Tag: cebu real estate

Global City Mandaue: A 131-Hectare Reclamation Project Explained

Once known for its heavy industry, Mandaue City is undergoing a dramatic transformation, one that may redefine Cebu’s urban future. Welcome to Global City Mandaue, a 131-hectare waterfront development poised to become a smart, green, and globally competitive urban district along the Mactan Channel.

From Vision to Reality

Global City Mandaue is not just another real estate project. It’s a multi-billion reclamation and urban transformation initiative, a bold attempt to build a fully integrated smart city that will blend commerce, governance, luxury living, green spaces, and culture.

The area that will be reclaimed spans across Barangays Paknaan and Umapad, right by the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, just 2.7 kilometers from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The People Behind the Project

This megaproject is made possible through a public-private partnership between: Global City Mandaue Corporation (GCMC), a joint venture firm headed by Sheila Romero, with backing from Globalport 900 Inc, the City Government of Mandaue and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA)

Supporting the technical backbone are world-class urban planners and engineers: CallisonRTKL, Royal HaskoningDHV, Arcadis, ESCA Inc., and Cebu-based Canizares Architects.

A City in Three Districts

The 131-hectare project is thoughtfully divided into three vibrant districts:

1. Civic District (Cemanda) — The heart of governance and community, this area will house the new Mandaue City Hall, police and fire stations, bus and ferry terminals, cultural venues, and religious centers.

2. Commercial District (Meridio) — Designed for business and innovation, it will feature high-rise office towers, retail spaces, hotels, convention centers, and tech incubators.

3. Waterfront Luxury District — Facing the Mactan Channel, this upscale zone will host residential towers, resort hotels, marina boardwalks, fine dining, and entertainment hubs. –

Smart & Sustainable Urbanism

Unlike older urban centers, Global City Mandaue is built with green principles at its core: BERDE-certified buildings Lush green belts, bike lanes, and jogging paths Vertical gardens and biophilic architecture A 2-km waterfront boardwalk and mangrove protection zones.

The Supreme Court’s 2025 decision to uphold the 131-hectare reclamation project provided the green light for the project to proceed.

Timeline

2013: Reclamation rights granted to Globalport 900 Inc.

2022: Groundbreaking and project relaunch

2023: Permits secured and environmental assessments approved

2025: Supreme Court decision gives green light for project to proceed

Why It Matters

With Cebu’s limited space available for development, Global City Mandaue will be a welcome expansion, but with the high cost of reclamation and development, this fresh inventory will not come in cheap.

PrimaryHomes Breaks Ground On Mactan Project’s Final Tower

Award-winning developer Primary Homes Inc. (PHI) marked another significant milestone for Royal Oceancrest Mactan as the company officials broke ground its Tower D on June 15, 2022.

Tower D will have finished condo units; it will also have commercial spaces that will be available for rent. This building will complete the company’s first Royal Oceancrest development.

Located along Sudtunggan Road in Barangay Basak, Lapu-lapu City, the company’s P2B mixed-used resort condominium in Mactan Island will ultimately be completed by 2024. In spite the lockdowns brought by the covid-19 pandemic, PrimaryHomes was able to make sure that the project is being constructed on-time.

Royal Oceancrest Mactan will feature resort-style dwelling perfect for young professionals and starting families either looking for a perfect living space, or for properties to be rented out.

With billions worth of new industrial and world-class developments, Lapu Lapu City would be a perfect choice to settle or invest in Cebu. The project’s close proximity to the Mactan International Airport, the newly opened Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, export zones, first-class resorts and hotels, export-oriented manufacturing companies and BPOs makes Royal Oceancrest Mactan a desirable address for working professionals and those eyeing to do business in the city, thus, making it an attractive location for property purchases.

“Now that we are recovering as a community, we look forward to continue to contribute to the growth and vibrancy of Lapu-lapu City through Royal Oceancrest Mactan,” said Ramero Espina, vice-president for sales and marketing of PHI.

Since the company started selling last 2019, and even with the pandemic that started the year after, the project has been consistent with its remarkable sales performance.

“The younger generation is becoming more financial literate. The market’s priorities have shifted due to the crisis, and we’ve seen an increase of first-time real-estate investors more specifically for our Royal Oceancrest Mactan project,” Ramero Espina said.

“As a reliable developer, we are supporting them fully in their investment journey with our all-in pricing, seamless sales process, flexible financing, and on-time delivery,” Espina added.

Here's the video of the groundbreaking ceremony: https://youtu.be/WLuaotXrtYg

Royal Oceancrest Mactan’s resort amenities are designed for wellness and leisure with 60% of the total development dedicated for open spaces and nature features like its gardens, bamboo tunnels, and pocket yoga spaces. Its amenities also include swimming pool, clubhouse, fitness gym, play areas, jogging paths, edible gardens, grilling station, and commercial spaces.

Royal Oceancrest Towers A, B, and C are now 80% to 90% sold and Tower D will soon be available for sale.

Start your investment journey now! Know more about the resort-style living at Royal Oceancrest Mactan by checking out http://www.primaryhomes.com. You can also have a preview of your living space in the project by visiting its showroom at the project site itself which is open daily from 9AM to 5PM.



PrimaryHomes Operations Manager Ariel Jose Mercado,
PrimaryHomes Project Development Manager Engr. Loubna Grefaldeo,
Primary Group of Builders Chairman Engr. William Christopher Liu Jr.,
PrimaryHomes President Arct. Stephen Charles Liu,
PrimaryHomes Finance Head Amabelle Villaruel,
PrimaryHomes VP for Sales and Marketing Ramero Espina

A Defining Era in Cebu Real Estate (2010-2019)

As we draw this decade to a close, let us look back to the past ten years of Cebu’s Real Estate industry.

The 10’s decade (2010-2019) is the most progressive time in Cebu’s history by far. The skyline and the transformation of its landscape will tell you that. But what, and who defined Cebu’s growth during this period?

The rise of homegrown developers

After the 1997 Asian Crisis and during the early years of the new millenium, the industry was only growing moderately in mostly horizontal projects, but when an upstart local developer, Fuente Triangle and Realty Development Corp. started offering a series of high-rise condominiums in the uptown area, a sudden condominium frenzy was ignited and has not slowed down since then.

New local developers like Cebu Landmasters, AppleOne Properties and Innoland sprouted up and even the big companies from other industries were also inspired to diversify to real estate business.

Taft East Gate by TAFT Properties

From Metro Gaisano, TAFT Properties was born. It constructed Cebu’s tallest building today, Horizons 101, and also developed Taft East Gate.

Duros Land Properties is an offspring of a construction powerhouse while King Properties and Priland Development Corp. are from Heavy Equipments and Food.

Optimism of national developers

It did not take long for Manila based developers to notice that Cebu is ripe for more vertical projects and getting ready for a condominium lifestyle.

Ayala Land brought down its four brands altogether. Ayala Land Premier developed 1016, Park Point Residences and now, The Alcoves. Alveo Land had Sedona Parc then the Solinea series. Avida Land focused in I.T Park area, building its 7th tower now while Amaia is establishing a hub in Mandaue City.

Mactan Newtown

Federal Land took advantage of its landbank adjacent to Marco Polo Hotel and built a series of upscale towers overlooking the city.

Robinsons Land built a signature Galleria Mall and built condominiums on top, while another mixed-use development, Isla dela Victoria is just being started at the SRP.

Megaworld had its eyes fixed in Mactan island with a multi-billion township, Mactan Newtown.

By a similar strategy, Filinvest also pooled its resources around City di Mare, its massive township in South Road Properties.

Meanwhile, Rockwell, Arthaland and DMCI are also beginning to establish their own footholds in the city.

World-Class Cebu

Aside from the homegrown and the national developers, Cebu’s charm has also caught the eye of international property builders.

Hongkong Land, one of Asia’s oldest and biggest developers is building a game-changing sea-front development in Mandaue City called Mandani Bay. (In joint-venture with local TAFT Properties).

Another Chinese group, City Clou is investing in a 5-tower project in D. Jakosalem St. while a Korean group, Saekyung, also joined the fray as well with its affordable condominium projects in Mactan island.

Other proposals from a Singaporean firm and a large Dubai based developer are also now pending approval.

Strategic Alliances

Instead of engaging in cutthroat competition, developers have smartly combined their forces when necessary, to maximize productivity especially in a place like Cebu where land is getting scanty and scarce.

TAFT Properties for instance, has partnered with Hongkong Land for Mandani Bay in Mandaue City and Ayala Land for Sea Grove project in Mactan.

On the other hand, Ayala Land also has a consortium with SM Group for a 27 hectare project across SM Seaside City and another partnership with Aboitiz Land for a business district development in Mandaue reclamation area called The Gatewalk.

Aboitiz Land also inked a deal with Cebu Landmasters for a multi-tower residential project in another part of Mandaue City.

Cebu Landmasters, meanwhile, has a joint-venture with the Borromeo family in an office building project in Cebu Business Park and another with the Gothong group in a residential project inside I.T. Park.

Value of dormant land unlocked

Even church-owned estates in key areas of the city are now developed by private developers under a usufruct agreement, effectively unlocking the value of the land.

23 Minore Park by Duros Land Properties is an example and more recently, the Patria de Cebu re-development of Cebu Landmasters.

All these things happened in the last decade, where Cebu will be after another ten years is anybody’s guess.

Duros Land Properties sold-out 3 projects in 2019, gears for more in 2020!

Homegrown developer Duros Land Properties had a banner year for 2019 as it sold-out three of its projects in Cebu City and Liloan, Cebu.

This was announced by its president, Fe Mantuhac Barino during the Broker’s Appreciation Night party held in IC3 Convention Center.

In front of Cebu’s top real estate brokers and sellers, Mrs Barino, together with husband Lito Barino, the founder and chairman of Duros conglomerate announced the successful 2019 campaign that depleted the inventories of two residential subdivisions in Liloan and that of its condominium project in Lahug, Cebu City.

The Padgett Place is a 26-storey premium condominium with luxurious amenities and ultra-spacious units is located in Molave st. Lahug.

Woodland Park Residences Phase 1 in Upper Yati, Liloan, with its more than 150 units were likewise sold-out.

Another project, Bay-Ang Ridge which was launched only last December 2018 also saw its inventories wiped-out within the year.

Due to the rapid take-up of its projects, The Barino couple divulged that Duros Land has prepared an exciting line-up of new developments for 2020.

First in the list is a high-end 74-hectare lot only subdivision in the famed Lataban Hills in Barangay Lataban, Liloan. With amenities like an orchard forest, communal garden and access to Liloan Golf among others, it is certainly going to be another blockbuster in the making.

Then there’s a 20-storey residential condominium project in the highly sought-after area of Imus, Cebu City. It is conveniently located halfway between University of San Carlos and Robinsons Galleria Cebu.

Also in the company’s pipeline for next year is a midrise condotel project in Panglao, Bohol adjacent to the new international airport. It is the first Duros Land project in Boholandia and its second outside Cebu after the Gana Siargao Resort in Siargao Island.

Project Development Head Ian Mantuhac and Architect Lester Banzon both revealed that more projects are in the drawing board both inside and outside Cebu with the company’s considerable land bank.

Minore Hotel, another Duros Land project right in the heart of Cebu’s business district is also set to open in the second quarter while One Tectona Condominium in Liloan, Cebu will top-off in the third quarter, both of next year.

A busy year that was and an even busier year ahead for Duros Land Properties.

Housing Backlog in Cebu

A housing project in Linao, Minglanilla

While there is no official data on the actual statistics of housing backlog in Cebu, industry estimates run from between several hundred thousands to as many as a million units.

Reasons for the shortage:

1️⃣ Rapid Urbanization (within Cebu)
2️⃣ Population Growth
3️⃣ Local Migration (from outside Cebu)
4️⃣ Scarcity of Land

Real Estate developers are now scampering for whatever developable sites they can get their hands into in order to have a residential project to develop.

Even small parcels of land in inner city locations are now being utilized as pocket subdivisions or low rise condominiums.

A substantial number of upcoming projects are now being built on reclaimed spaces in Cebu and Mandaue cities.

Land prices in Metro Cebu have dramatically increased (doubled or more) in the last 5 years.

With a good number of local and national real estate developers currently doing business in Cebu, it remains to be seen if the housing backlog will be addressed soon or the disparity between demand and supply will continue to widen.