CEBUANO business owner Justin Uy is joining the condo development space, as he diversifies from his food and resort businesses.
Uy’s property company JiProp Development Corp. is adding the 40-storey JTower Residences as a new landmark in Mandaue City, an emerging business hub in Cebu.
“JTower is our first condominium project in Mandaue City,” Uy said at the launching of the project’s showroom Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, marking his move to diversify from his main business interests in food and resort development.
Uy owns dried mango manufacturer Profood International Corp. and JPark Island Resort and Waterpark.
The condo development is located beside JCenter Mall on A.S. Fortuna St., Mandaue City.
JTower, targeted to be completed by second quarter of 2023, will have 1,274 residential units.
“We also really want to give Mandaue City the attention it deserves,” said Arthur Lo, executive liaison of Uy. “This development will hopefully make Mandaue City more than just an industrial city, but also a place to call home and a premier address.”
He said the company is looking to spend “below P2 billion” for the project, dubbed as a “green” development, which will have a direct access to JCenter Mall.
It will have easy access to shops in the mall, key government offices, restaurants, banks and a gym.
Diona Bonghanoy, sales manager of JiProp, said the firm’s foray into the condo business is a response to “the growing scarcity of land in the metro.”
Condominium projects in Cebu are primarily concentrated in Cebu City, which covers about 77 percent of the metro’s condominium stock as of end of 2018.
Property consultancy firm Colliers International sees Metro Cebu’s condominium stock growing by 16 percent to 45,070 units, or an additional 2,100 units delivered per year from 2019 to 2021.
From 2019 to 2021, it sees aggressive completion of new condominium units in Mandaue City, which is likely to cover about 37 percent of new supply during the period. Cebu City will likely account for 46 percent of the new supply while the balance is planned in Lapu-Lapu City, a viable location for resort-oriented condominium projects.
“Given the attractiveness of condominium living coupled with rising land values and dearth of developable land in Cebu City, it is natural for condominium developments to spill over to other parts of Metro Cebu,” Colliers said.
The global realtor observed a faster take-up of condominium projects in Cebu in 2018, which reached 4,200 units.
Demand for condo units in Metro Cebu is seen to be sustained by a significant increase in land values making single detached or even low-rise formats less financially viable, an expansion of the business process outsourcing sector resulting in employees choosing to stay close to areas of employment, and sustained increase in remittances from overseas Filipino workers fueling end-user demand. (CSL)