Lipa City — Expanding its presence in Southern Luzon, Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) broke ground on its 92-hectare property in Lipa, Batangas last week.
Envisioned to be the new “downtown of Lipa,” the estate will offer commercial lots for businesses, residential developments, and the new location of the Lipa City Hall by 2024.
ALI President and CEO Bernard Vincent Dy, Senior Vice President and Group Head of Ayala Land Estates Robert Lao, and Project Development Head Jay Teodoro, along with government officials Lipa City Mayor Eric Africa and Atty. Joel Montealto from the Office of Deputy Speaker Hon. Ralph Recto attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the first estate in the province of Batangas.
“Our experience in developing Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Ayala Alabang, Cebu Business Park instilled in us valuable lessons that guide us as we develop Areza, the new downtown of Lipa City,” Dy said.
“We hope to continue our legacy of building master planned sustainable estates that uplift and enrich lives for more Filipinos and reinforces our commitment to nation building,” he added.
Areza will offer a mixed-use estate with the Lipa City Hall as the main component to spur economic movement in the area. Dy said the newest estate is in line with the Ayala Group’s thrust toward sustainability.
“You can live, you can work and you can spend your leisure time,” Dy said.
The infrastructure, which is strategically located along Balete Road, will include green and open spaces. ALI wanted Areza to be accessible to the general public as well as private vehicles.
Lipa City Mayor Eric Africa expressed gratitude to ALI for choosing and partnering with the local city government.
The P9.8-billion investment project would provide jobs and contribute to the local economic movement of the city.
ALI donated a five-hectare lot in Areza to the Lipa City local government to build its new city hall. The construction is currently in full swing after it broke ground in July 2022.
In an interview after the ground-breaking ceremony, ALI’s Teodoro said that Areza would also help decongest the existing downtown.
Teodoro added that they would start selling commercial lots for P60,000 per square meter under the first phase of the development of the estate.
“In the future, we also plan to integrate some of our [Ayala] brands within the development,” Teodoro said.
The construction of a food terminal is also ongoing by the LGU and will be operated by the Department of Agriculture.
Areza is considered as ALI’s 48th estate and its fourth in southern Luzon.