Priland to build six 17-storey towers to address housing needs of MEPZ workers

The growing workforce in Mactan Island is prompting the need for more residential units in the area.

Thousands of workers are employed in export processing zones and industrial parks. But a lot of these workers cannot afford the luxury residential units mostly sold within the island.

In order to address this, Priland Development Corp. is building a six-tower condominium projects along Humay-Humay Road in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.

Named as Paseo Grove, the project is located near the backgate of the Mactan Export Processing Zone II.

It is also just a 10-minute drive from the Cebu Light Industrial Park.

“Our main target market here are those working inside MEPZ 2. Those are 20,000-strong prospect clients to serve. We are bringing this project closer to them,” said Irvin Paul Pastoriza, sales manager of Priland.

Aside from workers in the Mactan area, Pastoriza said they also want to cater to investors who frequently travel to Cebu since the project is also located near the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

The entire project will have a total of six towers, each with 17 floors.

A total of 2,100 condominium units will be available once the entire project will be finished. These include studio units, one-bedroom units, and two-bedroom units.

Paseo Grove was launched by Priland last Thursday during their Christmas party with agents and brokers.

“The problem now in Mactan is traffic. So we decided to put up a project designed for those in the working zone, in the export processing zone. If they are closer to their workplace, they don’t need to go far,” said Priland President Ramon Carlo Yap.

Pastoriza further explained that while there are thousands of workers in the MEPZ 2 alone, there is still a shortage of housing projects in Mactan Island.

What are currently available are house and lot projects or luxury condominium projects that cost at least P6 million, he said.

“Workers in the MEPZ will have a hard time investing P6 million for a residential unit,” he said.

Paseo Grove is Priland’s first condominium project in Mactan Island.

Their two other projects are horizontal housing projects.

For Paseo Grove, their studio units, which are 21 square meters big, cost P1.79 million each.

On the other hand, their two-bedroom units, which are 45-square meters and comes with a balcony, costs, P4.2 million each.

According to Priland General Manager Marcelino Relampagos, the entire Paseo Grove stands in a one-hectare lot.

For 2019, the developer will be focusing on working with their documentary requirements including their building permits.

Right now, Relampagos said they have started with site development of the lot where the project will rise.

“We will start construction by January 2020. The first building is expected to be completed by December 2021. The last building will be completed by December 2026. This means one building will be completed per year,” Relampagos said.

Priland remains optimistic with the real estate industry in Cebu, especially in Mactan.

For 2019, the developer has already identified four projects which they will be launching.

Of these, two are in Mactan — one subdivision and one condominium projects in Barangay Punta Engaño.

“For us, we saw the economy boom in Mactan because of the airport and the bridge. Each of our project is targeted to a specific market,” Yap explained.

For their upcoming condo project in Punta Engaño, Yap said this will be targeted to the lower market and they will not be competing with the higher-end project and resorts in the area.

Their other two projects will be in Cebu City and in Cagayan de Oro.