MEGAWORLD, the country’s largest developer of integrated urban townships, announced during a recent press briefing held at the Eastwood Richmonde Hotel that they are developing a 24-hectare property along F. Felix Avenue in Cainta, Rizal.
This new development, which is called the Highland City, is the company’s 24th township along with its subsidiary Empire East Land Holdings Inc. Highland City will host the expansive Highland Mall, which has a gross floor area of around 58,000 square meters, consisting of rows of residential towers on a highland area, mixed-use towers, a church, as well as open and green parks.
According to Megaworld Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Kevin L. Tan, the Highland Mall will offer around 58,000 square meters of retail spaces. “We are building another Megaworld Lifestyle Mall that showcases another unique character, complementing the ‘highlands’ or sloped landscape of the property,” he said.
“We are very excited about this new township that will evoke a character of a city sitting on highlands. Empire East will develop around 38 residential towers on the elevated portion of the township. These towers will serve as a dramatic backdrop to the vision of ‘Highland City.’ Our proposed Highland Mall under the Megaworld Lifestyle Mall brand will also be a centerpiece of the development. We will integrate it with an expansive park that opens toward the township’s main entrance,” said Tan.
He also said that the Highland City, which used to be a steel factory, will offer its residents swimming pools, fitness center, jogging path, sports facilities and biking trails, just to name a few. “Highland City will be highlighted by an 8,000-square-meter green and open park, which will have a grand staircase leading to the entrance mall,” Tan shared.
The Megaworld head honcho also explained that his company is looking at their townships as mass transit-oriented, as well as how they can contribute and help the tourism industry. “A lot of our buyers come from the OFW [sector] and they [have a] demand for condominiums,” explained Tan.
Highland City will also house some retail areas and a 500-seating-capacity church. The park will lead toward the mall and will serve as a “grand welcome” to the township. On both sides of the park will be a six-lane road, which will serve as the main street entrance to the township.
Forty percent of the entire development will be dedicated to green and open spaces. Aside from the six-lane main road, the internal roads will be at least four lanes wide.
Megaworld owns 82 percent of Empire East Land Holdings Inc., which has been known for the development of mid-cost housing developments, including several transit-oriented residential developments in Metro Manila and in other parts of Luzon during the last 25 years. Among its projects include Laguna Bel-Air and The Sonoma in Santa Rosa, Laguna; San Lorenzo Place in Makati City; The Rochester and Kasara Urban Resort Residences in Pasig City; Little Baguio Terraces and Mango Tree Residences in San Juan; Covent Garden in Santa Mesa, Manila; as well as California Garden Square, Pioneer Woodlands, The Paddington Place in Mandaluyong City. The two companies will spend P20 billion in the next 10 years to develop Highland City. Land development will commence by the second quarter of this year.
During the last 30 years, the Megaworld Group has built over 660 residential developments, 57 office towers and 17 lifestyle malls in 23 master-planned townships and integrated lifestyle communities across the Philippines. These include: Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City, (18.5 hectares); Newport City in Pasay City (25 hectares); McKinley Hill (50 hectares), McKinley West (34.5 hectares), Uptown Bonifacio (15.4 hectares) and Forbes Town (5 hectares), all in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City; The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu (30 hectares); Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City (72 hectares); Santa Barbara Heights in Santa Barbara, Iloilo (173 hectares); Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island (150 hectares); Twin Lakes in Alfonso, Batangas, near Tagaytay (1,300 hectares); ArcoVia City in Pasig City (12.3 hectares); Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and Laguna (561 hectares); Davao Park District in Lanang, Davao City (11 hectares); Alabang West in Las Piñas City (62 hectares); Eastland Heights in Antipolo, Rizal (640 hectares); Suntrust Ecotown in Tanza, Cavite (350 hectares); Maple Grove in General Trias, Cavite (140 hectares); The Hamptons Caliraya in Lumban-Cavinti, Laguna (300 hectares); The Upper East (34 hectares) and Northill Gateway (50 hectares) both in Negros Occidental; Capital Town Pampanga beside the Pampanga Provincial Capitol in the City of San Fernando (35.6-hectares); and Westside City in the Entertainment City in Parañaque City (31 hectares.)
Image credits: Artist’s Perspective