Cebu Landmasters breaks ground for planned 22-hectare CBD in Davao City

MANILA, Philippines — Cebu Landmasters Inc.(CLI) is developing a 22-hectare township in Davao’s Matina district which it envisions as the city’s new central business district.

Called the Davao Global Township (DGT), this project will convert a 64-year-old golf course into a CBD which will feature residential, office and retail components.

The project will be developed in partnership with the prominent Villa-Abrille family of Davao through its joint venture companies YHEST Realty Development Corp. and YHES Inc.

The partners broke ground yesterday for the project, which is set to be developed in three phases over a period of 15 years.

CLI chief operating officer Jose Franco Soberano said development cost for the first phase of the project is estimated at P10 billion. This will include a one-hectare park, an outdoor retail area, a residential tower and an office building.

The five-hectare phase is set to be completed in the next three to five years.

“All the roads, all the utilities, are all done in the next one to two years,”Soberano said.

Soberano said the project would provide more options for people living in the Matina area, which is known as the densest residential area in Davao.

“It could serve a new purpose of providing new jobs, providing conveniences and of course, the city is the winner because of the taxes to be generated here, the employment,” Soberano said.

The next two phases of the project are set to be developed in the next five to 15 years.

“It’s three phases, but if the demand is really strong, we can always accelerate it,” Soberano said.

He said the company is still eyeing to acquire around three to five more hectares of land in the area.

Under the partnership with the Villa-Abrille family, CLI will be the developer and manager of the project, while its partners will operate on a board level.

“CLI’s strength has always been working well with partners,”Soberano said.

Moreover, CLI announced that would invest P2.6 billion for the development of the 1.9-hectare The Paragon Davao, an urban and lifestyle hub,  in partnership with Davao Filandia Realty Corp. and Yuson Strategic Holdings Inc. under the joint venture YHES Inc.

The first phase of the project will feature a 26-story residential tower to be named One Paragon Place; a 263-room Citadines Paragon Davao to be managed by the The Ascott Limited; The Paragon Davao Convention Center; and The Paragon Lifestyle mall.

“The lifestyle destination was conceptualized and designed by Callison RTKL in collaboration with top Philippine architectural firm RMDA,” CLI said.