The Villar-led Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc.-owned Condominium Homes (COHO) also set up commercial strips for its homegrown commercial brands in its developments.
At the opening of its showroom Saturday, Jennifer C. dela Cruz, COHO operations head, said the homegrown commercial brands, like coffee shop brand Coffee Project, “are lifestyle amenities.”
The coffee shop, however, will first be established at the Vista Mall, a Villar mall, which is being built in Mintal, an emerging commercial business district southwest of the city.
Other homegrown brands include the AllHome, a furniture and hardware store; All Day Supermarket, Bake My Day and Vista Cinemas.
“What sets us apart (from the competition) is that all the brands that I mentioned…lahat ‘yon magaganda,” said dela Cruz.
“The word beautiful is always part of COHO,” she added.
Jan Christopher Gonzales, COHO corporate communications head, explained that depending on the size of the development, the commercial component will either be a strip in the “first floor of the building or a full-fledged mall.”
Gonzales explained this concept will provide “convenience (to residents) of commercial and retail within that development.”
Meanwhile, dela Cruz noted that about 90% of the initial buyers are into investing as buyers are attracted to buy for investments “because of prime locations.”
She said the buyers believe can easily “rent their units out” because of the locations of the projects.
She noted that in Mindanao, “the sales velocity is very fast,” she added, although she did not mention the actual sales figure as the company was just starting to sell its projects.
She added that these buyers for investments look at the those young families as their clients as the latter cannot yet afford to buy condominium units.
Dela Cruz said the company decided to be aggressive in developing the four projects in the city because “it (the city) is a hotspot for (these) developments.”
In the city, the company has four projects, part of the 21 projects nationwide. Mindanao has a third of the projects with one each in the cities of General Santos, Butuan and Cagayan de Oro.
On the timeline for the projects, each of project will have about five to eight years, depending on how big the development,” she said.
She said many of the developments of Camella, its other residential brand, have spaces allocated for expansion and that because of this, the areas are identified to become the condominium components under the COHO brand because they have become “primed for development.”
Those COHO projects that do not have the Camella component are identified because of their locations. “Location is very important,” she said.
Dela Cruz said COHO projects have mid-rise buildings between seven to 15 floors and consider as markets, the young professionals, the families that are starting and the “discerning buyers.”
She said because the projects are mid-rise, they create “vertical communities” as the COHO brand, just of the residential components of the company, is known for its less dense residences.
A unit is between 30 square meters and 40 square meters with a price range of about P3 million to P5 million dependent on the unit.
