Ever thought of relocating from the Big City to the suburbs where there’s less traffic, less of the daily rat race, more fresh air to breathe and, yes, more refreshing greens to enjoy other than the salad on your plate? Fact is, you can have the best of two worlds at Avida Verra Settings Vermosa, Ayala Land’s first mid-range residential subdivision in the vibrant, fast-growing Vermosa estate in Imus, Cavite.
URBANIZED YET CENTRIFIED
Think Cavite, and Imus invariably comes to mind (or should we say, taste buds). Residents and visitors alike swear by the multi-awarded D’ Famous Imus Gourmet Longganisa, a cherished family heirloom recipe of Big Ben’s Kitchen, a small homegrown resto. A scant 20 kms. south of Manila, here you can indulge yourself in good food, imbibe a bit of history (did you know that it was in Imus where the Philippine flag was first unfurled and raised during a battle in 1898?), have a whole lot of fun resto-hopping, or even join a religious dance procession called karakol.
Imus is urbanized yet still centrified in terms of landscape, a perfect mix of the urban and the rural. With its proximity to Metro Manila, all the developments are in this happening place. It’s a hot spot for BPO companies looking to expand their businesses.
Certainly, Cavite is a place dear to Avida Land Corp., which has established its presence here since 2002. First there was Avida Residences Santa Catalina and then came Avida Settings Cavite, Avida Village Santa Cecilia, Avida Residences Dasmariñas and Southgrove Estates, all of 116 hectares.
Now comes Avida Verra Settings Vermosa, a 10-hectare residential subdivision that’s unique because it’s the only Avida project in Cavite within a 700-hectare mixed-use estate that is Vermosa.
VERMOSA! VERMOSA! VERMOSA!
Location, location, location? Make it Vermosa, Vermosa, Vermosa. It’s accessibility is one of its main draws. Consider these: From Makati to Vermosa, it’s no more than 55 minutes by car via South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). From NAIA to Vermosa, it’s only a 38-minute drive. From Alabang to Vermosa, it’s a mere 23 minutes. All that during the horrific rush hour. It’s even faster during off-hours. Alabang to Vermosa is a breezy 10 to 15-minute drive.
“Vermosa is basically an extension of Alabang,” says Jose Miguel De Guzman, Ayala Land Inc. project development manager, Strategic Landbank Management Group.
Expect travel time to be further cut down with the completion of the Cavite leg of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) by 2020. Then there’s LRT 1-Cavite Extension as well as the LRT 6-Daang Hari Station.
“Point-to-point buses can easily be incorporated in Vermosa,” Jose Miguel discloses. “So that Cavite can be linked to Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Nuvali, Ortigas, and even as far as Laguna and Batangas.”
“Like all Ayala estates, Vermosa is a complete development with a CBD (Central Business District),” says Anne Jara, Avida Land South Luzon Project Strategic Management Group head. “Upcoming developments include the CBD with Vermosa Midtown and University Town (part of which is De La Salle Zobel Vermosa which opened in 2015), and the Ayala Malls Vermosa, a 65,000-sqm. regional mall which will open by next year. There’s also the transient retail in front of Vermosa with Starbucks now open and McDonald’s to follow. A church will open within the estate in 2021.”
Jose Miguel tells us more about this regional mall: “It will have the standard merchants — department store, restos, fast food, etc. But what makes this different from the regular malls is that the merchant mix will put more emphasis on sports and lifestyle to complement the value proposition of Vermosa.”
“There will definitely be a hotel, even hospitals, places for leisure,” he adds to Anne’s list. “We already have the Vermosa Sports Hub. It’s gonna be a complete estate because the objective here is for people who live there to have everything they need on a daily basis.”
The Sports Hub is already equipped with an Olympic-size pool, a track and field oval, and the country’s first sports science lab.
And to think this was all bare, barren land, with not a tree standing or a blade of grass growing.
“As with all Avida developments, we want our homeowners at Verra Settings to feel relaxed within the village,” declares Anne. “The name Verra stands for vivo which means active, and terra means land. So this complements what Vermosa estate is promising and will be delivering to its future homeowners — having an active lifestyle amid a suburban environment. The community, though quite small at 10 hectares, is designed to be walkable, with landscaped parks and open spaces (40 percent open space for the whole estate).”
HOME SWEET MODERN CONTEMPORARY HOME
Showing us two modern contemporary house designs (Macy and Trista), Anne elaborates, “The floor plan is efficiently designed to maximize the livable space for a growing family. The houses have ample windows for residents to have free-flowing air and sunlight. Spaces are well-ventilated for energy conservation. This will be a fenced community with open spaces and landscaped parks.”
As for the features and amenities, Anne describes, “Residents will enjoy a central amenity area that will feature an adult pool, a kiddie pool, a basketball court, children’s park and playground, and a clubhouse.”
Avida Verra Settings Vermosa will feature a house and lot with adjacent lot option, bringing the lot size to a minimum of 250 sqm. According to Anne, this option allows buyers to expand and customize their living or outdoor spaces as they see fit. For instance, they can choose to expand their house with additional rooms, a balcony or porch, or use the lot to put up a garden, a greenhouse, a gazebo or other outdoor features.
Just to give you an idea of the sizes: The Macy house has a standard floor plan of 67 sqm. with a minimum lot size of 125 sqm. while the bigger Trista house has a floor size of 85 sqm. with a minimum lot size of 138 sqm. If you choose the house and lot with adjacent lot option, the Macy house goes up to 250 sqm. while Trista will go up to 276 sqm.
The Macy model with adjacent lot option fetches P12.5 million while Trista with adjacent lot option is priced at P14 million. For just a house and lot, the price starts at P7.6 million. A lot only option costs P5.7M.
Avida Verra Settings is set for completion in 2021 while turnover to buyers will be in the second half of 2021.
“Our target market consists mostly of upgraders,” Anne shares. “We’re looking at Cavite-based families seeking to upgrade and live in a more secure and complete community, as well as Metro Manila residents who want to relocate to a suburban environment with an active lifestyle.” They are already established in their profession and have a solid career path, and an average household income of P150,000 and above.
So, what do you call the residents of Verra Settings Vermosa?
Sub-urbanites.