Federal Land doing well in Queen City of South

CEBU CITY—Federal Land Inc., the Metrobank Group’s real estate arm, introduced here recently the newest addition to its list of residential development—the Parkview Residences.

This followed strong demand of the first two towers, the Marco Polo Residences.

Federal Land president Alfred Ty says the strong appetite for investment from the locals and demand for condominiums are just a few of the factors why they chose the Queen City of the South as the location of this exclusive community.

Five towers will rise in Nivel Hills district, 500 feet above sea level in this P20-billion luxury condominium development.

The Residences (first tower) and the Two Residences (second tower) were launched last year while the Park View Residences (third tower) was launched early this year.

All towers will have bare units and basic fixtures. Units range from 47 to 140 square meters and cost about P4 million to P15 million. Since the project is owned by Metrobank’s subsidiary, Ty says the bank will provide lower interest rates for buying units in the towers.

Senior marketing manager Johanna Clavecilla says the 26-story Parkview Residences will have the best landscape view of the city. Buyers can also choose units with either a mountain view or a sea view.
“The Residences is almost a hundred percent pre-sold while the other two towers are nearing 50 to 65 percent,” Clavecilla says.

Dennis Lim, vice president for sales and marketing of Federal Land says most of their buyers are locals of the city who already have big houses near the location of Marco Polo Residences.

“Some investors tell us that they want to own a unit, not to lease it out but to use it sometimes,” Lim says.

The favorable market response, according to Ty, is attributed to low maintenance of condo living and to Cebu being a haven of tourists since there are direct flights from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport to Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea.

Lim says another reason behind the success of this modern-contemporary development is the quality of service provided by the Marco Polo Plaza, a 5-star hotel which is just beside the site of the Marco Polo Residences along Cebu Veterans Drive.

The hotel was formerly known as the Cebu Plaza Hotel, the renowned 20-year-old hotel in this city, which closed in March 2003.

In 2006, the Metrobank Group and Hong Kong’s Marco Polo company decided to reopen the hotel.
“Most of the local business people who invest in this development feel the nostalgia of the old hotel and they want to entertain that piece of history of their families and the memories of this place,” Lim says.

Jose Mari Banzon, executive vice president and general manager of Federal Land says almost a hundred percent of the people they employ in their projects here in Cebu are locals.

“Almost all of our workers here are from the city except our consultants who come from different places in the country,” Banzon says.

Coupled with the booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in Cebu, Banzon says these projects will generate more jobs for the locals thus soliciting full support of the local government.

In its 40 years in the real estate industry, Federal Land Inc. continues to establish its reputation in real estate management and property development with a vision to provide quality and affordable lifetime investments for the Filipinos.