The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
In this day and age of the pollution, hustle and bustle, confusion etc. in the city, country living is one option to consider for pros, celebrities, retirees, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and other investors in serenity and placidity of the body and the soul.
They see the idyllic setting of a rural place as an ideal haven to breathe life anew refreshingly and to regain productive activities in the countryside atmosphere.
2013 Miss World Megan and husband-actor Mikael Daez have just realized this so they finally settled in Subic, Zambales while thespian couple Shamaine Centenera and Nonie Buencamino have lived for quite some time in the paradise side of provinces without losing touch with urban work and lifestyle.
Suburban equanimity, in other words, is another key to a better and quieter quotidian.
Such is the magic of Alfonso, Cavite and the calmness of Tagaytay, a gateway to the southwestern wind of change.
It’s no wonder a real estate company such as CitiGlobal has chosen to build its residences in the periphery of these communities.
Before the onslaught of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, a visionary and an enterprising man named Gary To situated his housing empire in the suburbs of Alfonso and Tagaytay to offer consummate surroundings to people from all walks of life.
Stand-alone houses, high rise edifices, condos, and the recently shaped up idea of condotels, were in his mind to conceptualize, revise, create and enforce.
As a matter of course, he had made an impact on investors and dwellers who have taken advantage of single homes he built for them with gusto.
Sadly, he suddenly passed on and the tragedy left a void in the heart of the company.
In a wink of an eye, though, his kin took over the reins to continue his vision of the proverbial home away from home.
Hannah To, Gary’s daughter, and Beth To, Gary’s widow stepped into his shoes, however bigger and bolder, as COO (Chief Operating Officer) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the property business, respectively.
“Ang laging sinasabi sa amin ng asawa ko no’ng buhay pa siya, bakit tayo pupunta sa ibang bansa samantalang nandito sa atin ang magagandang tanawin (My husband would always tell us, why do we have to go abroad to experience beautiful things and places when they are here, right in our shore),” recalled Beth in an exclusive interview.
“My father loved real estate. For him, building homes is building the future where we can pass them to our families, to the next generations. We have already inherited the vision and we have gained momentum,” shared Hannah during the grand launch recently of the Tagaytay Clifton Resort Suites at the Glendale Tagaytay Commons in Alfonso.
It is women power working for the mother and daughter team to run the real estate enterprise with agility, strength and compassion that the patriarch had left.
There are obstacles and missteps alright, they admitted, but they have hurdled and won them.
“Ours is a formidable mix. Hannah is the voice of her generation while me is more of my knowledge and past experiences,” quipped Beth.
“We get along well. We have disagreements but we talk honestly, reasonably, filially and settle them harmoniously,” smiled Hannah.
Tagaytay Clifton Resort and Suites (TCRS) have three phases, namely Celtis, Cedar and Cypress, which are already in place.
According to Hannah, almost 80% has been taken and are ready for turnover next year and the next.
To make the project more meaningful, extra rewarding and utilitarian, the concept of condotels is the driving force behind TCRS.
While owning a unit of studio type (15, 18, 20.4 sqm), 1BR (22, 26 sqm) and penthouse suites (36.51.23 sqm), they can convert them to condotels for rent with the management assisting the owner in the nitty-gritty of the business.
“In that case, it generates income,” exclaimed Hannah.
To top it all, nature is the best premium of the habitational environment. “We are surrounded by mountains and greens, beautiful sceneries that make life more worth living. We are at the center of modernity. Transportation is easy from all directions,” she explained.
Traffic is less and pollution of all sorts is zero, she shared.
Hannah said that investors in the masterplan include retirees, migrant workers, professionals etc.
She still encourages prospective buyers to avail promos of the lowest rates until December 31, 2025.
The Tos said that they want to create a community hub that offers a lot of commercial or even aesthetic venues for dwellers.
Social life is pulsating, indeed, this side of Metro Tagaytay.