Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the real-estate arm of the Villar family, on Wednesday said it will spend some P40 billion in developing its vast property in Iloilo City into a master-planned community that will have, among others, malls, hospitals, residential and office buildings mainly for business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms.
The company said its Vista City Iloilo will cover about 500 hectares, spanning the municipalities of Oton, Pavia and San Miguel on Panay Island. The property is close to the University of the Philippines Visayas, Central Philippine University, University of San Agustin and the West Visayas University, as well as the Western Visayas Medical Center and The Medical City Iloilo, the company said.
Iloilo has recently attracted major players in the real-estate industry that are undertaking residential and commercial projects to take advantage of the growing domestic economy.
Bordered by the provinces of Antique in the west and Capiz in the north, Iloilo has become the regional capital and the economic hub of Western Visayas.
Vista Land established its presence in Iloilo in September 2000, when it opened Savannah Glades. The project’s two main residential components are Savannah and Lumina.
The project now has seven residential enclaves, covering more than 300 hectares. Savannah is the largest residential community on Panay Island.
The residential community is supported by numerous amenities, including a school, five clubhouses, four basketball courts, one tennis court, jogging and biking paths, and numerous gazebos, parks and children’s playground.
“The integration of the residential project with commercial development will complete Vista City Iloilo’s transformation with adequate security and convenient transportation services,” the company said.
It added that the company has allocated at least 100 hectares for the City Center, where the BPO offices, shopping establishments and hotels will be located. The City Center will also include churches with columbarium, events places and amusement parks.
Vista Land has established its presence in 35 provinces, and 90 cities and municipalities. To date, the group has 23 master-planned city developments spread all over the country.