CEBU CITY, Philippines – Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), the real estate arm of the Gotianun family, is scaling up its investment for the development of a mixed-use township in a 50-hectare reclaimed area in Cebu.
In an interview with reporters here, FLI president and chief executive officer Josephine Gotianun-Yap said their investment in the township project called City di Mare can now go as high as P35 billion from an initial cost of P15 billion.
The increased spending came on the heels of a revised masterplan for the project, Gotianun Yap said.
“Before, (the plan) was just residential and retail. Now we added more office components given stronger demand for office,” she said.
FLI owns 10 hectares of the City di Mare project, while the remaining 40 hectares is a joint venture with the Cebu City government.
Gotianun-Yap said 70 percent of the entire development would be taken up by residential space, while 20 percent and 10 percent would be retail and office components, respectively.
Development of the entire township will take 10 years or more, she said.
Gotianun-Yap said the company is currently studying the possibility of integrating a hotel in the township as well.
“We expect a development this size will have a hotel component, but that will be in the latter part because you need to have the mall and retail areas first,” she said.
FLI said the company is on track to completing Phase 1 of the project consisting mostly of residential developments.
For Phase 2, Gotianun Yap said FLI would start launching “exclusive collection” residential condominium catering to the higher market as well as BPO buildings and parks.
“We envision City di Mare as a progressive city within an urban paradise. It is a complete forward-looking township carefully planned to meet modern requisites for comfort and convenience,” she said.
City di Mare, which translates to “city by the sea,” is located at the reclaimed South Road Properties of the Cebu City Government.