By Cathy Rose A. Garcia, Associate Editor

PHIRST Park Homes, Inc. (PPHI) continues to expand its portfolio in the Calabarzon area with the launch of its new residential project in Calamba, Laguna.

PPHI President and Chief Executive Officer Ricky M. Celis said the company expects to generate P1.5 billion in sales from the initial 900 units offered at PHirst Park Homes Calamba.

The gated residential community, launched on Nov. 23, initially covers nine hectares but can be expanded depending on the demand.

“Calamba is a very competitive [city]. The single biggest reason is most of the developments are here, in terms of large estates. You have all the large players in the area, two industrial estates… It is also accessible, with SLEX (South Luzon Expressway), [and] CALAX (Cavite-Laguna Expressway),” Mr. Celis said told reporters on the sidelines of the new project’s launch event.

PHirst Park Homes Calamba is around an hour and a half from Metro Manila via the Mayapa or Batino exits of the SLEX.

This is the company’s fourth residential project in Calabarzon after Tanza, Cavite; Lipa, Batangas; and San Pablo, Laguna. Overall, PPHI has five residential projects, including one in Pandi, Bulacan.

Like previous projects, PHirst units start at 40 square meters (sq.m.) to 80 sq.m. for a combined unit. A single-attached unit covers 54 sq.m. All units can be expanded on the second floor.

“(Unit prices are) close to P1.5 million. We’re sticking to the average price of under P2 million, so we can secure income tax holiday (ITH) from the BoI (Board of Investments),” Mr. Celis said.

“When we get the ITH from the government, we give it back to the buyer in the form of lower price points. The government is enticing everybody to build and develop within these price points,” he added.

Mr. Celis noted around 80% of the units offered are two-bedroom town homes, as the company sees more demand for those units.

Amenities at PHirst Park Homes Calamba include bike lanes, jogging paths, fitness station, basketball court and a clubhouse with a swimming pool, kiddie pool, shower room, and parking area.

BATANGAS
Meanwhile, PPHI is hoping to launch another project before the end of the year.

Mr. Celis said the company is securing the necessary permits and licenses to be able to launch PHirst Park Homes Batulao in Nasugbu, Batangas. The initial 13-hectare project will offer 1,000 units.

“We’re thinking possibly the price points will be higher and some tweaks in terms of the model units, we will probably be introducing new models there… We think the market that we can capture there will slightly be more affluent,” he said.

However, Mr. Celis assured that the prices will be kept under P2 million.

The Batulao project is adjacent to Century Properties Group, Inc.’s (CPG) residential tourism estate Batulao Artscapes.

PPHI is a joint venture between CPG and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. The company is targeting to have 15 masterplanned communities with 33,000 homes by 2023.

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