TUGBOK DISTRICT, Davao—The once agricultural landscape is now flattened out. Heavy rain clouds hover over the worksite, a dusty plain where half a dozen tractors crisscross from one edge of the field to the other, framed by billowing red flags. The flags, whipping against the monsoon gusts, are bright red, the color of this newest real estate development in southern Davao City. Emblazoned on each is the project’s brand name, Mahogany South.
“Our vision for Mahogany South aligns with the idea of promoting sustainable living, allowing families to build their future in a thoughtfully designed, vibrant community,” said Miguel Rene Dominguez, president and chief executive officer of Alsons Development and Investment Corp., one of the premier real estate developers in the country.
Dominguez, a former three-time governor of Sarangani province, took over the top post of Alsons Dev in June last year. The Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee for governance and public service, and Jesse Robredo Leadership Award winner, said his company has been quite serious in its real estate ventures from Davao City to Sarangani Bay in General Santos City, where it has built high and upper mi-range residential and commercial projects over the last 60 years.
His foray as company chief executive is a 13-hectare mixed-use township on this windswept land located in Tugbok District, south of the bustling Davao City, where towering mountain ranges from a distance provide a picturesque backdrop for future homeowners and commercial locators.
Launched early this week in Davao City, Mahogany South is Alson Dev’s first housing endeavor in the southern Davao region, and the third project under Alsons Dev’s Nurtura brand (Nurtura Land & Home) which caters to the mid-market segment.
The masterplanned project offers 594 house-and-lot and lot-only units. Alsons Dev is spending P1 billion initially to develop the township, about 30 kilometers from Davao City.
Dominguez announced during the launch that his company would also break ground for another township in the area later this year to be called Northtown Residences 5.
Jolla Amparo-Soriaga, Alsons Dev assistant vice president for business development and operations, said over 60 percent of the well-designed homes, surrounded by nature-integrated settings were snapped up by buyers, mostly first-time, starting families and investors.
“The direct buyers are mostly young professionals buying their first home, or investors who have been picking up 3 to 5 units in one go, due to the attractive rental opportunity. This has pushed up the original pre-selling prices of the units from P3 million to P4.5 million in the last three months,” she said.
The range of home options inspired by Modern Asian architecture include bungalow, bungalow with loft and open lots for those who opt to design and build their own abodes.
“We don’t have the problems of the property scene in Manila of overcapacity, etc., in the south,” Dominguez told Manila Standard.
“We’re building dreams and hopes for people here in Mindanao. Imagine, from P3 million to almost P5 million, that’s quite a jump in the pre selling price in just a short period. Obviously, the market, especially those made up of young professionals, are taking notice.”
Dominguez acknowledged that Alsons Dev has been learning from its past projects in Davao and Sarangani.
“We’re putting in high ceilings, spaces for remote working, lofts, tree-lines sidewalks and expansive parks. That’s what people want,” he said.
“At the same time, we are investing in stakeholder relations, especially with the Local Government Units, where we take the lead in building safety centers, school partnerships, health centers and the like. It is not an added cost for us. It pays in the long run to have partnerships with the community,” he said.
At press briefing after the launch, Soriaga said the target is to start turning over residential units by 2028. For commercial segments, Soriaga said negotiations are underway for locators and partners, and shops could open as early as 2027.
Dominguez told the Manila Standard that his company’s architectural planners consider Mahogany South as somewhat of a “blank slate.” “Unencumbered by the usual developer problems in big cities like Metro Manila, such as unsuitable and uncooperative neighbors, unsupportive local governments, contested boundaries,” he said.
“We will go all out for quality-of-life features like wide open spaces, sidewalks, parks and urban greenery, a trailblazing effort in these parts since the Tugbok district is not yet highly urbanized,” he said. “We now have an opportunity to learn and avoid the mistakes of the Philippines’ big cities.”
“This is the opportunity for areas other than Manila to show how to do it (urbanization) correctly,” he said.