Empire East launches P10B worth of residential units

Property developer Empire East Land Holdings Inc. plans to bring to the property market up to P10 billion worth of new residential inventory this year, riding on sustained demand from increasingly affluent local homebuyers.

During the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Wednesday, Empire East announced the launch of about 1,900 new residential units this year.

Empire East president Anthony Charlemagne Yu estimated that these residential units would have a sales value of P8.5 billion to P10 billion.

The new launches will come from The Paddington Place and Kasara Urban Resort Residences, both under the Empire East Elite brand.

Empire East, which sells mainly to local end-users, sees improving purchasing power of consumers translating to brisk demand for higher-end products.

Yu said the middle-income market—Empire East’s target segment—was now buying residential units priced at P3 million to as much as P10 million.  Two decades ago, he noted that the market was only buying within the P1 million to P3 million range.

The premium penthouse units of Empire East’s high-rise projects are the first ones to be taken up, Yu noted.

Last year, Empire East’s residential sales grew by nearly a third to around P19.42 billion. This year, Yu said a double-digit growth in sales take-up—a good indicator of how much revenues will grow in the future—could be sustained.

“Empire East Elite developments are a showcase of increased mobility, accessibility to conveniences, less dense community, bigger unit layouts and upgraded amenities. These features translate to better experiences, a higher standard of living, and the kind of sustainability that is very important to the modern market today,” Yu said.

The Paddington Place, featuring four towers, is located along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City, close to upscale destinations in the Ortigas CBD.  It showcases penthouse units and a smaller number of residences per floor. Tower 1, with 645 units, is 71 percent sold. The retail centerpiece, the two-story lifestyle mall “The Pad,” will be managed by Megaworld Lifestyle Malls.

The six-tower Kasara in Pasig City pitches resort-inspired recreational amenities.  It is now 74-percent taken up. In terms of construction, Tower 1 and Tower 2 are over 90 and 80 percent complete, respectively. Work on Tower 3 and Tower 4 is under way.

Sales from Covent Garden in Sta. Mesa, Manila, and Mango Tree Residences in San Juan City, have reached the 90-percent and 66-percent mark, respectively. The four-tower San Lorenzo Place in the Makati CBD is nearly sold out, with ready-for-occupancy units available at Tower 1 and Tower 2. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA