Vista Flats raises quality of student housing in QC

Earning itself the moniker “Quezon City’s University Belt,” Katipunan Avenue leads to three of the Philippine’s top learning institutions – Ateneo de Manila University, Miriam College, and the University of the Philippines. All together, the three universities currently serve about 100,000 students. With the country’s student population increasing by seven to eight percent each year, in 2016, that number could grow by another 6,000.

Vista Residences (VRI) – the condominium arm of Vista Land – offers a series of towers designed specifically to cater to the needs of students and faculty. Called the “University Series,” the eight towers already in this roster will soon be joined by the ninth, Vista Flats, ready to rise as the group’s second condominium in Katipunan Avenue.

Vista Flats will soon tower over Quezon City’s U-Belt, right at the corner of Katipunan and B. Gonzales Street – almost directly in front of the border between Miriam College and Ateneo de Manila.

Uniquely laid out, the tower’s triangular footprint makes perfect use of the three-sided, more than 1,000-sqm property. The vertical village will rise up to 37 stories with six for parking, two for businesses, the ground floor for commercial establishments, and an additional floor for an amenities area.

The remaining 27 stories will be residential, with 24 units per floor. Because of its unusual shape, the unit sizes range from 18.23 to 24.42 sqm studios, to 27.71 to 30.96 sqm onebedroom residences – each complete with a study and dining area, kitchen, and toilet and bath.

Vista Flats’ 37th floor amenities area offers an e-Library, a fitness gym, a swimming pool with a sun deck, a landscaped balcony, and a multi-purpose function room for hosting school meetings or study groups. All of the towers in the VRI University Series are equipped with these facilities.

Another interesting feature in the design of the University Series condos is that each building uses solar panels in an effort to decrease carbon footprint. The solar panels will be used to power select communal areas and mobile charging stations.

Possibly more crucial, and always a key concern of the VRI group, is the students’ safety and security. Vista Flats will be designed so that its residents – and their parents – have less to worry. The building will be equipped with a guarded reception area and parking floors, smoke and fire alarms, sprinkler systems, backup generators, and CCTV systems in most of the public areas.

As part of the Vista Residences’ roster of vertical villages, Vista Flats also comes with leasing options proprietary to VRI properties and designed to take the difficulties of leasing off owners’ shoulders. Particular to the University Series towers is the “Condormitel” program. Here, select units are leased and run as dormitories. Two to four occupants share a unit.

There is also a “dorm manager” who looks after the residents and enforces rules such as curfews and study hours. This offers the protection and discipline of a school dorm while being in a more modern and comfortable setting.