Pioneering condo lifestyle in the South

He took a risk and it paid off. While residential condominiums were already starting to take off in key urban centers about a decade ago, Jeffrey Ng opted not to join the fray in building these modern dwellings in Metro Manila.

Instead, the president of Cathay Land Inc. started to build his mid-rise condominiums outside the metro, where the residents prefer and are still more accustomed to the traditional house-and-lot setting.

“We started building (mid-rise condominium projects) around 10 years ago with Scandia I and II. We felt that even there (in Silang, Cavite), we had a demand. People, especially the expatriates working in the nearby industrial estate were asking us about it,” Ng recalled.

Expat community

He shared that at that time, there were a lot of Koreans and Japanese who were working in the different multinational companies in nearby industrial estates. While some prefer the house-and-lot setting, a big number of the expats preferred to stay in a condo unit.

“With the demand coming from them, we thought of putting up, initially, Scandia Suites I and II and both were sold out. Since then, we have put up several more,” Ng said. “Selling wasn’t an issue.”

Cathay Land also has the Golf View Terraces, Stanford Suites I, II and III, and the Fullerton Suites, which broke ground last year. All these are located in Silang, Cavite. Each project has its own amenities such as the swimming pool and landscaped gardens, which Ng said, the expats “really liked.”

The recently built condos further have pocket gardens in every floor, affording residents and their guests with stunning views of either Tagaytay or the Laguna Lake as they lounge around.

What appealed to the expats, he further explained, was that living in a condo affords them utmost convenience. For one, they won’t have to worry about the maintenance of their home, repairs, as well as their safety and security. A condo’s proximity to the expats’ workplaces, commercial establishments, service shops, among others, lessen the hassle of having to drive far to get your essentials.

Cathay Land offers modern convenience from a condominium lifestyle in a more relaxed environment.

Growing local market

But what surprised Ng was that apart from expats, there was also a growing preference from Filipinos in the area.

“To our surprise, there’s also quite a big demand from other markets,” Ng said. “We have Filipinos working at the industrial estates, too, the empty nesters who prefer the condominium lifestyle, professors from neighboring schools and universities, and even students. We have a lot of schools beside us—you have St. Scholastica, Don Bosco, De La Salle, Xavier, Miriam and Ateneo Graduate School,” he said.

“What we provide is that modern convenience from a condominium lifestyle in a more relaxed environment. You have that rustic, idyllic rural setting and yet, all the modern amenities of city living are there,” Ng added.

Indeed, how can one ask for more? All projects by Cathay Land are masterplanned, designed to provide a different kind of comfort and convenience in a suburban setting. Within the condos, there are commercial spaces that offer a resident’s necessities: a supermarket, convenience stores, coffee shop, laundromat, tutorial services, spa and pet care, among others—which are all just one elevator ride away.

What’s more, these commercial spaces offer potential business opportunities for budding entrepreneurs in the area, whether they live within Cathay Land’s 500-ha South Forbes Golf City or in nearby villages.

For residents, several tourist and recreational spots are highly accessible, allowing them to relax and unwind while doing their favorite outdoor activities with family and friends during weekends.

“We’ve been getting very good feedback and demand for our condos. It’s a growing market and with the completion of the Cavite Laguna Expressway (Calax), which will provide a new access road to Laguna Blvd., Laguna Technopark, up to the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road, it’s going to be more convenient for people coming from as far away as Makati and Alabang, even Carmona, Biñan, and Calamba in Laguna to get here,” he said.

First mover advantage

It thus pays that Ng has always been one to take calculated risks. But it comes as no surprise. After all, he is one of the prime movers in the South, a visionary who had bet big on Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Silang, Cavite when these areas were mostly just vast tracts of idle land decades ago.

Within this areas, Cathay Land has a 1,500-hectare expanse of a landbank that is said to hold one of the highest potentials over the next decade.

Today, a portion of Cathay Land’s landbank has innovative township now comprised of boutique communities with international architectural themes, an 18-hole golf course amenity, commercial areas, and the Acienda Designer Outlet.

“We were there 25 years ago and the area was just a vast tract of raw land. It was even inaccessible to cars back then. But now, you even have superhighways traversing these areas, which are considered among the prime locations today,” Ng said.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the Philippines except within our area in Sta. Rosa and Silang. I can’t think of another area which would have better potential in the future especially with all these expressways that will be finished between now and the next two years,” Ng concluded.