Garden living by the bay
July 1, 2006 | 12:00am
The Philippines is a tropical paradise and Metropolitan Manila is blessed with a bay that rivals the best in the world. Despite this, housing and urban develop-ment has been inclined to go inland and away from the natural beauty, practical advan-tages, and environmental benefits of living by the sea – until now.
A hundred years ago, famous architect and planner Daniel Burnham created a master plan for Manila that included, as a prime element, a picturesque coastal drive connecting the city with Cavite to the south. This boulevard was to be lined with parks and provide summer resorts for modern Manilans. It was only in recent history that Roxas Boulevard was linked with Cavite and additional land reclaimed to provide Burnham’s vision of resort living. Only in the past few years has development sprouted along this emerging golden coastline.
The opening of the sprawling shopping complex – SM Mall of Asia – has focused people’s attention on this developing bayside district that stretches from the CCP Complex to Pasay, Parañaque, and beyond. It is Metropolitan Manila’s best-kept secret and has the huge potential to do to the city what Darling Harbor did to Sydney, the Esplanade is doing to Singapore, what Battery Park did to New York, and what the Embarcadero did to San Francisco.
Bayside or waterside living in these wonderful cities is the most-sought real estate there. The plushiest prime properties are located at or close to the water’s edge. The views are spectacular and the closeness to commercial, shopping and cultural amenities is well worth the investment for all types of housing – from studio/bachelor living to multi-bedroom family condominiums.
Few here have taken advantage of the city’s proximity to one of the world’s most beautiful and bountiful bays. Federal Land, a leading property developer (the real estate arm of Metrobank), has taken the initiative to bring lifestyle and living options to people seeking the good life. Literally a stone’s throw away from the Mall of Asia, the CCP Complex, a multitude of restaurants, and minutes away from both the Makati CBD and the international airport is the Bay Garden. This evolving housing quartier is situated within Metropolitan Park, a new 40-hectare master-planned community envisioned by the developers as the premier waterfront development in the metropolitan region.
Federal Land has already developed the first three condominium towers in Bay Garden. Anchor Bay, Boardwalk Bay, and Crystal Bay towers sit on a lushly landscaped podium with commanding views of the bay on one side and the modern Makati skyline on the other (many units have multiple views from their generous balconies). The architecture is by the established architectural Firm GF & Partners, while the landscape architecture is by the equally talented Filipino landscape architect Horacio Dimanlig. Dimanlig managed to combine a resort pool with a waterfall feature, a children’s pool, commodious deck space with shade trees, play courts, and even a jogging path – all a few steps away from each tower’s lobbies.
Units in the three towers range from single-bedroom accommodations to up to three-bedroom layouts – a unique offering by Manila’s standard. Surprisingly, the demand for these large units is great, reflecting a change in buyers’ attitudes towards the advantages of condominium high-rise living.
The first three towers’ sales have been so successful that a new tower is already underway. The Mactan Tower is right next door and shares the podium in a functional and aesthetic continuity that benefits residents. The new tower carries the resort feel of the original and improves on it with a similar range of outdoor amenities – this time, the impressive architecture is by the progressive firm of GGG Architects with the landscape designed by another creative Filipino landscape architect, Efren Aurelio. Both Dimanlig and Aurelio are members of the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects and both have expensive experience designing international projects.
Mactan Tower offers from 41 to 61 square-meter one-bedroom units, 66 to 116.5 square-meter two-bedroom spreads, to extremely generous three-bedroom expanses (up to 192.5 square meters). Lanais are provided for every unit – since the views are the main attraction of living here.
Federal Land, has, of course, provided quality finishes and design details. Kitchens have modular cabinets, practical grease traps are standard, easily-maintained floors (homogeneous tiles for the kitchen and teakwood for the living room) are provided. All the units have high ceilings, coordinated wardrobe cabinets, generous glazing, and full-height mirrored walk-in closets and bathtubs (for the three-bedroom units) are the key highlights of the units.
Beyond the units and the towers, the developer has provided more than adequate resident and visitor parking, full security, comprehensive fire and safety measures, and back-up power. At the Mactan Tower’s garden level there’s also, aside from a resort pool to rival the original towers’ pool, a 385-square-meter golf putting green, friendly barbecue areas, and outdoor function nooks for entertainment (aside from an indoor function room).
Manilans need to rediscover that the best place to live is by the water. We all need to realize that paradise is just close by, that the sea and luxurious tropical lifestyles beckon, and that we can relieve the stresses and pressures of urban life by immersing ourselves in gardens by the bay.
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