Megaworld invests P28B to build Bacolod central business district

Property giant Megaworld Corporation is investing P28 billion for another township development poised to be the first central business district in Bacolod City.

Megaworld – Bacolod Vice President for Sales and Marketing Rachelle Peñaflorida, who spoke at the press briefing at L'Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City Monday, announced that the development of the project called The Upper East will start this year.

The 34-hectare mix-use development project is located at the eastern side of the city, near the government center, that used to be the Bacolod-Murcia Milling Company compound.

It forms part of the total 87-hectare township development projects of Megaworld in the province worth at least P35 billion.

The other project is the 53-hectare Northill Gateway worth P7 billion situated along airport access road bordering the cities of Bacolod and Talisay.

Peñaflorida said The Upper East will be home to residential condominiums, malls and commercial centers, mixed-use buildings, state-of-the-art office towers, and hotels.

Among its facilities include its own transport hub, church, green and open parks, biking network facilities, and a central plaza with creative urban art installations, among others.

“The Upper East will be the city's first master planned mixed-use community that integrates the live-work-play components of an integrated urban township, the concept that Megaworld pioneered in the Philippines," she added.

In March 2015, the property firm first announced its development plan for Negros Occidental.

For The Upper East alone, Megaworld Senior Assistant Vice President and Head of Public Relations and Media Affairs Harold Geronimo said they are already mobilizing the land development project.

"So land development will come first," Geronimo said, adding that this means that infrastructures inside including road networks and sewage system will be built first before the structures.

‘One of a kind’

For 29 years, Megaworld has already developed 23 townships in the country.

For Bacolod City, The Upper East is the firm's only township in which they have preserved vast number of century-old acacia trees.

It is also retaining and rehabilitating old structures of the then milling company like  old houses and train, among others.

"This will be an integral part of the township," Geronimo said, adding that "something exciting is coming up for us to present soon."

Meanwhile, Peñaflorida said this is different from their other townships, which are mostly with European concept. Thus, he added, this project is one of a kind.

More features

Around 35 percent of The Upper East will be dedicated to parks and open spaces, the firm said.

The township will be highlighted by a 30-meter wide and six-lane road called Upper East Avenue.

It will stretch for about a kilometer connecting Lopez Jaena Street to the Circumferential Road. Part of the road development is the Lopue's East.

The company has made a deal with the management of the establishment for its transfer inside the township, Geronimo revealed.

"We will build Lopue's East inside The Upper East," he said, adding that "there will be three access roads in and out of the township."

Moreover, Peñaflorida said the entire township is also designed to be flood-free, utilizing underground cabling system for power and utility lines, LED and solar-powered streetlights, WiFi connections, fiber optic technology, drip irrigation system for landscaping, and water re-use facilities.

Peñaflorida said another main highlight of the township will be the "iconic" Casa de Emperador, a mix-use structure featuring a unique architectural design.

"The township also features its own New York-inspired lifestyle mall composed of several interconnected structures that will provide diverse retail, entertainment and leisure offerings," she said, adding that part of the design will be inspired by New York City's Grand Central Station. — BAP, GMA News