8990 putting up P8-B township project in Tondo

Mass housing developer 8990 Holdings on Tuesday broke ground on a 13-tower high-rise residential complex in Tondo, Manila—jump-starting an P8.3-billion township project seen to address the dearth of affordable condominium units in this part of the metropolis.

8990 Holdings has committed to invest P8 billion in building the 13 residential buildings in this new township project called 8990 Deca Homes Manila, bringing to the property market 13,212 affordable residential units.

Another P300 million has been earmarked for development costs, including the construction of a full-service two-story mall tentatively called the Decamall in the 8.4-hectare complex in Vitas, Tondo.

Asked why the group decided to venture in this part of the metropolis, 8990 Holdings president and chief executive officer Januario Jesus Atencio said: “We noticed that this side of Tondo—the Vitas area—is probably the most dense area in the Philippines, and yet there is a lack of two things: high density affordable condominium living spaces for ordinary working class Filipinos and a good mall as its major amenity. We have identified a need and we hope our product can fill that need.”

Atencio said 8990 Holdings would likely start preselling residential units in the first quarter of 2016.

8990 Holdings’ partner-contractor, Megawide Construction Corp., has committed to finish one new building in three to four months. This means all 13 buildings are expected to be completed in about three and a half years, Atencio said.

On the shopping mall component, Atencio said 8990 Holdings was currently finalizing its options. “We will disclose the final arrangements of the mall when we have decided on certain fundamental directions. What is clear if that whatever directions we take, we are committed to providing out homeowners with this kind of amenity,” he said.

Earlier, 8990 Holdings teamed up with retailer Waltermart to develop mall operations in mixed-use projects, including this complex in Vitas, Tondo.

Atencio, along with chair Mariano Martinez and Luis Yu, led the groundbreaking ceremonies on Tuesday.

A studio-type unit in this Tondo project will have a footprint of 22.95 square meters. A one-bedroom unit will have 27.42 sqm while two-bedroom units will have footprints of either 30.6 sqm or 32.18 sqm. The complex will offer 2,226 parking slots.

The condominium township project is envisioned to have shopping, dining, and recreational facilities on top of the regular amenities that include parks, playgrounds and basketball courts.

8990 Holdings’ earnings grew by 11.8 percent year-on-year to P3.16 billion from January to September this year. Gross revenues went up by 13.1 percent percent year-on-year to P7.06 billion.