Realizing a bold green vision for Panglao

A new community is rising in Panglao, 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol. Called Panglao Shores, this 57-hectare mixed-use project is a game changer in every sense of the word.

Early this month, a small group of local press flew to Singapore to meet  Hope Uy, the charming and amiable CEO of Panglao Shores. In an intimate event, she introduced us to the London-based sustainability experts behind XCO2, and the people she called “master planners” from SCSY whose head office is located in the Lion City.

“This development costs P25 billion and will be constructed in three phases. Full construction might take up to 10 years,” Uy, of the Alturas Group, told Manila Standard Life. 

“We wanted to show the public that sustainable concepts work in this industry. We are a tropical country and we have such beautiful nature and we want to preserve that. We always look for national experts but unfortunately, we lack sustainability experts within the Philippines. The good thing about our partners, is they do have Filipino staff,” Uy went alluding to their partners in building the green resort community.

According to Uy, Panglao Shores marks sustainability, community, and local culture as its guiding principles.

The storied project was born from humble beginnings. The pandemic created many challenges for businesses and led to hardship and layoffs. Alturas retained all staff, however, repurposing them into sometimes unfamiliar roles as they built South Farm to support local communities. 

Over time it became a sustainability incubator, a place to meet, practice, experiment and cultivate resources, plant trees, and store materials such as recycled woods, and it evolved into a place that simply and most meaningfully represented the essence of the inclusive culture and community ethos of Alturas. South Farm was to become the inspiration for the entire Panglao Shores development.

“The existing property is 10 years old now, and the vision started from there – making it a comfortable destination with an intention of preserving it so we can share it with other people and make them appreciate it,” Uy enthusiastically shared.

The success and spirit engendered at South Farm left a deep impression on Alturas Group, founded in Bohol by the Uy family, and from this seed, a wider vision for the future was developed with the help of XCO2 and SCSY.

“It was an epiphany for us, a real moment of awakening,” said Uy. “The realization was that here was an opportunity to create a generational product, inspired by Bohol, on a scale that would enable a fully-integrated community to flourish with sustainability at its core.”

The result is a low-density, mixed-use development infused with the nature of Bohol, created for domestic and international buyers, integrating six hotels and resorts, 37,000sqm. of retail and commercial space, over 1,000 residential units, and an international medical facility, while seamlessly weaving sustainability and social responsibility into the fabric of the project and the wider destination.

Conceived by Panglao Bay Premiere Parks & Resorts Corp. (PBPPRC), a subsidiary of Alturas Group of Companies (AGC), the project is located on the southern coast of Panglao, just off the coast of Bohol, and is a flagship project under the Tourism Infrastructure & Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), which are designed to deliver outstanding economic and social benefits to their destinations. 

At the heart of the project is the Town Square Retail Mall & Night Market, a vibrant indoor-outdoor hub of shopping, dining, and entertainment with live performance areas, garden walkways, and courtyards. This will be surrounded by facilities and amenities, including commercial and retail, residential villages, a convention center, co-working spaces, international hotels and resorts, and a beach club, all entwined with lush greenery and natural walkways.

International eco-building standards and materials have been incorporated throughout, such as high-performance glass, natural ventilation, and solar harvesting, along with smart technologies, electric transport, water treatment, waste reduction, and the removal of all single-use plastics. Local vendors are supported to sell crafts, native farmers and fishing communities have been built into the supply chain, children’s education is supported and coral reefs are protected.

Construction of the 188-room South Palms Resort is currently underway in Phase 1 with completion scheduled for 2024. Bohol is one of the most exciting destinations for investment and tourism in the Philippines. The island is served by the Panglao Bohol International Airport.

For more information about Panglao Shores, please visit https://www.panglaoshores.com