Cebu Landmasters Inc., the Visayas and Mindanao property developer, is making its foray in the co-living or dormitory space segment.
It has signed a P360 million joint venture agreement to deliver affordable transient housing in Cebu for young professionals and students seeking quick access to strategic business centers.
The joint venture company Sugbu Prime Estate Inc. is a partnership with the entrepreneurial Farrarons family of Cebu.
CLI chairman and chief executive officer Jose Soberano III said the company has long wanted to do a co-living or dormitory project to cater to Cebu’s workers.
“We’re excited to explore this opportunity with the Farrarons. Both our families believe this venture will contribute to the growth of Cebu and improve quality of living especially for those seeking secure affordable housing near prime business areas,” Soberano said.
The project will initially offer 7,500 square meters of prime property along Banilad, within walking distance to the Cebu IT Park.
The mixed-use development will have retail space, over 300 dormitory rooms, and a self-storage facility.
Banilad is also near top educational institutions in the area such as the University of Cebu-Banilad, University of Southern Philippines and University of San Carlos in Talamban.
The project also houses self-storage facilities in a prime city location attractive to businesses doing e-commerce and homeowners moving to more centrally located residential units but offering less space, among other groups.
Soberano said a recent market study of Santos Knight Frank disclosed that there will be an increase in demand for warehousing for essential goods storage.
“We will be ready for this,” Soberano said.
Proponents are eyeing to complete the project by the end of 2022.
The target market is young professionals and students returning to work and schools, respectively, and requiring comfortable home-away-from-home quarters that are secure.
With its entry into the co-living space, CLI sees an improvement in its recurring income stream as part of CLI’s diversification strategy.
The leading developer is scheduled to roll out 1,448 hotel rooms in Visayas and Mindanao by around 2024.
At present, CLI has firm agreements with three major international hotel groups.
These are The Ascott Limited for four hotels with a total of 802 rooms; the Radisson Hotel Group for one hotel with 144 rooms; Accor for one hotel with 195 rooms.
There are other partnerships with other hotel brands for 307 rooms, to be announced in the next few months.
