Shaping landscapes, innovating lifestyles

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Land Premier Head and Ayala Land VP Jose Juan Z. Jugo and Alveo President Robert S. Lao are living the kind of life they are preaching, or, if you will, selling. As heads of two leading real estate companies, they are living in the pioneer communities that they have developed.

Ayala Land Premier (ALP) is the high-end real estate brand of Ayala Land, creating some of the most beautiful and exclusive horizontal and vertical communities in the country, such as Ayala Westgrove Heights, One Roxas Triangle, The Residences at Greenbelt, One Serendra, Ayala Greenfield Estates, five subdivisions in NUVALI, Park Terraces, Garden Towers, and a lot more on the drawing board.

Alveo, a subsidiary of Ayala Land, is all about innovation — capturing a market that is on the rise, making its residences more accessible for people who are clearly successful in their professions and businesses.

One just has to look at the developments these two companies have built to know that when it comes to living, nothing beats being in the right address.

Alp: A distinctive living experience

Ayala Land Premier Head Jose Juan Z. Jugo says ALP “carries the heritage of Ayala Land, which built its first subdivision in Makati, Forbes Park, back when there was nothing there but the runway on Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Avenue. ALP is the brand that defines Ayala Land. Our genes, our DNA is found in past projects like Forbes Park, Dasmariñas Village, Urdaneta Apartments, Ayala Alabang, and Ayala Heights.”

These are developments that in the past six decades have seen unrivaled land value appreciation, boasting innovatively designed and exceptionally engineered homes for discerning people.

“ALP is known for many things, but primarily it’s high-end residential subdivisions,” says Jugo. “Now we have the new-generation products that put value on sustainability. For our vertical developments, we started with One Legazpi Park in 2001, The Residences at Greenbelt in Makati and One Serendra in BGC.”

ALP is leading the residential development in the new Ayala Center with the three-tower Park Terraces and Garden Towers, both boasting the signature ALP experience of luxury, security, exclusivity, an abundance of amenities for sports and relaxation, and, best of all, prime location — right in the heart of Metro Manila’s hub for business, leisure and entertainment.

Imagine going down from your home and just crossing the street for breakfast and shopping in Glorietta or a few minutes of strolling and you’re in Greenbelt, and at night enjoying the views of Makati, Manila Bay or Laguna de Bay. 

“Garden Towers brings the garden experience to the sky, featuring a green lobby, a green wall at the drop-off,  and lush areas for convergence among guests at two-floor intervals until the highest floor,” says Jugo.

It’s this experience of lush greenery in the middle of the city that also makes One Serendra distinctive. Once you enter this enclave, it’s hard to believe how everything just quiets down from the hustle and bustle of Bonifacio Global City. You are suddenly in the middle of a huge garden with swimming pools. And like the Makati experience, One Serendra residents are in the most enviable address that puts them in the shopping, business and leisure hub of Taguig.

Another ALP development in BGC is the 60-storey Suites at One Bonifacio High Street beside the Mind Museum, which broke all Ayala Land records when it opened for selling an P8 billion inventory and almost all of its units were snapped up in one afternoon.

Outside of Metro Manila, ALP designs green living not just around nature but also with nature. In NUVALI,  Ayala Land’s flagship sustainable township spanning Sta. Rosa, Cabuyao and Calamba, has its own Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary and a 17-kilometer buffer zone along a river and stream system where 100,000 trees are being planted.

Here, ALP is developing five subdivisions: Abrio, Montecito, Elaro, Santierra and Luscara. They are open lots with cuts that start at 500 to 600 sqm. in small subdivisions of about 60 to 70 hectares each.

“Abrio has fewer than 300 lots, the other subdivisions have about 400 lots,” says Jugo. “We launched Abrio for about P9,000 sqm., now some owners are selling for P25,000 per sqm. It’s an exponential rise in value. The projects we’re selling now are about P17,000 per sqm. NUVALI is very important to Ayala land because it’s the largest land bank that we have at over 2,000 hectares. In 20, 30 years’ time it might be something like Makati.”

Jugo knows what’s its like to be living in that area outside Metro Manila. He lives in one of ALP’s first horizontal communities, Ayala Westgrove Heights, which has “retained its idyllic provincial feel without the hassle of a long commute. I’m in Makati in 40 minutes,” he says, citing the highways that make it easy to get into the city. “It’s a great place to raise a family. It’s not anymore just for people looking for a second home, but for those who want be away, a little secluded from the city”

Alveo: innovating the way you live

 If Ayala Land Premier developments put you right in the middle of the action, thus the premium on prices, Alveo’s strategy is to build communities near those centers to make them more accessible in terms of prices.

 Alveo President Robert S. Lao says, “Alveo is about innovation, it is the spirit of the company, how to improve the living experience of its residents.”

Alveo started in 2002 with the subdivision Verdana in Bacoor, Cavite, and has since expanded to vertical developments in Metro Manila and outside. Its first high-rise condominium was The Columns Ayala Avenue, located at the corner of Ayala and Buendia Avenue, providing a home for people who want to live near where they work.

Alveo projects are in places that are “highly networked,” says Lao. “We’re not at the center because the land there is more expensive. We’re at the next radius, like The Columns.”

The exception to this is Alveo’s Two Serendra, right in the heart of BGC, which has both low and high-rise developments. This is also home to Lao. “It’s great living at Two Serendra because you have a big garden even though you’re living in a condominium.”

“Alveo takes pride in its amenities,” he continues. “Condominium living is about tradeoffs. As compared to living in a house, you’re not in a smaller space but you get to enjoy amenities, such as swimming pools, a gym and a mini-theater. You may not have the space in your own unit to throw a big party, but the condominium provides you a venue for that.”

Alveo units have smaller cuts in its vertical developments. A two-bedroom unit, for instance, may measure about 75 sqm. Some Alveo communities are Celadon Park in Manila, Escala in Salcedo Village,  Makati, One and Two Maridien and The Verve in the High Street South block in BGC, Kroma Tower and The Lerato in Makati. For its provincial developments, Alveo has Marquee Residences in Angeles City, which has both a subdivision and mid-rise condominiums.

“Homebuyers in Marquee formed such a long line that I have never seen before,” says Lao. “In fact, many of them wanted to buy entire blocks in the subdivision, but we had to limit them to two lots each. It’s because people know that with Alveo, they’re not just buying a lot or a unit, they’re buying into a lifestyle that comes with amenities that they want to use.”

In Two Serendra, for example, they have put the most used amenity in each of the four towers — the gym. “That’s what we learned, that condominium owners like to use the gym. Whereas the low-rise Two Serendra has sprawling gardens and 65 percent open space, the four towers will have a huge water park that’s resort-like.” 

Another innovation in Alveo’s condominiums is the breezeways design that allows natural air to enter the hallways on each floor. “It’s  expensive to create because instead of putting another unit there, you’re not going to sell that space anymore, but better ventilation is well worth it.”

Lao continues, “Now we’re studying another layout specifically for Fil-Am buyers who normally allow people to stay in their units while they’re abroad. The layout is a two-bedroom unit with a studio attached and only one main entrance. So a guest can use your studio and when it’s just you, you have essentially a three-bedroom unit.”

These are exciting times for both ALP and Alveo as the economy is looking optimistic and a lot of people want their homes to reflect their lifestyles. And there’s no better way to do that than at the right address.