New alternative to Tagaytay haven

Timberland Heights in San Mateo, Rizal is the new Tagaytay.

This is how innovative property developer Filinvest Land is carving the reputation of its high-end township development located on high elevations east of Metro Manila. But unlike the now congested and highly dense Tagaytay City, the 677-hectare Timberland estate is shaping up as a master-planned residential mountain resort — without the long drive.

Its team of local and foreign designers includes the biggest names in their respective fields: Helber, Hastert, and Fee, CTAA/ACL Asia, Belt Collins, Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG), D+H Design Collaborative, R. Villarosa & Architects, and DCCD Engineering Corp.

Filinvest assures it only takes between 10 to 15 minutes to reach Timberland from Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City.

Access to this town will even be made easier when the construction of a national road extending the Batasan-San Mateo road is completed. Construction of a C-6 alignment road that traverses within the property is also ongoing.

‘Mountain haven’

Situated on elevations of up to 480 meters above sea level, Timberland Heights is twice higher than nearby Antipolo.

"We envisioned Timberland as a mountain haven where residents can go back to the basics like organic farming and nature trips yet still enjoy modern-day amenities and essential institutions that go with a complete and self-contained town," said Project Group Head Albert Morales.

As its premier township project, Filinvest will provide Timberland with commercial, educational and socio-civic institutions required of a town, including its own town center, police and fire stations, schools, hospitals, and a post office, among other city facilities.

Morales said these "implants will benefit not only San Mateo but also the whole Rizal as they will attract professionals and workers, eventually turning Timberland into service-oriented communities".

Maintaining low density, about 4,000 to 7,000 families are expected to live in the communities of Timberland.

Choices

Filinvest has planned Timberland to be a "federation of communities" rising on the mountain slopes and offering a variety of choices for its residential markets.

"Since it’s very near Metro Manila, they can have a first home here and not just a weekend residence up in the mountains," said Morales.

One of these is Mandala Residential Farm Estate, a 40-hectare farming community that offers lot cuts averaging 1,000 square meters. It is divided into four phases with the first one now being turned over to lot owners.

At Mandala, a hobby farmer-resident can tend a terraced farm with vegetables and fruit crops of his choice but strictly using "all-organic" farming techniques.

To achieve this, Timberland has established an Agroforestry Center in partnership with the UP-Los Baños Institute of Agroforestry that serves both as a technology and training center. It maintains a nursery that showcases the farming potentials of the estate with a vermi-culture facility for producing organic fertilizers.

For those who prefer owning a smaller lot size than a farm estate, Timberland is offering Banyan Ridge. Only 87 open lots with an average size of 300 square meters are available. Construction began in October last year and is expected to be completed in within the next 18 months.

For inquiries on Timberland Heights, call Filinvest Land, Inc. at 725-3766, 727-8017 and 723-2683, email [email protected] or [email protected] or visit www.timberlandheights.com.