THE FILINVEST GROUP said it is breaking ground next year on a 201-hectare estate in Clark, Pampanga it bought in 2016, transforming the sprawling property into what it said would be a “premier leisure and business destination in the North.”

The property’s originally called Mimosa Leisure Estate, which Filinvest bought from Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

CDC took over management and operations of the estate in 1999, after winning a P325-million tax battle versus businessman Jose Antonio Gonzales, the former owner of the Mimosa estate.

The facility already has a 150-hectare Mimosa Golf Course and a hotel — both operated back then by global brand Holiday Inn — when the Gotianuns bought the estate, Filinvest said in a statement sent to BusinessWorld through its communications staff on Monday.

The Filinvest group began in 2016 renovations for the former Holiday Inn hotel — now Quest Hotel — and has recently opened two luxury grand villas with three bedrooms each with a pool. The hotel also has a conference center that can accommodate up to 1,000 guests.

The old estate was renamed Filinvest Mimosa+ Leisure City, Filinvest announced in a press release sent last week, with the plan unveiled on Nov. 29.

The new additions would be the business and residential components as well as an al fresco retail strip.

“With its prime location in the Clark Freeport Zone, Filinvest Mimosa+ will provide investors and entrepreneurs a setting where they can grow and expand their business. Come 2018, two new office buildings will be home to various companies,” the Filinvest statement read.

“To further make Filinvest Mimosa+ a premium lifestyle destination, the development of a hub for shopping, dining and events is underway. A lifestyle mall will be home to some of the best retail stores and restaurants in a nature-inspired and al fresco setting,” it added.

The builder is developing the estate through its units Filinvest Cyberzone Mimosa, Inc. and Mimosa Cityscapes, Inc.

The Gotianun family is also the group behind Filinvest City in Alabang, a 244-hectare prime property master planned to become more than a bedroom community next to the Ayalas’ exclusive village in the outskirts of Manila.

“Filinvest pioneers in developing successful mixed-use urban communities, and we look forward to unveiling the enhanced Filinvest Mimosa+,” Catherine A. Ilagan, Filinvest Alabang executive vice-president, was quoted as saying in the statement.

“With this groundbreaking project, we are hoping to change the tourism landscape in Central Luzon.” — MEIC

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