Big city amenities and small town ambience

A new alternative lifestyle focused on neighborliness and real community living has attracted young professionals and entrepreneurs and their families to Santarosa Estates 2.

The thriving 14-hectare subdivision being developed by Laguna Properties Holdings, Inc. is at the heart of the rapidly urbanizing section of Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, where a high concentration of multinational manufacturing firms have located.

Unlike in neighboring municipalities, broadband Internet services, the latest in telecommunication facilities, high-paying jobs as well as cafes and specialty restaurants are available in this part of Laguna. At the same time, cool breezes from Laguna de Bay and wide-angle views of Mt. Makiling and blue skies are plentiful.

According to Manuel J. Colayco, president of Laguna Properties Holdings Inc., Sta. Rosa’s "big city amenities and small-town ambience" has served as the main attractions of the area for the new generation of homeowners that have moved to Santarosa Estates 2. Building on those qualities, LPHI sought to preserve residents’ keen sense of community through a planning concept that promotes neighborly ties and a high quality of life for their entire family.

The cluster concept promotes deeper ties among neighbors by laying out homes around courtyards, observes Jennylee Tupaz, project manager of Santarosa Estates which offers house-and-lot packages with floor areas from 90 to 165 sq.m. Houses forming cluster share a common, open area – a landscaped courtyard. Organized into compounds, homeowners have more opportunities to interact and interface with one another.

She explains that the concept is a stark contrast to the grid layout of most urban areas today with streets that promote the quick passage of vehicles and discourage homeowners from venturing out of their properties.

Luxurious and spacious residential areas in the Santa Barbara area in California and Palm Beach in Florida have successfully employed the cluster concept to counter the vehicle-centered planning of older subdivisions, she adds.

New Santarosa Estates 2 residents will find the courtyard a convenient spot to meet and interact. Tots can sun and play in the space while their young parents trade recipes or borrow garden tools from each other. Meanwhile, teens have the freedom to skateboard and frolic within the cluster. All these activities take place within striking distance from their doorsteps.

"Homes laid out in clusters recall the town plaza concept. This plan allows neighbors more opportunities to know each other and to also watch out for each other," explains Colayco. He observes that only those with business in the cluster will venture there. Thus, unwanted visitors would easily be spotted.

So far, 48 families are enjoying a new lifestyle in Santarosa Estates, less than an hour drive from Makati and 15 minutes drive away from Tagaytay via the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road. Prospective homeowners who want to join them have a choice of house and lot packages including two new innovations. LPHI’s website (www.lphi.com) disclosed that Novara houses offer 115 sq.m. on a 182 sqm. Lot. The slightly bigger Marsala units, with floor areas of 130 sqm., sit on lots that measure 204 sqm.

The Novara and Marsala model units, now under construction, will be available for viewing by November. They make use of the British Tex building system, which assures homeowners of quality and durability.