Narra Park Residences, Alsons Development and Investment Corp.’s 13-hectare mixed-use estate in Alabel, Sarangani is gradually taking shape with over 80 houses and the 1,800-square-meter Alabel Public Safety and Security Complex (APSSC) rising over what was once thickly foliaged grazing land.
The project, situated within the 121-hectare mixed-use Avia Estate in Alabel, the capital of Sarangani, will be completed by 2027.
Alsons Dev announced that it is investing an initial P1 billion to develop the township, its first real estate venture out of Davao City where it has built high- and upper mid-range residential and commercial projects over the last 60 years.
Alsons director Miguel Dominguez told the Manila Standard that “Sarangani has always been a valued region to the Alcantara family because we believe in its potential for growth and development.”
The diversified Alcantara Group’s agribusiness ventures are mainly located in Sarangani.
“We want to be part of that growth, and we are committed to helping lead Mindanao’s progress by creating a new lifestyle destination that will serve as a growth hub and create more opportunities for the people residing here,” said Dominguez, who served as one of the youngest governors of the province for three terms from 2004 to 2013.
Alsons Dev officials brought visiting media to Avia Estate last week and showed the bustling construction activity for the first 32 hectares of the township.
Jessa Mae Sisi, Alsons Dev assistant general manager for sales and marketing, said Avia Estate represents a promise of a new community for Alabel and the SOCCSKARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos) area.
Richlie Kyndon Magtulis, Alsons Dev assistant manager for business development in Sarangani and General Santos operations, said the decision to locate in Alabel, instead of General Santos, was motivated by the Alcantara Group’s thriving food processing investments in Sarangani, notably the sprawling facilities of Alsons Aquaculture Corp just next door to the estate.
Avia is close to the Sarangani-Davao Del Sur Coastal Road, which meanders towards the scenic Glan municipality, famous for its white beaches hugging Sarangani Bay, facing the Celebes Sea.
Magtulis said there would be 80 hectares earmarked for residential use, and 40 hectares reserved for commercial purposes.
The residences will showcase single-attached bungalows with a 45.31-square meter floor area, comprising two bedrooms, two toilets and a bath and a one-car garage space. There will be two-story units as well, covering 63.22 square meters, with three bedrooms, two toilets and baths, a powder room, and space for a two-car garage.
“The price of the bungalow unit is currently at P3.6 million, while the two-story unit is at P4.7 million. Open lots are priced at P30,000 per square meter,” said senior project officer Sheena Mae Tanes.
Adjacent to Narra Park Residences is a branch of Abba’s Orchard Montessori School, and the Alabel Public Safety and Security Complex.
The Sarangani provincial capitol, hospital and national high school are just a kilometer down the highway. Among the available amenities are the central park, a swimming pool, a cabana, and a multi-purpose court.
The targeted market for Narra Park Residences includes families from General Santos, overseas Filipino workers and people from Metro Manila with family ties to Sarangani.
Architect and urban planner Paulo Alcazaren, who helped design the estate, said the project is what planners consider a “tabula rasa.”
It’s a “blank slate,” he said during the initial launch of the project, “unencumbered by the usual developer problems of unsuitable and uncooperative neighbors, unsupportive local governments, contested boundaries.”
Alcazaren said that since Alabel — which is adjacent to the commercial center General Santos City — and Sarangani are not yet highly urbanized areas, they have the opportunity to learn and avoid the mistakes of the Philippines’ urban hubs.
“This is the opportunity for areas other than Manila to show how to do it (urbanization) correctly,” he said.