many homes can be built. Ayala Land’s Senta Condominium in Legaspi Village in Makati will seat on a 1,865 square meter lot; will have 39 stories and 438 units with an average of 14 units per floor.

In our example, imagine slicing those 30 to 60 units into single houses. Each unit will require its own foundation and roof. Imagine erecting these single houses in a “small” subdivision; think about the roads and the setback between or among houses. Can you fit them all in a 1,000 square meter lot? Add to that a more complex drainage system and the perimeter wall. Imagine how each house will look like. – “Bulilit, bulilit, sanay sa masikip, kumilos, kumilos, ang liit liit…”

To a certain extent, townhouse developers realize profits in basically the same way. Think of a quadruplex for example; just think of the side walls. This four-unit structure has two side walls and three partition walls or a total of five. Slice them into four single houses and you end up with eight side walls and at least three setbacks between houses that will require a bigger lot.

Construction of a quadruplex is also more simple and faster. Digging the foundation for the four units involves a single process and a single set up time. Divide them into 4 individual houses and the developer will have to do this process four times, albeit, each at a smaller scale. But there’s a set up time every time he does it, making the whole process longer. That’s just for the digging of the foundation.

These are just a few things I know why condominiums and townhouses are very popular among developers. They are a way for developers to “mass-produce” housing, reduce cost, maximize profit and sell at reasonable prices at the same time.

If you know of more reasons, feel free to leave them in the comment section or contact me. If you think some of my observations are wrong, kindly do the same and I will gladly edit or totally remove this entry if necessary.

Thank you so much.