Story & photos by Rodel Ambas Jr.
FILIPINOS love everything Japanese, whether it’s electronic products, Uniqlo, matcha latte, mango or ramen. This affinity to Japanese culture is perhaps one of the reasons Japan is one of the Philippines’s major export partners and the country is a rapidly growing overseas destination among Filipino travelers in recent years.
But soon Filipinos won’t have to travel to Japan to experience Japanese culture, as we’ll be able to do so in Federal Land’s latest offering in Bonifacio Global City (BGC)—The Seasons Residences.
Set to rise in the developer’s Sunshine Fort development, this mixed-use project is a joint venture between the Ty-owned Federal Land and two of Japan’s top real-estate companies: Nomura Real Estate Development and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, the owner of the Isetan and Mitsukoshi department stores well known around the world. To complete the Japanese experience, the podium section of The Seasons Residences will feature the first Mitsokoshi Mall in the Philippines.
According to Federal Land, the $400-million Seasons Residences will be a mixed-use, integrated lifestyle center that will be home to four residential towers ranging from 41 to 51 levels and boasting units that highlight signature Japanese design philosophy.
“The residential towers of The Seasons Residences will focus on four key aspects: functionality, safety, harmony with the environment and Japanese technology,” according to Sophia Nuñez, Project Director at Federal Land. Uniquely Japanese elements in the units’ designs include smart storage solutions like kitchen floor cabinets and spacious shoe rack, kitchen sinks with built-in chopping boards that can double as counters, and eco-friendly solutions like energy-efficient lights and Japanese-branded ecological bathroom fixtures.
The condo also features amenities inspired by Japan’s four seasons: Haru or spring, Natsu or summer, Aki or autumn and Fuyu or winter, which incidentally are also the names of the development’s four towers. The first one, Haru, is scheduled for completion in 2023 and will feature one-bedroom units and suites (44–62 square meters), two-bedroom suites (78–93.5 sq m), and three-bedroom units (168–177.5 sq m). In addition, the project will also feature two bi-level penthouses at approximately 238 sq m and two villas that range between 296 and 345 sq m. Prices of the units, range from P16 million for the smallest up to P66 million.
Aside from these, residents’ can host relatives and family members in the condo’s unique feature, its very own guest house, which is at the amenity deck. It features a tea room and spacious bedroom for guests to spend a night or two.
The first Mitsukoshi Mall in the Philippines
BUT perhaps what will get Filipinos more excited about this project is the first Mitsukoshi Mall in the Philippines, which will be at the residences’ podium area. Set to open in 2021 way ahead of the first tower’s completion, the 17,000-sq-m Mitsukoshi Mall will feature a well-curated mix of Japanese and international brands and the retailer’s signature food hall. In fact, Vogue magazine even cited Mitsukoshi Ginza’s food hall as one of the best food places in Japan.
Federal Land’s partnership with Nomura and Isetan Mitsukoshi is the latest in a string of joint ventures the developer has entered into in recent years. The company partnered with ORIX Corp. of Japan for its upscale project Grand Hyatt Manila Residences, also in BGC, while Sy-owned SMDC is its partner for an uber-prime condo project along Ayala Avenue in Makati.
Image credits: Artist’s perspective, Federal Land, Rodel Ambas Jr.