Businessworld: CEBU CITY -- Steel bar manufacturer
Worldwide Steel Group, Inc. has formed a property development unit to
take advantage of a booming real estate market fueled by demand from
business process outsourcing (BPO) here.
Worldwide Central Properties, Inc., with an
initial capitalization of P100 million, is also seen to complement the
group’s businesses, said Alan Kent Ong, company president. The group has
been manufacturing and distributing steel bars and other construction
materials for 36 years.
“Our mission is to build communities. We’re taking it a step further by
not just providing construction materials but also building homes for
our customers,” Mr. Ong said in a briefing last week.
The firm’s first project will be a two-tower residential condominium
dubbed as Sundance Residences in Banawa, Guadalupe, the most populous
barangay in Cebu City.
Mr. Ong said he believed the real estate boom in Cebu “will still
continue for a few more years because of the growing BPO industry, the
housing backlog and increasing OFW (overseas Filipino workers)
remittances.”
Sharon Anne G. Ong, vice-president for marketing and sales, said their
first project will rise on a 3,200-square-meter family-owned property in
Banawa.
The first tower, estimated to cost P450 million, will have 208 units in
12 storeys and a retail component. Construction will start middle of
next year and is targeted to be completed in 2015.
Ms. Ong said the units, which will be priced starting at P1.8 million
for a studio, will be designed for the middle to upper middle class
segments.
“We are looking at the second generation of families living in the Banawa and Capitol area,” she said.
Amenities will include a pool, kiddie pool, day care center, and a sky
garden with fitness center and family entertainment center on the 14th floor.
The project’s design team includes architect Antonio Trillanes, Jr. for
the condominium and furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue for amenities.
The company also plans to develop a two-hectare property in Lapu-Lapu
City on Mactan Island into a residential subdivision. “This is still in
the planning stage. But we’re looking at (launching this) late next
year,” Mr. Ong said.
Worldwide Steel started in 1976 as Cebu Worldwide Hardware &
Electrical Supply. It later formed Worldwide Home Depot, Cebu Diamond
Industrial & Manufacturing Corp. and Worldwide Polytech Industries,
Inc. -- Marites S. Villamor
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