CLI’S LAND BANK EXPANDS 36%
The firm’s land acquisitions this year spanned highly strategic properties in seven key cities in the region and were funded from a combination of internally generated funds and bank financing
PROPERTY developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) has expanded its land bank in key cities in Visayas and Mindanao to 1,245,485 square meters, up 36 percent from last year, as it sets a P50 billion investment for projects rising at its acquired properties.
The firm’s land acquisitions this year spanned highly strategic properties in seven key cities in the region and were funded from a combination of internally generated funds and bank financing.
These acquired lots are intended for a mixed-use project in a prominent Cebu City business district location, an office project in the same area, a mixed-use development in Mactan anchored by a hotel and more residential developments in the cities of Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, Ormoc, Dumaguete and Bohol.
“Our land banking activities are driven by the opportunities presented by each local market,” CLI chairman and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said Monday, Dec. 9, 2019.
“We only purchase a property if we are certain we have an appropriate project for the site to meet a community’s needs and if we can develop that project in the next two to three years.”
Most of the land acquired in 2019 are fully owned by CLI. About 21 percent of the total are joint ventures “which allow CLI to access high-value sites without requiring from the firm intensive capital outlay,” Soberano said.
“We also benefit from our partners’ expertise and established presence in the new markets,” he said.
Team up
The listed developer is teaming up with prominent Iloilo businessman Alfonso Tan, chairman of International Builders Corp., for a high-rise multi-tower condominium with retail spaces on a prime lot in Iloilo City’s downtown area.
CLI is also partnering with AboitizLand to develop a mixeduse, multi-tower condominium project in Mandaue City.
After the success of Latitude Corporate Center, CLI and Borromeo Brothers are also launching
another joint venture to develop a two-tower residential condominium in a prime Cebu City area.
Projects to be rolled out by CLI in Cebu include the redevelopment of the highly-rated Abaca Resort Mactan, which is being designed by a globally renowned firm.
Another exciting Mactan development is in the works as CLI develops a resort property to host a mid-market hotel with condominiums.
CLI also bought an adjacent lot of over 48,000 square meters for the expansion of its Casa Mira South development in southern Cebu, bringing the total number of house and lot units to more than 3,000.
Future CLI developments also include a mixed-use community with hotel, office and retail components in a prime Cebu Business Park lot adjacent to Ayala Center
Cebu. CLI holds a 43-year lease contract for the vacant lot which is one of the last remaining undeveloped lots in the business district.
The company had also acquired lots in Davao, Bacolod, Ormoc, Dumaguete and Bohol.
“Our projected pipeline of projects targeted towards the VisMin buyer means sustained growth for CLI and added value to our shareholders,” Soberano said.