Empire East allots P2.8B for residential projects

Empire East Land & Holdings Inc., the low-to-middle income housing subsidiary of upscale property developer Megaworld Corp., is setting aside P2.8 billion for the development of residential projects this year until 2007.

Empire East president Anthony Charlemagne Yu said of the programmed capital budget, P1.3 billion will be spent this year while the balance of P1.5 billion will be used next year.

Yu said the company expects to launch two projects soon: a residential condominium building in Metro Manila and a housing project in Laguna.

According to Yu, Empire East is in talks with prospective joint venture partners for its planned expansion in and outside Metro Manila.

Empire East is a pioneer in self-contained township projects located in Metro Manila and in the suburbs, which cater to a middle-income market. These include its flagship project Laguna BelAir in Sta. Rosa, Laguna; Cambridge Village in the Pasig-Cainta area; and California Garden Square in Mandaluyong City.

Reservation sales for the company’s various ongoing projects reached P3.5 billion in 2005. The volume is projected to grow further this year.

Empire East’s largest revenue earner is Laguna BelAir, whose fast-selling house-and-lot and lot packages have made it the country’s most successful township. Laguna BelAir’s Phases 1 and 2 have only a few units left, while Phases 3 and 4 are almost sold out.

Aggressive marketing activities have also driven the sales of Cambridge Village and California Garden Square. Cambridge Village is a 7.4-hectare community of loft- and flat-type homes in the Pasig-Cainta area.

California Garden Square, on the other hand, comprises 25 medium-rise residential-and-commercial buildings in eight clusters in Mandaluyong City.

Among the company’s completed projects include Greenhills Garden Square in the Greenhills-Quezon City area, and The Xavier Hills in the New Manila-San Juan area.