Robinsons Land, one of the Philippines’ leading real estate developers, unveiled its first premier luxury horizontal enclave, Forbes Estates Lipa, a master-planned community in Batangas province.
Guests experienced an immersive walk-through of the estate, its amenities, and features during the virtual launch.
“This shows our buyers and our property owners that the value we imbued in the land is not just for residential. It has a strong commercial potential in terms of value appreciation as well,“ said AJ de Leon, head of business development for Forbes Estates Lipa, Robinsons Land.
Upon entering the estate, the sprawling complex will enthrall residents and guests. The spacious and lush green complex covers about 3,700 square meters composed of four different parks—the Picnic Grove, Tranquility Garden, Pet Park, and the Wellness Park that will deliver a complete lifestyle experience for residents.
The virtual tour also showcased the huge one-hectare parcel of land devoted for the main open space called the Forbes Club, built for relaxation, community, and sport. It offers a host of sporting and leisure facilities including a Garden Lounge, Fitness Center, Grand Ballroom, Pool Deck, Children’s Play Park, Tennis Court, and Multi-Sport Covered Court.
De Leon shared the four types of residential offerings at the enclave. The most prime among the residential offerings are the Club Lots composed of 10 corner lots that surround the Forbes Club, giving its residents effortless access to the amenities at the Club.
Next to the Club Lots is the Park Loop composed of eight lots adjacent to the Estate Park, which gives residents a feel of having “an extension of your garden.”
The next are the inner or corner lots called Estate Lots, which have an average lot size of 500 square meters. The Estate Lots have wide roads that have dedicated bike lanes and jogging paths that residents can enjoy.
“With a 500 sq. m. space, you can build your dream home,” de Leon said.
The virtual tour also unveiled the Courtyard Lots where residents can have their own semi-private park. With only six residential lots to a courtyard, residents will enjoy the perfect mix of community and privacy.
“Forbes Estates Lipa aims to be the home that caters to all your needs, giving you the luxury to live at your own pace and allowing you to enjoy things that really mater,” said Mico Racelis, business unit general manager of Robinsons Land.
The estate was designed to improve the physical and mental well-being of residents. Interior designer Chat Fores took the wellness approach for the whole community as an inspiration. Spaces were designed for family members to take advantage of and for friends to meet and greet. As residents enter the lobby, the intent is to immediately transport them to feeling better.
The designers also made sure to respect nature by designing spaces without compromising nature to ensure principles of sustainability were incorporated in the estate master-planning.
Environmental design and landscape architecture firm Crearis led by founder and managing director Mike Espiritu explained their plans of planting native species of trees and shrubs, and an orchard and fruit bearing trees to make the landscape more productive.
Apart from being in charge of the beauty and function of the green open spaces, they also designed the estate to manage storm water and allow the water to percolate through.
“In terms of health and wellbeing of people, we know that architecture has an influence on people’s feelings, so we focused on providing natural lighting, double height spaces and the planning was arranged in a way that it hugs the trees and the landscape. The features of the clubhouse allow the visitors to feel very welcome,” said Arch. Nacho Mauricio, design director and managing partner of ARKIASIA.
Residents and entrepreneurs also shared their views of living in Lipa during the virtual tour.
News and current affairs host and columnist, Cito Beltran, whose family has been a resident of Lipa since the 1970s/1980s, said property prices were cheaper then at P50,000 per hectare or P5 per square meter. He said while prices have gone up, living in Lipa compared to the urban jungle of Manila has a lot of perks.
Instead of spending P32 million to P35 million for a multi-level unit, Beltran said it is better to acquire “a beautiful spread in Forbes Estates Lipa.”
“Don’t wait until you retire to retire. Many people wait for 65 to retire and they can’t afford it anymore. They’ve gotten too old physically and it’s too expensive,” he said.
Entrepreneur and wellness advocate Pinky Tobiano said Lipa became instrumental to her and her family’s health and well-being. When she could not fly out to Singapore for her treatment during the pandemic, Tobiano found that The Farm at San Benito was recognized by Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.
“If you can invest in a lot in Forbes Estates Lipa as early as now while it’s pre-selling, I think it’s the perfect gift you can give yourself. The air is very fresh and population is not dense look at this view, amazing so how can you not fall in love with Lipa,” she said as she showcased the gorgeous view of Lipa from her villa.
“Escapism, aspiration, and achievement are the appeals of slow living. We wished to advocate for a better and higher quality of life for our buyers. This is how we wanted to redefine luxury living. As a real estate developer, we develop land. But we are in the business of taste, building an aspiration. Part of the campaign development process was to create a strong and distinctive visual language, narrative, and a point of view that transcends the physical development. The brand authentically harnessed its strength from its local charm being in Lipa but with a global appeal,” said Patricia Mendoza, marketing head.
This article was originally published in Manila Standard.