A first taste of condo life in Bicol

AN ARTIST’S drawing of the proposed Eco Homes Bayshore that would rise in Legazpi City. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Bicolanos craving for a taste of condominium life need not look far to Metro Manila to stay in one of the modern-day structures that have somehow described the local urban sprawl.

In Legazpi City, the capital of Albay province and a bustling center of regional affairs, a big realty firm is pursuing an affordable condominium project in a 23,289-square-meter property, which offers an alternative site to traffic-plagued Metro Manila. It is the first of such kind of housing development in Albay and Bicol.

“Here, you can experience nature within the city,” said Elizaldy Co, chair of Eco Realty Ventures Inc., which owns the project proponent, Sunwestville Realty and Development Corp.

“This is balanced with the countryside sense and lifestyle. You don’t need to go to Manila. The traffic on Edsa is also the same with the traffic in Metro Manila condos,” Co said.

Eco Homes Bayshore in Barangay Puro will provide residents a sustainable and economical way of life. Seven three-story buildings will rise in 3 hectares of land—part of the 70 ha owned by Sunwestville in the southern part of Legazpi, 3 kilometers from the central business district.

Middle wage earners

The main concept “is to help even the middle wage earners to have their own house, especially those who are just leasing,” Co said.

The resort-village will have a total of 1,022 units, with floor areas of 27.6 sq m for an inner unit and 40.92 sq m for the standard one.

“Owning a condo will cost you P3 million to P5 million—that’s the cheapest in Manila. But here, we offer it for only P1.1 million to P1.5 million,” Co said.

Before the project’s grand launching on the last week of November, almost 400 units were reserved, offered through loans from banks and the Home Development Mutual Fund.

Amenities

Eco Homes Bayshore will also have a swimming pool, multipurpose building, fitness gym, lounges, basketball court and other exclusive amenities.

Residents can also refresh and feel the breeze from Legazpi Boulevard, a 3-km coastal road network extending from the central business district and port area to the southern villages. The boulevard shore is only about 500 meters from the development site.

Co said all the ingredients needed for a city lifestyle would be put up near the condominium buildings.

“Like in the concept of tourism, ‘live, work and play,’ we will make all the developments in this community complementary (with) every stay in the province. When tourists feel secure in a place, they tend to settle in the same area even until their retirement,” he said.

A hospital and a building for business process outsourcing companies will soon rise in the 70-ha land area, as well as a school, market and even a terminal for public utility vehicles.

Typhoon-proof

In front of the condominium units, Eco Homes Subdivision will rise.

“We expect to have a huge community in this area so we need to give their basic needs to make this area sustainable. The trend today is sustainable development, to make it more economical, we need to give them a place (where they can find) work, (get) entertainment and (avail of) complete amenities,” Co said.

Local engineers have been commissioned to produce the typhoon-proof design of the buildings. The structures are expected to withstand a supertyphoon with sustaining winds of 250 kilometer per hour.

“This may be an elevated area (10 meters elevation from the ground), but we planned it well to be a typhoon-proof building. The structure itself can survive even for 300 (kph winds) and this is also safe from a storm surge,” Co said.

Co’s real estate ventures in Legazpi include Renaissance Garden on Washington Drive, Highlands Subdivision in Estanza, Tektone Villages in Dapdap and Misibis Residential Resort in Bacacay town, Albay.