Filinvest City ensures a highly progressive and sustainable environment for city dwellers.
Filinvest City’s
green urban
planning—where Philippine CBD should be heading
In
the early 1990s, Andrew Gotianun Sr. saw there could be more to a grazing
ground for livestock in Alabang.
His
company, Filinvest, won the bid over the 244-hectare Alabang stock farm and
transformed it into his vision of a complete environment conducive to meeting
the demands of global businesses and enriching the lives of those working and
residing in the city. With that vision, the Filinvest City masterplan—one that
is sustainable, future-ready and responsive to the needs of an ever-changing
metropolis—was drawn up.
Today,
the 244-hectare Filinvest City embodies the ideals Andrew Gotianun Sr. set
years ago. Filinvest City is very much
of the present and even as it looks forward to tomorrow, introducing key
enhancements to its masterplan: green system, districting and improvements to “mega-blocks”
resulting in a well-balanced live-work-play environment.
Filinvest
City is currently registered to the United States Green Building Council’s
(USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification—a
first for the Philippines—under the Neighborhood Development plan, further
proof of its commitment to build a truly progressive and sustainable CBD.
The
first phase of the Filinvest City master plan enhancement is defining Filinvest
City’s public domain and green spaces which includes the introduction of a
green system consisting of more open spaces, parks, greenways and pocket
resting areas—active and passive facilities for a more meaningfully built
environment.
These
include the Spectrum Linear Park, a recently-completed three-section linear
park spanning almost a kilometer that dissects the city from north to south. It
is a beautifully landscaped green spine along Spectrum Midway with tree-lined
paths, lighted seating areas and stimulating outdoor art installations.
Also
part of Phase 1 is the development of a creek side park, stretching further
down from the Spectrum Linear Park to a creek, which features meandering paths
with seating areas, a bridgeway, bike lanes and a viewing deck. When completed,
this will be connected to the al fresco retail strip—the River Park at Festival
Alabang.
Included
in the pipeline of Phase 1 is the Central Park where a botanical garden, bike
racks, a dome structure for events and an expansive lawn will be built. This is
envisioned to be one of the major public event spaces within Filinvest City
where people can either enjoy a picnic on the sprawling lawn or come together
to celebrate an outdoor concert.
Filinvest
City has also earmarked its megablocks—parcels of land that Filinvest is
retaining that will add as the value enhancers in the city. Part of the
masterplan is the maximization of Festival Alabang as the City Center with its
major phase by phase expansion and the construction of a chapel near the River
Park, the construction of a Convention Center which will be connected to the
transport hub, and the Filinvest Axis Towers which will define the Filinvest
City’s skyline.
Filinvest
City’s design divides into districts, all bearing the four pillars of the City
but each with its own distinct character: Northgate District which houses
Northgate Cyberzone, the IT-BPO (information technology-business processing
outsourcing) hub; the Civic Plaza that houses a variety of public services and
institutional facilities like fire
station
and healthcare establishments; Westgate,
the upscale retail and lifestyle center; the Woods, the more green
campus-like and relaxed setting; the Palms District, the highest point and site
of exclusive developments like Botanika Nature Residences; South Station, the
transport hub; the City Center, where the Festival Alabang, the biggest
regional mall, is located; and the Spectrum district as the economic core of
Filinvest City and is home to prestigious businesses, as well as high net worth
families and individuals. These areas are steadily being transformed into
self-contained live-work-play districts.
Filinvest
City takes a more prudent approach to city enhancements, proceeding at a steady
and calculated pace. These developments bolster Filinvest City’s position as a
world-class CBD, ultimately ensuring that land values in the area continue to
rise and creating a community responsive to the needs of locators and the
people living there today and tomorrow.
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