Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) on Friday said it is developing the P4-billion Masters Tower Cebu, which will feature office and retail spaces and the city’s first five-star luxury hotel.
In an online launch on Friday, CLI highlighted the skyscraper’s sustainable design and how Cebu’s local artistry inspired its architecture.
“This is an icon because of its thoughtfulness. It will connect to Cebuanos, not just today but in future generations,” CLI Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jose Franco B. Soberano said at the event.
Masters Tower Cebu will occupy a 2,840-square meter lot at the Cebu Business Park, Cebu City. It will top off at 192 meters above sea level, making it one of the top three tallest structures in the city.
Sofitel Cebu City will make up two-thirds of the project, occupying 14th to 32nd floors with 195 guest rooms, meeting rooms, a ballroom, roof deck, lounge and pool.
The hotel’s sky lobby will be housed at the 16th floor, and will feature an internal atrium to reflect natural lighting. Sofitel Cebu’s roof deck will enjoy a 360-degree view of the city.
The building will also feature sky gardens on every floor of the building, and project managers are planning to use these gardens for a farm-to-table restaurant.
Office spaces will occupy the 8th to 12th floors of the building.
Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled within the second quarter of this year. Masters Tower Cebu is expected to be completed in 2025.
CLI is hoping the tower will receive Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification.
“We did a lot of extensive research into the furniture making and the craftsmanship that’s inherent to the Cebuano community,” SOM Project Manager Shilpa Patel said at the online conference.
“It became really important to look at all these different aspects of the history of where Cebu comes from and the history of the Cebuano people,” she added.
US-based architectural and engineering group Skidmore, Owings and Merril (SOM) is working with Makati design firm GF Partners and Architects on the project.
Mr. Soberano said the firm looks forward to the return of tourism in Cebu.
“[Masters Tower Cebu’s] importance to Cebu is to serve not just as an iconic landmark but through its contribution to the welfare of the economy. It will add fuel to the very active tourism industry that we have, and it will be there in the heart of Cebu City,” CLI Chief Executive Officer Jose R. Soberano III said at the virtual launch. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
