Three giant industry stakeholders have joined forces to break ground for a 14-hectare PhP35-billion spread that will give rise to a seafront resort and commercial development fronting rich marine vegetation in Mactan Island, Cebu.
Leisure estate
Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), Cebu Holdings Inc., and Taft Properties, Inc. have merged their resources for a one-of-a-kind development dubbed Seagrove, which is envisioned to become Cebu’s first coastal boardwalk retail center complete with lagoons, a 40-hectare mangrove forest, and a nature-inspired pedestrian corridor.
The estate is designed around central water amenity and open spaces highlighting Magellan Bay and the existing mangrove spread where one can enjoy varied indoor and outdoor recreation amidst lush greens and bay front.
“We are very excited about this project. As our 24th estate to date, Seagrove brings various attractions that will also help boost Cebu’s tourism economy even further. This will be the next world-class leisure estate in Cebu,” declared Meean Dy, Ayala Land SVP, Group Head of Strategic Land Bank Management, and president of the joint venture company Taft Punta Engano Properties, Inc (TPEPI).
Initial phase of the project costs PhP4 billion, consisting of the boardwalk, support restaurants and shops, a portion of the lagoon, an events ground, and the pedestrian corridor which is due to open in 2020.
Sustainable practices
Iris Mediano, director of TPEPI, said the property is located across the Punta Engano Wharf and will give rise to the first Holiday Inn Resort in the country by 2022. This will consist of 200 rooms, game room, wellness facilities, eco-friendly spaces, and diverse recreational forms.
Eco-friendly practices in site resiliency include greywater recycling, use of rainwater catchment facilities, groundwater recharge, use of endemic Filipino plant species for  andscaping, preservation of existing mangroves, and use of LED lights.
Jun Bisnar, CHI president, estimated that CHI has spent nearly PhP14 billion in the last five years in Cebu.
“We can spend at least PhP39 billion in Cebu alone in the next five years on Seagrove and other projects in Cebu IT Park, two additional malls, another hotel, and others. This is our sixth existing tourism estate in the Visayas-Mindanao region and our ninth overall,” he affirmed.
The initial phase will merit approximately 2,000 jobs, while full-scale development will require a total of 13,000 jobs. The total Gross Leasable Space is around 10,000 square meters to be implemented in two phases.
Target markets are families, groups, foreign and domestic tourists, corporations, locals, and businesses in Cebu searching for the ultimate in eco-fun experience.
Seagrove is coined from the words “sea” and “mangrove,” in tandem with the value proposition “Coastal Leisure Hub of Mactan.”
TPEPI is a joint venture, real estate company between Cebu Holdings Inc. (a subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc.) and Taft Property Ventures Development Corp. (Metro Gaisano Group). TPEPI is the owner and developer of Seagrove for which it appointed Ayala Land Inc. as the Project Manager.
 
By RICHARD RAMOS