Acquiring space in the ‘Cosmo’

It’s one thing to jump on the bandwagon, but it’s another to be able to outpace everyone else in the game.

Consider the rising trend in the local property market called dormitel—a term coined from the combined words of “dormitories” and “hotels,” and which is meant to offer hotel-like amenities in a dormitory setting.

A Cushman & Wakefield research publication had explained that the growing popularity of dormitels among young professionals stems primarily from the want—or the need—to find more affordable living spaces and relocate closer to their workplaces such as Makati central business district and Bonifacio Global City due to worsening traffic in the metro.

The growing demand for dormitels has thus prompted many real estate developers to tap the opportunities presented by this situation. In fact, it was projected that the dormitel stock, estimated at about 1,400 beds in the BGC and Makati CBD area as of end 2017, will expand to 5,300 beds by 2018 and to 10,200 beds by 2019, C&W said in a report in March.

And while many have jumped on the bandwagon, there are clearly a few players that stand out.

Conducive environment

Upscale developer Anchor Land Holdings, for instance, is building the P1.5-billion Cosmo Suites, a 16-storey twin-tower urban bed-spacing facility which will offer 3,000 beds. This is reportedly the highest number of beds being offered by a single property to date.

What is notable in this development is the fact that it does not only intend to provide a conducive environment for working professionals by offering them a healthy lifestyle through its amenities.

More importantly, Cosmo Suites is also being built with the concerns of the parents and guardians of these young professionals in mind. Anchor Land places utmost importance in providing a temporary weekday residence that will likewise offer their parents peace of mind.

Addressing demand

Located in Pasay City near the Bay area, Cosmo Suites is Anchor Land’s first foray into bedspacing, and was meant to address the growing demand for alternative bed spaces in Metro Manila, while offering an enhanced lifestyle to these young professionals.

Anchor Land president Elizabeth Ventura said there is a real demand for such spaces as traffic in Metro Manila continues to worsen and the condition of affordable public transport becomes more challenging and time consuming. An option is to either take ride-sharing services or to bring their own cars—the latter being more expensive given the high costs of fuel, maintenance and parking.

“Anchor Land undertook a comprehensive study to understand the prevailing demand of young professionals for alternative bed spacing facilities which are more conveniently located and offer secure and affordable, yet high quality and upgraded lifestyle. The company undertook a round of surveys in selected sites within the Bay area,” she explained.

“Anchor Land also conducted focus group discussions (FGD) with a major business process outsourcing (BPO) company. A major concern raised by employees who participated in the FGD was the travel time due to traffic and the distance of their respective residences from their place of work. A good number of the FGD participants reside as far south as Cavite while others reside in Quezon City,” she further noted.

On the average, employees who opted to live in traditional bed-spacing facilities —mostly converted houses—were spending around P4,000 to P6,000 for rent and travel expenses a month.

This does not yet include utility expenses.

Raising the bar

Anchor Land meanwhile will be taking the business of bedspacing a notch higher.

For one, upgrading the lifestyle of young professionals was a prime consideration when the company conceptualized Cosmo Suites. The target is to cater to young professionals employed in the BPO industry, as well as hotels and casinos located in the Bay area.

“This project aims to help improve their quality of life by helping them address the current traffic concern in Metro Manila. Cosmo Suites will become their halfway home near their place of work. This will allow them to spend their time on more productive activities instead of being stuck in traffic for around two to four hours,” Ventura explained.

Cosmo Suites, of course, will be a far cry from the usual dormitories and bed spacing.

According to Ventura, the property will offer a more secure and comfortable lifestyle through the more than 800 units, with cuts ranging from 22 sqm to 32 sqm. The property will be monitored by round-the-clock security and CCTVs, while each resident will have security access key card.

Cosmo Suites will also provide condo-like amenities including an open lounge area, a 20-m lap pool, fitness gym, basketball court and a game room.

Add to that, each tower will have its own lobby. Four high speed elevators will be provided for each tower, ensuring that residents can easily reach their respective units, each of which will have a common multi-use table, a separate water closet and toilet, bath area, and vanity cabinet and lavatory. This will allow residents who are always on the go to use these features simultaneously. Each bed space also has an available charging station, ledge and a closet.

“Cosmo Suites’ industrial interior design and its condo-like amenities, totally revolutionized the concept of bed-space living. Unlike traditional, cramped rooms offered by converted residential houses, Cosmo Suites allows seamless movement within the units and provides the luxury of condo-like amenities. This levels up the literal bed spacing condition of young professionals to the urban co-living lifestyle,” she concluded.