Written by: Amy Remo
It’s smart and practical, and offers the flexibility of being able to grow your business right where you live.
Shophouses, considered a quintessential heritage and architectural icon in many Asian cities in past centuries, are finding their way back in modern urban centers, as homegrown businesses and small enterprises rediscover their viability in today’s times. Such growing popularity is not unfounded.
Often a two- or three-story building that has the store on the ground floor and residence on the upper floors, shophouses are also proving to be just as useful and functional in an era that has seen the rise of large-scale, state-of-the-art central business districts.
Shophouses, after all, offer privately owned enterprises the practicality of not having to purchase or rent separate spaces that will serve as your home, your store and your office—it’s cost effective at the very least. At the same time, it gives you flexibility on how you can make use of your space should a different need arise. In a community setting, having these retail shops easily within reach can provide utmost convenience for the residents.
Diverse, inclusive marketplace
This historic icon can soon be found in the newest downtown to rise in Tarlac province.
Ayala Land is bringing back shophouses in Cresendo, an emerging 290-ha contemporary estate north of Metro Manila, as it seeks to create a diverse and more inclusive marketplace that will empower local businesses and help entrepreneurs build a better future.
Integrating the historical and modern features of retail spaces in one setting, Cresendo’s shophouses will be built in 20th century architectural blocks within the 47-ha Cresendo Downtown. It will follow a color scheme that will comprise natural beige, grays and whites with accents of earth colors in muted greens, terracotta, yellow and brown to unify all shop fronts. Overhangs, plant boxes, Juliet balconies, accent stone or textured materials will define the architecture of the shophouses.
Shophouses have proven its practicality over time, and are reemerging in the modern era.
Shop2: The shophouses’ strategic location within the estate adds to their value and potential profitability.
Heart of the estate
The shophouses’ strategic location within the estate adds to their value and potential profitability. As these are positioned at the heart of Cresendo, shophouses will benefit from the foot traffic generated by nearby offices, the industrial park, schools, church and soon, residences within the estate. The Cresendo Downtown itself features a town plaza, outdoor spaces with the Juliet balconies, and a promenade that can serve as venue for local festivals and events.
It should also be noted that upon completion of the first phase of development, Cresendo is expected to host 54,000 residents, 5,000 students, and some 2,000 employees in the industrial park, on top of the guests who will be coming to Cresendo to dine, shop or visit the festivities.
Shop3: One can only imagine the vast opportunities that await at the iconic Cresendo shophouses.
Shop4: Cresendo is bringing back Shophouses as it prioritizes growth of communities and local businesses.
One can only imagine the vast opportunities that await in such a location.
The shophouses will also rise within an estate by Ayala Land, which is known to have built many of the country’s most vibrant, sustainable and masterplanned growth centers. This only means that you now have that exceptional opportunity to be among the first locators in a burgeoning estate that could soon be one of the main growth drivers not just in the province but also in the entire Central Luzon.
And investors should hurry, too. Cresendo is already fast taking shape as the first locators within the estate are set to open soon. These include a McDonald’s NXTGEN store, a 2,100-sqm MerryMart Grocery, and Don Bosco Tarlac.
These historical shophouses rising in Cresendo are indeed among the most exciting additions that will soon create and empower a bustling community of like-minded investors all set to thrive in Tarlac’s newest, most modern downtown.
ADVT
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