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ABOUT
two years ago, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, now
chairman of Ayala Corp., Bank of the Philippine Islands
and Globe Telecom, told BusinessMirror that more than a
thousand hectares near Laguna Technopark located at Sta.
Rosa City were available for development.
“Are you
buying it?” I asked.
“No,”
Mr. Zobel replied. “We own it.”
The
brief interview with Mr. Zobel is being recalled here in
view of the launch on Saturday, October 13, of the
latest addition to the property development projects of
Ayala Land,
part of which is in joint venture with the Yulo family.
With the launch, Ayala Land opens Nuvali—the project’s
name—for viewing by, and sale to, prospective buyers.
****
NUVALI
came a year after Ayala Corp. and Ayala Land had
invested their excess money outside the
Philippines.
The two
companies made the announcement in a joint press
conference sometime last year that they were investing
$200 million—or was it $250 million?—in property
projects in Asia “ex. Japan and Philippines,” as shown
in the press kit. What did
Ayala Land and its
parent company mean by the abbreviation? Did it stand
for “example”?
Ayala Land
executives led by its president Jaime Ayala said “ex”
was short for “except”. The follow-up questions were:
Why exclude the
Philippines
from the list of their money’s destination? Are the
Zobels afraid that part of that money would go to local
projects that they do not own? I mentioned Megaworld of
businessman Andrew Tan.
****
BACK to
the disclosure made by Mr. Zobel that they won’t run out
of land to develop when he fielded the question: since
Laguna Technopark was almost completed, what would be
ALI’s next project in Laguna? When he mentioned over a
thousand hectares in the fastest-growing city in the
South waiting to be developed, he must have been
referring to what would become two years later as Nuvali,
which would extend from Sta. Rosa to Canlubang.
Ayala Land
first introduced Nuvali to journalists in a press
conference attended by the company’s top executives led
by Mr. Ayala. It was in this press meet that this writer
posed the question “When shall we move in?” which drew
loud cheers from the audience—obviously ALI’s marketing
people. But before the cheers, I learned later on that I
got booed for asking “If Ayala West Grove is the next
big thing what would Nuvali be? Would it be the next
bigger thing, a description that would, in effect,
underrate
Ayala Land’s
other projects? (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.
also uses “the next big thing” in describing Smart 3G.)
****
SINCE
the question “when shall we move in?” did not get an
answer from Ayala Land’s executives, or perhaps the
cheers and boos I got for asking it drowned out their
response, I decided I should view the project for
myself.
The
opportunity to see the place came over the weekend. On
Saturday afternoon after the launch parade, a sales
agent called up saying he wanted to show us the latest
Avida project at Canlubang. I was reluctant to go.
Why
would I waste my time touring a project with nothing yet
to show? All I should know I already learned from the
press kits. Besides, Canlubang would be too long a trip
from our house in Sta. Rosa.
Persistent as sales people are known to be, the sales
agent showed such a convincing power that my wife and I
decided to pay Avida in Canlubang a visit. After all,
there was nothing to lose by going. I told myself: Why
not take the trip and enjoy the scenery to Canlubang?
****
FROM
Paseo de Sta. Rosa, which its developer, Greenfield
Development Corp., is turning into a public market
crowded with too many stalls, apparently to maximize
revenues from the place, to the consternation of
tourists, particularly from Metro Manila, and residents
nearby, Ayala Land built a six-kilometer Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay
Road that cuts through the 1,800-hectare Nuvali project.
We were at Avida portion of Nuvali near Montecillo
property project of the Yulo family in less than 20
minutes, interrupted by few stops along the way to view
the natural forest growth along the deep ravines and to
allow guards at designated security outposts to inspect
visitors. We were also told where Ayala Land will build
a lagoon for boat rides that would make the Nuvali
complex a tourist area.
True
enough, there was not much development yet. No lagoon.
No houses. But there was the gate at Avida under
construction. Workers are busy putting demarcation
markers in individual lots. It is time for visitors to
imagine buying a lot near the gate.
****
FROM
Manila, Nuvali will be accessible through three exits
from the South Luzon Expressway of the Philippine
National Construction Corp. Ayala Land will build access
roads passing through Laguna Technopark that leads to
SLEX’s Mamplasan exit for the exclusive use of
Ayala-developed projects. The other two are Sta. Rosa
and Malitlit exits. The latter is known also as ABI exit
because it leads to Asia Brewery Inc. of businessman
Lucio Tan.
To the
question “when shall we move in” I finally received an
answer: Avida houses at the farthest end of Nuvali will
be ready for occupancy “one year from now,” way ahead of
the more expensive houses under the two other
development brands of Ayala Land.
By the
way, Avida-Nuvali’s predevelopment is P8,000 per square
meter, which sales agent call preselling price. Let us
start dreaming for a house and lot being sold at P1,300.
(Visit www.duediligencer.com) |
