Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), a real estate subsidiary of property giant Megaworld Corp. has initially earmarked P5 billion to develop a 117-hectare integrated lifestyle community in Cagayan de Oro City.
GERI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday the project to be called The Upper Central will be a mixed-use project with residential villages, a pedestrianized commercial and shophouse district, and its own town center.
Located along J.R. Borja Road in the highlands of Barangays Gusa and Indang, The Upper Central is just 10 to 15 minutes away from the city’s downtown area, and less than an hour away from Laguindingan International Airport, the main airport of Cagayan de Oro and the entire region of Northern Mindanao.
“We are envisioning to build a whole new lifestyle district in this higher part of Cagayan de Oro,” said Monica Salomon, GERI president.
GERI said 40 percent of the entire township will be dedicated to green and open spaces, including roads.
The township will also have a central park, distributed landscaped open spaces, and several viewing decks for future visitors and residents.
There will also be mountain and bike trails as well as its own adventure park.
Citing data from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), GERI said Cagayan de Oro is the second richest city outside of Metro Manila in terms of per capita GDP (gross domestic product).
The province has also been ranked as the third city in the Philippines with the largest urban economy, next only to Manila and Cebu according to UK-based Oxford Economic.
“Ever since, we have already set our eyes on Cagayan de Oro City because this is the gateway to many parts of Northern Mindanao. For the past years, our group has been carefully evaluating the concept of development that we want to put in this bustling city. Now is the perfect time to take part in the booming real estate industry of this side of Mindanao,” said Kevin Tan, president and chief executive of Alliance Global Group, the parent company of Megaworld.
The Upper Central will be 35th township under the Megaworld Group. It will be also be its 4th township to be launched this year,
“As we develop this new township, our vision as a developer remains: to help uplift the lives of the community and also to help propel the local economy through the jobs that we create. We hope to impart this lasting impact to Kagay-anons and the rest of the people of Mindanao,” said Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, Megaworld president.
