Sta. Lucia targets Cebu’s tourism market, investors

MACTAN CONDOTEL PROJECT

A property developer is banking on  high tourism traffic in Cebu with particular interest in Mactan Island  for their new condotel project.

Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. (SLLI), a listed company and a subsidiary of Sta. Lucia Realty Development Corp., has started developing a 20-story condotel property within the 15-hectare Cebu Discovery Bay Properties in barangay Punta Engaño.

The project, Arterra Residences at Discovery Bay, will offer 288 (condominium) units, said Mae N. Lalu, SLLI Cebu sales and operations officer.

Of the 288 units, 180 units will be operated as a condotel. These units are located from the third to 11th floor while the 108 units from 12th floor to the 20th floor are purely residential units.

“Many of our buyers, which include foreign investors, think this is a good investment We also have OFW (overseas Filipino workers) buyers who  bought units as an investment,” she said.

The condotel units will be operated by Sta. Lucia’s own hotel management company for 15 years and after that, owners can already use their units.

“It will be operated as a high-end hotel in Punta Engaño which we think is consistent with the kind of product that we will be developing,” she said.

Condotels are good investments for OFWs.

“In this way, they can also earn from their investment while they are working abroad,” she said.

They also noted an increase in interest from foreign buyers especially the Japanese who are looking for retirement homes.

“Cebu is very attractive to investors both foreign and Filipinos and most of the buyers really look at the quality of products and the area where it is being developed,” she said.

She said that many  tourists visit Mactan because of its beaches and dive sites, which make Arterra Residences an attractive investment for investors.

The property offers three kinds of units — studio, one bedroom and two bedroom units with prices ranging from P3.1 million to P10.3 million.

Lalu said they broke ground for the project last year and will top off the project by end of this year.

“We are targeting to complete the project and turn over the units to the buyers by first quarter of 2017,” said Lalu.

The Arterra Residences at Discovery Bay is the third project of SLLI in Cebu after Sotogrande Hotel and Resort in Mactan and La Mirada.

The company has been in the property development business for 40 years developing over 200 projects nationwide.

Lalu said they have many projects in the pipeline which are mostly joint venture projects with other property owners in Cebu.

“We have many projects planned although for now we’d like to focus on Arterra first. We’ll soon announce more projects as we go along. With Cebu’s robust real estate industry,

I’m sure we still have more to introduce,” she said.