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By Likha C. Cuevas-Miel, Reporter
Anchor Land Holdings Inc. is building its newest
residential condominium project, the Solemare Park Suites, in Aseana
Business Park right there between the Mall of Asia complex and the
Bagong Nayong Pilipino Manila Bay Tourism City of the Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Formerly named Tribeca Parksuites, the
development was recast as SoleMare, which in Italian means sun and
sea, because “from a branding perspective, it’s a very unique
and calm sounding name,” said Beth Ventura, ALHI assistant vice
president for sales and marketing.
In a briefing, Steve Li, ALHI vice chairman,
said construction of Solemare will start next month along Bradco
Avenue corner Macapagal Highway. The three-tower residential
condominium will have at least 900 units as each tower will have 18
floors. The project’s ground floors will house commercial and
office spaces while the second level will be for offices alone.
ALHI is currently reviewing its pricing scheme
for development in light of the surging construction costs and
growing pressure on the company’s margins, Li said. A 25-sqm fully
furnished one-bedroom unit in Solimare costs about P2 million at the
moment.
Li said he does not yet see the company
branching out of Manila to other neighboring cities since there is
still very strong housing demand in the area and ALHI will still
remain a niche player in the real-estate market.
He said the firm prefers areas with relatively
less competition in contrast with Makati and Fort Bonifacio in
Taguig.
To hedge against inflation, ALHI is actively
seeking to expand its land bank. However, the company prefers to
acquire the land rather than going into joint ventures with other
companies to have more control over projects, Li said.
ALHI bought Gotamco Investment Realty Corp.,
which owns 5 parcels of land with an aggregate area of 3,100 sqm
along Ongpin Street in Binondo. Company officials earlier said they
are just waiting for the leases of the current tenants to expire
before they can start building a 50-story residential condominium
building, which is estimated to cost about P2.5 billion. The project
will be marketed to the Filipino-Chinese market and businessmen.
At end-March, ALHI posted a net income of P45.25
million, or 5.8 times more than a year ago as its revenues grew by
241 percent P236.9 million from two of its ongoing projects. Mayfair
Tower along United Nations Avenue corner Mabini Street in Ermita,
Manila, is 80 percent completed while Mandarin Square, located along
Ongpin Street in Binondo, Manila, is at 18 percent completed at the
end of the first quarter. Its first project called Lee Tower is
already fully sold.
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