Inspired by the iconic neighborhood in New York City, Chelsea Parkplace will rise in Capital Town, San Fernando, Pampanga.

By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino
Special Features Writer

MEGAWORLD Corp. has officially launched Chelsea Parkplace, its first residential project within its Pampanga township, as part of the company’s plan to bring the live-work-play lifestyle to northern Luzon.

The 12-storey Chelsea Parkplace is a condominium development inspired by the distinctive Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City.

The residential project is set to rise on a 1,858-square-meter (sq.m) lot in Capital Town — Megaworld’s 35.6-hectare integrated urban township in San Fernando City.

Eugene Em Lozano, Megaworld Pampanga’s first vice-president for sales and marketing, said Chelsea Parkplace will be ideally located in the center of the township.

“As a future resident of Chelsea Parkplace, one has the front row seat advantage of seeing the growth and development in this area,” Mr. Lozano said in a press briefing last week.

The condominium has a total of 193 units, all designed with a balcony to give residents a view of the township. At present, nearly 30% of the units have been sold.

Studio units are sized from 29 sq.m to 31 sq.m, while one-bedroom units range from 41 sq.m to 45.5 sq.m, and two-bedroom units span from 67 sq.m to 88 sq.m. The rate per square meter is at P140,000.

Amenities include a retail area on the upper ground floor, swimming pool, events hall, daycare, and fitness center. It will also have a first-of-its-kind speakeasy bar, “The Other Room,” which will serve as an ideal venue for residents to celebrate special occasions.

The Andrew L. Tan-led company is targeting working professionals in their mid-30s to mid-40s as the primary market for this residential project.

“Most of them are based in Makati but they have roots in Pampanga, and also those who live within the Pampanga but wanted to explore a different kind of lifestyle. We are bringing a unique lifestyle concept that is not available yet in Central Luzon,” Mr. Lozano said.

“I think we are offering something unique du’n sa mga anak ng mga families na nandu’n sa Pampanga, so they might consider staying there other than living abroad or working in Metro Manila,” he added.

An artist’s rendering of a condo unit at Chelsea Parkplace. — MEGAWORLD CORP.

Megaworld expects to complete the project by 2022. The company might launch another tower next year, depending on the market’s demand.

Mr. Lozano said that living in Chelsea Parkplace, located within Capital Town, will bring the convenience of having well-suited amenities, recreational spaces, unique dining destinations, world-class retail establishments, prime working hubs, and an overall safe and dynamic neighborhood within reach.

Across the condominium will rise the Central Square, where the Casa de Emperador and BPO offices will be located.

A few blocks down will be the Shophouse District, a six-hectare retail space set to become the center of the city’s entrepreneurial ventures.

Megaworld started selling shophouse lots a year ago, and has already sold 99%, according to Mr. Lozano.

“The lots are set to be turned over next year. And we expect the property prices to soar even higher once we are near the completion of the Shophouse District,” Mr. Lozano said.

Events trade hall, outdoor amphitheater, museum, mall, cinema complex, and transportation hub are also set to rise within the township.

Anticipating Capital Town to be a busy township, a 30-meter wide San Fernando Boulevard will be built. This main township road will be equivalent to six lanes, traversing Capitol Boulevard all the way to Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Olongapo-Gapan Road).

Mr. Lozano said that land developments within Capital Town already started last year and construction is already in full swing.

Last year, Megaworld said that it will be investing around P30 billion over the next 10 years to develop the township.

Source: bworldonline.com

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Subic Bay Freeport— All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween, a tradition believed to have originated from the Gaelic pagan festival Samhain, conjures images of ghosts, witches, and wandering spirits. But what started as a scary commemoration is now as festive as every other modern celebration.

Here in the Freeport Zone, the practice is as commercial as it can get. Hotels, restaurants, bistros, shopping malls, business offices, and residential areas are all dressed up in pumpkins, cobwebs and bats, and flying broomsticks, and almost everybody is preparing for some themed Halloween party.

Establishments such as the Segara Hotel and the Lighthouse Marina Resort are holding their own family-oriented Halloween parties, and are encouraging visitors to stay overnight for the special Halloween entertainment treat.

Liberty Sports Bar, a more “mature” establishment, even has a costume contest that is open to the public, with goodies and cash prizes to be given to winners.

With these kinds of parties expected to be held in most parts of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, it’s no wonder that Royal Duty-Free Store, SM City Olongapo, and Harbor Point Ayala Mall are displaying Halloween merchandise to make each child (and parent) keep up with the Halloween crowd.

What parent would allow his child to dress down and be left out in a Halloween party? Fortunately, toy shops are selling faux bloody murder weapons, masks, and full-body costumes for little fairies, and witches, and skeleton ghosts.

Of course, stores have also stocked up on candies, chocolates, and ghoulish cupcakes, cookies, and other food that visiting trick-or-treaters would later expect each time they knocked on doors.

Meanwhile, the residential areas of Kalayaan and Binictican here have transformed into virtual Halloween Land adorned in spooky decorations. One could find here various versions of lawn cemeteries, decapitated dolls hanging from trees, ghouls popping out of the bushes, chairs that rock by themselves, SUVs that look like the Ghostbusters’ Ecto 1, and other creepy offerings.

In the past few years, these areas in Subic have been swamped during Halloween with children attired as fairies, witches, zombies, vampires, mummies, or superheroes that the SBMA police had to close down some inner roads to vehicular traffic.

While the neighborhood associations have not announced any Halloween party this year, a fair number of neighborhood children are expected to go trick-or-treating.

Residents said some houses here actually vie for the coveted title of the “scariest residence” in the community. And some of them, of course, look forward to winning the “scariest costume” during private Halloween parties among friends. Yes, despite the fun and festive air, scary still sells in Subic.

Source: manilastandard.net

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In this Aug. 11, 2018 photo, school children are being evacuated after being trapped due to the waist-deep flood at Twin River in Barangay Parang, Marikina City.

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 8:53 p.m.)— Several local government units on Monday announced class suspensions for October 30 and 31; Tuesday and Wednesday due to the anticipated effects of Typhoon Rosita (International name: Yutu).

Rosita is expected to make a landfall in the area of Isabela to Aurora provinces on Tuesday.

PAGASA earlier warned residents of Northern Luzon of possible flooding and landslides.

Here are areas that have announced class suspensions for Oct. 30 to 31:

Metro Manila
Caloocan City – October 30 only

Las Piñas City – October 30 only

Makati City – October 30 only

Malabon City – October 30 only

Mandaluyong City – October 30 only

Manila – October 30 only

Marikina City – October 30 only

Navotas City – October 30 only

Parañaque City – October 30 only

Pasig City – October 30 only

Quezon City – October 30 only

Taguig City – October 30 only

Valenzuela City – October 30 only
Cagayan Valley
Isabela

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya

Central Luzon
Aurora
Cordillera Region
Abra

Aguinaldo, Ifugao

Benguet – October 30 only

Kalinga – October 30 only

Ilocos Region
Ilocos Sur

La Union

Dagupan City

Pangasinan

Source: philstar.com

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Photo Credit: skyscrapercity.com

The company that operates Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway in Central Luzon said it is spending P2 billion to widen the Subic-Tipo section which connects the provinces of Bataan and Zambales.

NLEX Corp. president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said Subic-Tipo Expressway or STEx would be expanded from 1×1 lane to 2×2 lanes in each direction.

Franco said the project was expected to start before the end of the year and be completed by the third quarter of 2019.

“The widening of the lanes would double the capacity of the expressway,” he said.

SFEx, which was constructed in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Subic in 1996, is now a part of SCTEx.

NLEX holds the concession to manage, operate and maintain SCTEx, a 93.77-km four-lane highway, traversing the provinces of Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac.

SCTEx also connects to the North Luzon Expressway which spans approximately 95 kilometers, or 527-lane kilometers, and serves an average of 237,046 a day. It is the main infrastructure backbone that connects Metro Manila to Central and Northern Luzon.

NLEX earlier reported a net income of P2.9 billion in the first half, up 22 percent from P2.3 billion in the same period last year.

NLEX attributed the growth in revenues in the six-month period to higher toll collection at NLEx and SCTEx and more efficient utilization of resources covering toll operations and maintenance costs.

Toll revenues reached P6.7 billion, up 15 percent year-on-year on the steady increase in traffic and toll revenue contribution from both NLEx and SCTEx operations and increase in non-toll revenues.

Non-toll revenues climbed to P100 million from P83 million with the increase in royalty fees, utility facility fees and other non-toll initiatives.

Source: manilastandard.net

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Australian Dimity Lee Duke, Manami Iijima of Guam and Hong Kong’s Leanne Szeto set out for a gruelling test of endurance as they dispute the women’s elite pro crown in the Black Arrow Express 5150 next Sunday, Nov. 4 in Subic Bay.

Dimity Lee Duke

Duke ended two years of frustration in 5150 races in the country’s triathlon capital with a come-from-behind victory over Laura Wood last year with the regular PH campaigner all geared up for another crack at the crown in the premier 1.5k swim-40k bike-10k run event.

But Duke, who also won a 5150 event in Bohol and turned in podium finishes in other Ironman 70.3 races, expects a fierce challenge from her rivals, including Iijima, who actually finished ahead of Duke in Ironman 70.3 in Cebu last August.

With her focus, commitment and drive to excel, the 25-year-old Iijima, who also placed third in the Lixil Ironman in Japan last June, hopes to nail her first 5150 diadem in the upcoming event sponsored by one of the country’s top eCommerce Logistics companies.

Focus will also be on Szeto, an Asian Games veteran and a former mainstay of Hong Kong’s national team whose experience in endurance races have equipped her with the know-how to compete with the best.

But Duke vowed to go all out to dominate the Olympic distance triathlon series, particularly in the bike and run stages, with compatriot Sam Betten also fancied in the men’s side for a possible sweep by the aces from Down Under on a course they are very familiar with.

Betten, for one, has won the Subic 5150 races the last three years, making him the top pick in the event organized and produced by Sunrise Events, Inc. against the likes of Czech Jakub Langhammer, American Tim Linn and compatriots Dan Brown and Mitch Robins.

Backed by venue hosts Subic Bay and ACEA Subic Bay and major sponsors David’s Salon, Pioneer Insurance and Wicked Active Gear, the event caps SEI’s decade-long staging of the premier endurance race in the country.

For details, visit www.blackarrowexpress.5150philippines.com.

Other titles to be disputed are the Asian Elite and various age categories along with relay events for male, female and mixed.

Other supporters of the event are TYR (official swim cap), GU (official energy gel), Active Network (official registration partner), marketing partners Alaska, AlcoPlus, Cetaphil, DeVant, Nuun, PLDT Subictel, Smart, Sanicare, Regent, Storck and Timex and media partners Hyper HD, Cignal, The Philippine Star, AsiaTri.com and Finisher Pix.

Source: manilastandard.net

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