Victorian living

Written by Roderick L. Abad

Sunday, 18 April 2010 16:52

South Hampton brings the classic design concept to Santa Rosa, Laguna Many Filipinos still dream of living a quiet life outside the bustling metropolis. It is for this reason that NorthPine Land Inc. (NLI) chose Santa Rosa City, Laguna, as the perfect location for its newest residential project—the South Hampton. “This is the first Victorian-inspired community of its kind in the fast-emerging investment capital of South Luzon that offers modern convenience within reach of the middle class,” NLI general manager Rhoel Alberto Nolido told the BusinessMirror. South Hampton is a 5-hectare house-and-lot residential project, with a novel European concept that stems from that of the country’s world-class theme park, Enchanted Kingdom, which is just a stone’s throw from its site. With chic, elegant design, the project premise reflects the grandeur of the Victorian era or the classic England period. Named after queens in England such as Lady Jane, Mary, Ann and Elizabeth, the model houses showcase design elements that can easily be recognized and classified as truly Victorian—ornamental embellishments, porches with vertical railings, steep gables and fine adornments as roof accents, decorative braces and brackets, bay windows with shutters, and complex asymmetrical shapes. The colors—Morning Glow, Dove White, Evening Eclipse, Shark Loop and primary colors—exude the palette typical also of the Victorian style. “So expect comfort living in style here,” Nolido said. “It’s a good project in line with our company’s mission to build a community wherein you can interact with your neighbors.” Targeting the heads of start-up families aged 28 to 40 with middle-management positions planning to reside in an accessible suburban area, this residential project offers 200 two-story house and lots. Space-wise, lot cuts range from 120 to 150 sq m, while the floor areas range from 80 to 150 sq m, including the living area, balcony and the garage. For entrepreneurs, the two-phase subdivision offers 20 lease-to-own commercial lots designed after shop houses, where they can reside and do business at the same time. Since it lies within the commercialized area of Santa Rosa, where various infrastructure developments are ongoing like the expansion of the South Luzon Expressway and the Skyway, land appreciation in the future is practically guaranteed. “South Hampton is indeed a good choice for our buyers,” Nolido stressed. “It not only offers prime sophistication and luxury to future residents, but also a good investment opportunity for them.” Superb amenities True to its Victorian style, which became an architectural fashion starting in the late 1800s, the South Hampton residential project boasts of superb amenities that promise every resident a luxurious lifestyle. Some of the project features are the clubhouse, children’s playground with minipark, adult and kiddie pool, basketball court, entrance gate, guardhouse and pedestrian gate, planting strips along main and service roads, elevated water tank, gazebo and cabanas. “What’s nice about this project is that it’s a walkable subdivision. The amenities are centralized such that they are accessible and near the residents, thus, allowing them to just walk going there,” Nolido. “And it builds a community where everyone can just go to the gathering place in the middle. That, I think, is what makes South Hampton very unique.” Since it’s a gated subdivision with a perimeter fence, security is always assured. Complementing this is the 24-hour security service provided by the usual two guards posted in the entrance gate and a roving one. Unlike other similar residential projects, South Hampton boasts of a semiunderground electrical system wherein overhead cables and wirings can be seen only along the main road, while those on the secondary roads are installed underground. “If you notice in other subdivisions, all the electrical wires are overhead, hanging on the post. With our semiunderground electrical-wiring system, it’s a lot better and nicer to look at, wherein you can fly kites if you want,” noted Nolido. Another valuable feature is the drainage system to be built in front of South Hampton. This assures buyers that heavy rains won’t trigger serious flooding that would affect the whole subdivision. Nolido revealed that NLI has conducted a 30-year flood study to determine what the level of the road should be. He added that they would also provide a deep-well water system to ensure continuous supply of water. Even after the development of the project, the property developer shall maintain its presence in the subdivision by organizing the home-owners’ association. “We will do our best to be as involved as possible in terms of maintaining and running the [homeowners’] association. And we promise to always deliver on that,” said Nolido. Ongoing development TO date, land development of Phase 1 is running smoothly, according to Nolido. This, he said, indicates only that the completion of the road would be on time—projected by middle of this year—and also the commencement of the construction of houses by the third quarter. “That’s one good thing about a house-and-lot project like us. We are in a sell-and-build mode, meaning we wait for the sale to come in and then we construct the houses,” he explained. “This assures our buyers that what they purchased from us are newly constructed and in good quality once turned over to them.” Given the positive response to the project since its launch early last month, Nolido expressed optimism that NLI could meet its target of two years to sell out all their house-and-lot offerings. “We will probably move to Phase 2 immediately because the response has been very good,” he pointed out. “So if land development [of Phase 1] will be finished by midyear, expect the first resident to be in by around second quarter of 2011.” While the project is still in its land-development stage, NLI has already extended the project’s down-payment terms to 30 percent over 18 months (interest-free), and the balance is payable either through house or bank financing. Prices of model houses at South Hampton range from P3 million to P5 million. As a customer-driven company, Nolido said that through the expanded payment conditions, NLI gives buyers ample time and means to meet their obligations. “Our strength comes from both the company and our track record,” Nolido said, when asked why potential homeowners should trust the company and eventually consider living in South Hampton. “Our company is owned by four major shareholders: 40 percent is owned by Hong Kong Land, which is one of the top real-estate companies in Hong Kong; 20 percent by BDO; 20 percent by Metrobank; and 20 percent by San Miguel Properties. These are the titans in the [real estate] industry; therefore, they [the buyers] will be assured that the project will be completed. “And given our other existing projects such as Lexington and Greenwoods, among others, where the quality of products is very good, our track record indeed speaks for itself. We are a real-estate developer that is after the high quality of our products. We’re not really mass producers. We try as much as we can to give the type of attention to each homeowner. This is because we believe that for buyers, this [the acquired property] is a major investment in their lives. So we have the responsibility to provide them with a good-quality shelter.”