Garden Bloc offers various dining options

Sugbo Mercado at the Garden Bloc in Cebu IT Park gives BPO employees a nice place to unwind. (SUGBOMERCADO FACEBOOK)

AN UNUSED lot within the Cebu IT Park has been developed into the Garden Bloc, which offers several dining and lifestyle options as well as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of business process outsourcing (BPO) work.

Located beside eBloc 2 and 3, Garden Bloc was launched earlier this month to allow the cyberpark’s estimated 50,000 employees to relax after work.

“It’s an existing space. We just thought of utilizing it in such a way that adds value to the people who visit here frequently, because it’s become such a destination for Cebuanos,” said Cebu Holdings, Inc. (CHI) marketing division manager Catrina Martinez. CHI is the parent firm of Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp., developer of the 27-hectare IT park.

She said the bulk of the area is devoted to green space. A hectare is being leased out to concessionaires.

Under development in the area is the third Yakski Barbecue outlet in Cebu and the second The Social branch. Sugbo Mercado, a bazaar featuring small stalls of food and clothing, can also be found within the Garden Bloc.

Martinez said Yakski will open within the year while The Social will open early next year. Pages Holdings, Inc. will also introduce a new restaurant concept on a 1,400-square-meter lot.

Martinez said they plan to use the remaining 2 hectares for events grounds and wellness activities, including yoga or zumba sessions. A number of small bazaars may also crop up in the area from time to time.

“We just wanted to provide more open space, because we know how that really complements people’s busy work lifestyles. They would want to be around nature – to enjoy nature. It’s really relaxing to be around something that’s open,” she said.

She said the group is still open to more mixed concepts, aside from dining options.

“Our target for 2016 for Garden Bloc is to really fill it up with really exciting dining and lifestyle concepts. We envision it to be really used by the people in IT park for jogging, walking, or other outdoor activities,” she said.

“We envision this to be like a new tambayan, a new kind of place for hanging out. We would like to complement the existing offerings of the Cebu IT Park,” she added.