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.

Good news! On July 14, 2009 the government announced that:

Phase 1 of the rehabilitated Philippine National Railways was inaugurated. A commuter train, with the President and the VP on board, chugged along the stretch from Tutuban in Manila to Buendia in Makati City.

Salient points of the report:

[Note: There used to be a link to this report from the website of the Philippine Information Agency but the page no longer exists.]

• The trains started commercial run the following day from Tutuban to Buendia, passing through Espana, Sampaloc, Sta. Mesa, Paco, Sta. Ana and San Andres.
• For 15 pesos, a commuter can now expect a traffic-free journey from Tutuban and reach Bicutan in 30 minutes.
• By September this year, the route will extend to Alabang and eventually to the Bicol region.
• The Department of Transportation and Communication is now finalizing a uniform ticketing system for the PNR, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 and Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 and 2.
• The second phase, or the North Rail, has been approved by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority and will be started within 60 days.

These plus the extension of super highways and the Skyway along the South Luzon Expressway and more will impact heavily on Philippine real estate.

What to expect:

• Real estate properties along certain points of the railway system will become attractive
• There will be a domino effect in price increase of real estate
• Migration from and decongestion of Metro Manila
• Business relocation especially of Business Process Outsourcing companies

These facts are intertwined; they may overlap one another.

Real estate properties along certain points of the railway system will become attractive

A 2006 Dutch study [this is a PDF file] noted that:

“… households are willing to pay more for housing near (not beside) railway stations due to lower transportation cost and reduced travel time. As workplaces become more accessible, so do leisure areas…”

Population convergence near or around some (not all) of these stations will lead to increased commerce that will push demand for and, therefore, price of real estate. Expect commercial establishments, conveniences and job opportunities to increase in some of these areas.

There will be a domino effect in price increase of real estate

Another study noted that:

“… the price of real estate is highest in city centers and decreases with every unit of distance from the city center. Thus, when some areas are pulled closer to the city center through an improvement in transportation, land values in these areas increase…”

As transportation improves, Filipinos will start moving to locations outside Metro Manila. As they do, commercialization and urbanization in these areas will start, driving up prices of land therein.

In time, these new urban areas will become the sub-city centers for people farther along the line; they will become the new sources of jobs, leisure, and conveniences for these people. The process will be replicated as you move farther and farther.

Migration from and decongestion of Metro Manila

Latest figure from the National Statistics Office puts the population of Metro Manila or NCR at 11,553,427; that’s 12.5% of the projected 92.23 million for 2009 in the entire country.

Forbes.com ranks Manila, our capital, as the city with the highest population density in the world. With a population of almost 1.6 million, it has a density of 41,014 persons per square kilometer. Cairo, Egypt is second with 36,618 per square kilometer. Hindi na mahulugan ng karayom ang Maynila : (

I think migration from Metro Manila will come in stages:

• First will be low-income earners who are forced to settle or rent in Metro Manila because of work. Many will relocate or go back home to the suburbs or even to nearby provinces.
• Second will be middle-class parents who want to live in the suburbs but can’t because of work and their kids who are studying in Metro Manila.
• Third will be some high income earners who will call their weekend mansions in the suburbs their main home.

In Japan, because of its super-efficient transport system, many employees living in, say, the “equivalent” of Batangas City commute everyday to work in Caloocan City. I’m not saying that exactly the same thing will happen here (they have bullet trains and even Maglevs, we don’t). But it will happen to a certain extent.

Business relocation especially of Business Process Outsourcing companies

According to a 2009 newsletter of the Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines (REBAP), many BPO’s are starting to move out of Metro Manila due to high office rental rates.

Down south, there are currently 30 call centers in Muntinlupa and 13 in Laguna. Up north in Pampanga, there are 22. Expect more of them to relocate or to put up additional offices outside Metro Manila.

Last year, Jaime I. Ayala, President and CEO of Ayala Land, Inc. announced that several BPO’s have already reserved office spaces in their flagship project, Nuvali,  in Sta. Rosa, Laguna; construction of the offices haven’t even started yet then. (I will write about this very soon.)

These are just a few of the changes that I think will happen. What do you think?

Let’s hope that whoever occupies the highest office next year will have the zeal to continue, even to hasten this program.

By the way, there’s a forum that’s discussing this development. See lots of pictures and interesting comments from those who have experienced the new PNR.

Thank you so much.