HOMEBUILDER and mall owner Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. (SLI) is growing its land bank with the acquisition of over 50 hectares (503,488 square meters) of land, mostly in Luzon, it said will be converted into residential and commercial communities.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, the listed real estate firm said its executive committee has approved the acquisition of land during a special meeting on September 14.

The parcels of land are located all over the country, the biggest of them in Marikina City at 355,310 square meters (sq.m.), followed by a total of 53,133 sq.m. in Quezon City. Another 31,254 sq.m. will be purchased in Batangas; 23,461 sq.m. in Palawan; 22,991 sq.m. in Davao; and 17,339.29 sq.m. in Laguna.

SLI Vice President for Investor Relations Jeremiah T. Pampolina said in an email that the additional land will be developed into residential and commercial communities. He added the company will target middle-income workers, small-to-medium enterprise owners, and overseas Filipino workers for the upcoming projects.

It was not immediately clear how large SLI’s land bank has become, although its web site said the company has so far developed “over 10,000 hectares of land” covering 200 projects throughout the country.

SLI, incorporated in 1996, is the builder behind Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta, Rizal, seven golf and country clubs including Eagle Ridge, as well as several residential estates like the Royal Northwoods and condominium towers like La Breza Tower.

On Friday, SLI also said its executive committee further authorized the company to enter into a joint venture agreement for the development of its 212,890-sq.m. project in Palawan.

Last June, SLI also announced the acquisition of 300,000 sq.m. of land in Pangasinan, Batangas and Iloilo which may be developed into subdivisions or residential communities.

The company will be funding the acquisition through the P1 billion to P2 billion it allocates for capital expenditure every year.

The firm is currently developing a 67-hectare master-planned lake residential community in Silay, Negros Occidental valued at P400 million to P500 million.

Shares in SLI added one centavo or 0.98% to P1.03 apiece at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday. – Arra B. Francia

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