Construction works start this year for Naga City’s multi-million peso condo

By Jason B. Neola NAGA CITY --- It is clear as the day that construction boom, particularly for commercial establishments and accommodation facilities will never slowdown in this city, which is the country’s Most Competitive Component City for years 2015 and 2016. This, after the Naga Queenstown Realty and Development, Incorporated announced in a gathering last week the planned construction at the fourth quarter of this year the multimillion-peso DECA Sentrio midrise condominium in Barangay Tinago. It will be the company’s 11th housing project in the city. Last week’s gathering of businessmen, city and barangay officials, and leaders in realty and construction sector, several bankers, and some personnel from the Home Development Mutual Fund right at the site of the proposed condominium witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony for the 480-unit midrise building whose construction is seen to start either in the month of October or November this year. The 8-storey residential building is the local development firm’s response to the growing number of people who wish to settle – as transients or as permanent residents – here, to experience Naga’s bustling life or to study, given the fact that Naga is the regional center of education in the region. Hotelier Robert Obiedo, who owns Villa Caceres Hotel, said the midrise condominium as expected will boost the city’s accommodation capability, especially on young individuals sent by their families in the provinces to study at any of the schools and universities in Naga. “Most probably magiging kliyente din ng itatayong low-cost condominium dito maging ang mga OFWs na mga Bicolano na meron ding pamilya dito sa Bicol na gusto rin manirahan sa urban area like Naga at magkaroon ng housing investment; remember that Naga is becoming a good place for new investments,” Obiedo said. Raul Rocha, who hails from Tabaco City and the firm’s president and chairman of the board, said the condominium is a low-cost project of the company which is now being run by his son Richard after he decided to take a break from directly managing the family’s business. “As of now, we are considering the idea of offering each condominium unit at the price ranging from P1.8M to P2M, depending on the unit’s floor area,” Rocha said. He, however, admitted that right now they have not determined yet as to how many millions of pesos will be spent in the construction of the facility. Rocha, in his message, thanked Mayor John Bongat, the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod and the City Hall workers for their expeditious official actions that helped his company secure all the necessary papers needed in the construction. On his part, Mayor Bongat also thanked the Rocha family for continuously putting trust and confidence on the local market to patronize their products and services. “Aram ta po na an kompaniya kan familia Rocha, saro na sa mga pinakadakulang developers sa interong Pilipinas. Iyan an sarong bagay na pig-oorgolyo kan Naga because the bulk of their investments has been poured into the local economy of Naga, serving not only the people of Naga and the people of Camarines Sur but also the people of the Bicol Region as well,” the mayor said. Bongat said that personally he is very honored and privileged that all of these investments are poured in, enabling the local economy to soar to greater heights and scaling up the level of residential development in the city and in the Bicol Region. In an interview, Richard Rocha, who is the vice-president for operations, said the construction of the building is expected to cover 3 years. Each unit has an approximate space of 32.37 sq. meters, 1 toilet/bathroom with tiles and fixtures, painted exterior and interior, kitchen counter, glass window, plumbing and sanitary lines, and electrical lines. He said the frontage of the building in Misericordia and Blumentritt Streets are set back to provide additional parking areas aside from those allocated in the basement.