Circulo Verde to address housing need in the market

Circulo Verde to address housing need in the market In spite of the global financial crisis that is slowly affecting the local market, Ortigas & Co. remains bullish about sales of its residential units this year.

Ortigas & Co. chief operating officer Rex C. Drilon II says there remains a 1.2 million shortage of units in the mid-market, which the firm intends to address with its Circulo Verde, its latest innovative residential development, located in a 12-hectare property along Calle Industria in Bagumbayan, Quezon City.
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“Even if you look at all the projects going on at this time, we’re nowhere close to addressing the housing gap,” says Drilon. “And, while there are many on-going projects, we believe that we are able to offer something different.”

The Marikina River surround the perimeter of Circulo Verde, allowing the residents to have a unique home that brings them close to nature. Its 15 residential buildings have been designed with staggered heights that offer unparalleled sightlines of the nearby Sierra Madre mountains and the Metro Manila skyline.

“When we engaged RTKL, which is a globally renowned top caliber architectural planning company, we gave them certain design parameters : respect the environment and respect the features of the land,” Drilon adds. “Rather than fight the water — which surrounds the development — we’ll use that same water as a plus factor, as an amenity for those who will live here.”


While Drilon considers the past year to have been a tough one, with the prices of oil and food commodities doubling, he says 2008 still good since the company’s residential project after a long hiatus, Luntala Valle Verde, was sold out. The company intends to continue development in spite of the adverse economic environment. “We’ve been in this game long enough and have built many residential communities, like Greenhills and Wack-Wack. We will probably have a hiccup in the next two years, but after that, things will go back to normal,” says the Ortigas & Co. official. “The average industry take-up last year was about 500-600 condo units a month. That shows how much is moving. And, if the shortfall is 1.2 million units, there should still be a lot of opportunities.”


It’s good to worry. It’s good to be cautious, but it’s not advisable to be paralyzed,” he adds. “What we are trying to do at Ortigas is to precisely prevent a despair situation where people are so scared of 2009 that they will stop investing. When you stop investing, you stop creating jobs. Circulo Verde may be quite an ambitious project, but it will create a lot more jobs this year, next year and the next 12 years. If we allow ourselves to be scared, we’ll just stick to Greenhills and Tiendesitas and harvest the eggs from the so-called golden goose. But, that for me is not exciting and doesn’t solve too much of our economic and social problems. So, Ortigas continues to grow, and to expand, offering value-laden products, whether they are shopping centers or homes.”


The first phase of development at Circulo Verde covers five residential buildings on a 2.7-hectare area within the property. Development work on the first two buildings, Ibiza Tower and Majorca Residences is currently being pursued.

Ibiza Tower is a 23-story residential building that offers a variety of layouts for one- to two-bedroom units, with floor areas ranging from 44- to 80-square meters. Unique to Ibiza are bi-level units that give homeowners the luxurious space they need for their homes.

Majorca Residences is an 11-story residential development that offers spacious layouts for families needing room to grow. Room layouts come in a variety of configurations for three-, two- and one-bedroom units, with floor areas ranging from 42 square meters up to 107 square meters. All units have balconies to give residents their own private retreat at home.

Circulo Verde is a development of Ortigas & Company, Limited Partnership For inquiries, please call 638-1641 and 638-8633, send a fax to 631-5962, or e-mail to circuloverde@ortigas.com.ph. Visit its website at www.circuloverde.com.ph.