The affordable good life in Pampanga

While it’s often true that we get what we pay for, we usually still wish to get more than what we bargained for.                                                               

The latter is exactly what a good number of residents in Bacolor, Pampanga are already getting with Xevera Bacolor and are going to get with the almost finished Xevera Mabalacat. Both have been described by Pampanga 1st District Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin as “townships for middle-class owners amid a luxurious setting.”

What makes these housing projects particularly special is the fact that they look like high-end developments. Globe Asiatique owner Delfin Lee, the visionary behind Xevera, describes both projects as “reminiscent of Spain’s exuberance.”

And why shouldn’t he? Even with townhouses that are up for grabs for as low as only P5,000 a month for 30 years (tied with Pag-Ibig), Xevera Bacolor is regarded as a first-rate subdivision with top amenities such as a transportation terminal, a school, a church, town hall, wet and dry market, a clubhouse with an Olympic-size swimming pool, and a three-hectare eco-park.

Although similarly-styled, the nearby Xevera Mabalacat also boasts a lagoon and other amenities that reflect the architectural designs of famous European waterways while another project, The Enclave, in Angeles City is being touted as a retirement village for expatriates and other foreign businessmen based inside the Clark Freeport.

Because of his efforts in setting the template for urban development in Pampanga, Lee was recently hailed by Rep. Lazatin “as the one person that can help uplift the lives of Filipinos by solving the problem of informal settlers in the country.” Lazatin added, “Xevera Bacolor and the ongoing construction of Xevera Mabalacat are proof of what urban development should be, a feat worth emulating by other subdivision developers.”

Lee was also cited by the United Nations during its celebration of World Habitat Day 2008 last Oct. 6 as “a developer, who, through harmonious relationships among the private sector, government sector, and various non-government organizations, has come up with a sustainable project that will help decongest highly-urbanized areas.”

Because of Lee’s laudable efforts in literally changing the urban landscape of Pampanga, Globe Asiatique is not just giving people what they pay for but indeed a lot more than what they bargained for.