Napoles Ritz Carlton condo in LA put on market; It can be yours for $1.4 million

A Los Angeles property under the name of the daughter of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles has been posted for sale on at least three US-based real-estate websites.

Napoles' Ritz Carlton condo, officially under the name of her daughter, Jeane, is on the market for $1.4 million.

Ads for its sale were posted earlier this week.

The unit, with address at "The Ritz Carlton at LA Live unit no: #37i, 900 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015" is being offered at $1,475,000. Interested buyers must also factor in $1,639 monthly homeowners' association dues.

The unit is the same property that was exposed by media reports in July, a centerpiece in what was made to illustrate the Napoles' high-living, in the face of a scandal that also placed them atop a P10-billion pork barrel scam.

The unit for sale has two bedrooms, two baths, and a parking space. It is listed at 1,579 square feet, or around 146 square meters.

"The first showings of this unit are slated to begin on Friday, September 27th," the website DLXco.com  said in its post.

The ad describes the building and unit thus:

"The Residences at LA Live have far surpassed its competitors and proven to be one of the most successful and desirable properties in Los Angeles. With little inventory available, this prime floor plan is the best deal in the building and will go quickly. It has eastern views of Staples Center, downtown and the Ritz Carlton Pool and has the much desired white high gloss Snaidero Kitchen Cabinetry, oak floors in the living/dining area and a huge master suite that is usually only seen in the much larger floor plans. some of the resident amenities include full complimentary breakfast every day in the sky lounge, Ritz Carlton Spa access, wine room, billiard room and much more."

source: interaksyon.com

Here’s An Easier Way To Furnish Your Bare Condo Unit

During the house-hunting process, the first step for many condo buyers is to take a tour of the model units. When they like what they see, the paperwork is processed, and when the unit is ready for occupancy, the new homeowners are left wondering how to best recreate the full use of space and charming ambience that had made them fall in love with the model unit. Their own finished unit happens to be stripped of all the frills that had showcased the work of a professional interior designer. What they have is a bare unit with a kitchen sink, shower and the electrical sockets.

This is actually a welcome challenge for many new homeowners who like to decorate. Others, however, may opt to seek expert help from designers and decorators. But those who cannot wait to move in can now have the exact same look of the model unit they had fallen in love with.

A new service by Megaworld Corporation offers just that opportunity. Its new Prime Properties Investment Group (PPG) is a marketing division that exclusively handles the completed projects and properties that are ready-for-occupancy (RFO). This specifically targets that segment of the market that prefers to buy finished homes rather than waiting to move into pre-selling projects. Megaworld PPG vice president for sales and marketing Donna Racho says the division will be providing its own brand of unparalleled after-sales services to Megaworld unit owners.

With this innovative move, Megaworld homeowners of choice cut properties can avail of the services of a design team, which is headed by interior designer Fernando Buenavista. This team will work with the homeowner in personalizing his new home. The resident has three themes to choose from – Zen, Contemporary and Modern Victorian.

“The Zen style has an Asian feel, with simple colors,” says Buenavista. “Contemporary has its metallic touches and minimalist appeal; it is something that never goes out of style. The Modern Victorian is preferred by the higher age bracket for its very classic design and is perfect for units that have bigger cuts. We talk to the owners about their taste and preferred style, and work within the budget they give us.”

After the client chooses a theme, the design team works on the schematics and rendition. The team can even help the buyer shop for furniture and fixtures. “It also works to their advantage, because we can get good deals from our suppliers,” he says, pointing in particular to a gorgeous metallic-theme tile found in one of the finished RFO unit kitchens in Eastwood, Libis. “Many people who looked at this unit thought it was an expensive imported brand, when actually, it is from one of our suppliers. They offer these tiles to us at more than half the price.”

A homeowner also has another option: He can buy the entire model unit he liked: lock, stock, and barrel. “They get the rugs, the lighting fixtures, the framed artwork, everything! All they need to bring is their clothes,” Buenavista says. In fact, he adds that the Contemporary unit that comes with the metallic-tiled kitchen was already snapped up by a buyer who is set to move in sometime soon.

Some of the available RFO units are located at Eastwood Parkview and One Central Park in Eastwood City, Libis; Stamford Residences, 115 Upper McKinley in McKinley Hill, The Bellagio III, and Forbeswood Parklane at the Bonifacio Global City; The Residential Resorts in Newport City; Greenhills Heights in San Juan; and El Jardiniere del Presidente II in Quezon City.

For more information about the Megaworld preselected prime cuts developments and the free interior design services, call 867-8913 or email primeproperties@megaworld.com.

source: mb.com.ph

Stylistic Trends In Condo Design

Manila, Philippines—When the condominium boom began sometime in 2005, not a few pundits predicted that such an unprecedented demand for high-rise spaces would sooner or later reach its peak, resulting in a glut of unoccupied units. Look around and it seems that the putative peak hasn’t been reached, that anywhere in the metropolis you go, you’d find residential structures being erected, defiant symbols of progress and visual indicators of the transformation of the city.

Rather than nearing a limit, real estate developers (at least the innovative few) are moving toward a point of refinement; that rather than producing one-hit wonders, they are determined to reproduce and improve on their previous successes, engendering a kind of harmonious connections to the spaces they create. Just one look and you will see that the structures bear resemblances to each other both technical and aesthetic. The objective seems not so much to create copies but to prioritize what works and thrives in a given environment, which is usually Metro Manila’s urban fabric with its multiplicity of challenges, constrictions and contractions.

Avida Land—part of the Ayala Group of Companies—proves to be adaptive in this regard. One example is the Avida Towers Intima located in Paco, Manila. Aware of the historic and cultural significance of this area, Avida has opted to make the structure a single-tower, low-density project, addressing pertinent issues of traffic flow (even the design of the façade) to make sure that it will have negligible or little impact on the community.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Avida also has sprawling, hard to miss developments in places that are steep in urban activities such as the Avida Towers Centera situated along EDSA corner Reliance St. in Mandaluyong City—an area dubbed as “Golden Triangle” as this is where the cities of Makati, Manila and Quezon intersect. This multi-tower behemoth features what is called as the “in-city living” concept where, says Avida head of Residential Buildings Dez Cruz, “conveniences necessary to meet residents’ needs are built into the project itself.”

Access to these conveniences that include retail, commercial and leisure options are made easier, in the case of Tower 3, with its L-shaped design. Residents of this tower will also be afforded easy access to the amenities of the development as well as the Peak@Centera, a roof deck lounge, unique to the structure, which will provide a sweeping, panoramic view of the cityscape. In consonance with the lively, activity-charged atmosphere of this area, Centera towers will be marked and crested with glowing white light.

Usually situated in the robust parts of the city—be it in Pasay, Makati, Cebu, Iloilo—an Avida project is noticeable for its undeniably modern, pragmatic exterior and placements that maximize view of surrounding environment and access to select amenities. Sometimes with red (the Avida color) trimmings, the buildings may be columnar but achieve a transparency especially at night, when lights are on in the units with their larger-than-usual windows.

What are consistent among these projects are the “Five Must-Haves” that Avida has adopted as a credo: “free-flowing air and sunlight, fewer units per floor, sensible amenities, emergency power in common areas and inside residential units, and easy payment terms.”

‘”Life is simply more relaxing, comfortable and healthier when air and sunlight flow freely through the floors and the units,” says Cruz. “Lesser units per floor prevent crowding. As for the amenities, they are planned and chosen for the utmost convenience and comfort of residents, without them having to pay too much on maintenance costs.”

Condo design trends may not point to visual extravaganzas but as what Avida developments prove, a life can be lived as expressively as one can in a sensible, well thought-out, comfortable, accessible and meaningful environment.

To know more about Avida, call 848-5200 or visit www.avidaland.com.

source: mb.com.ph

New Condo Project Earmarked P4-B

CEBU CITY, Cebu — Owing to the bullishness in Cebu’s real estate landscape, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and affiliate Cebu Property Ventures Development Corp. (CPVDC) have earmarked P4 billion for five-tower condominium development spread in the next four to five years at the Cebu IT Park.

The new condominium development dubbed Avida Riala is an expansion of the Avida Towers Cebu, which has 1,045 units launched in 2010.

Avida Riala, siting on a 21,000 square meter property, will have a total of 3,300 condominium units of studio-type and one and two bedroom units. The rooms are priced between P1.8 million to P5.5 million.

It is located right across eBlock Tower 1, home building of JPMorgan & Chase Co.

The projects’sTower 1 to cost an estimated P800 million, will have 621 units and is set for groundbreaking in November this year. Completion target is set first quarter, 2016.

“Our success of the Avida brand in Cebu has prompted us to boost expansion with this new project, Avida Towers Riala,” said Avida Land Corp. president Christopher Maglanoc told local media.

He said the shift to a bigger residential community is due to the increasing demand for condominium properties in the area, which has a rapidly growing outsourcing sector.

Avida Riala project is a mixed-used development in partnership with the landowners, VH Properties.

On top of the residential amenities, the company will also add shopping and dining outlets to the property and a 5,000-square meter amenity area including a grand lawn, lounge pool, shooting court and jogging trail.

source: mb.com.ph

Transforming space

MANILA, Philippines — The condominium boom that shows no signs of abating has necessarily catapulted the interior design industry along with it. The thousands of bare units have to be transformed into livable, beautiful spaces and this process necessitates furniture, accessories, décor, drapery, carpets, window solutions, lighting fixtures, appliances, among others. Before, hiring an interior designer seemed to be an unnecessary expense, the frivolity of the rich. Now, it’s almost de rigueur. A space magically transformed by an interior designer (or a team thereof) looks more organized, efficient, evocative and ironically, more personalized, as opposed to that of haphazardly spruced up by the owner.

Home Mavericks, a furniture boutique and a design consultancy firm based in Makati, has been providing interior design direction for clients who wish to make the most out of their spaces, even if they are outside the country. For their latest project, a Z-loft, two-bedroom unit at Rockwell West Tower, the design team has created a warm, effusive home for a balikbayan couple based in Canada.

“What we do is we communicate with them through emails,” begins Eric Go Po, one of Home Mavericks’ founders. “When they are in their respective countries, we send them the designs and they approve what they like,” he begins. “When they come here, everything is ready. It may take a bit longer but it’s more convenient on their part.”

For the Rockwell space, the couple wanted a modern, practical home with touches of Filipino and classical designs. Extensive brainstorming ensued: the team came up with an eclectic look that is predominantly the marriage of warm wood and gorgeous texture. The dining area is spruced up with furniture with coco shell as base. To achieve the balance between the classic and the contemporary, they upholstered chairs with a traditional silhouette in turquoise fabric. Sectional sofas in dark leather punctuate the living area. Mirrors and a stone wall accent increase the volume and heighten the verticality of the space.

With his background in sales and marketing, Eric says that he is the sober voice in the team who puts himself “in the shoes of the client.”

“The designers, they do the designs. I always strike a balance between aesthetic and function,” he says. The design process of Home Mavericks, in this light, is intensely collaborative, something that their clients treasure. In return, they also do their part by showing the design team the accessories they wish to add to the space, asking whether they could work in the over-all theme.

Examples of practical solutions that Home Mavericks has introduced into the unit include the bed which can be disassembled into four parts for ease of transport; upholstered headboards so the clients can have the fabric changed as often as they like; cascading lighting fixtures in the living room that also illuminate the staircase; and the customized HunterDouglas window treatments which Home Mavericks, as an official supplier, carries in their shop.

Despite having their own ready-made furniture, Eric says that they don’t use them in outfitting spaces they design. “We don’t use the existing designs in our shop because we want each house to be unique,” he says. “We want it to coincide with the owners’ personalities. We actually have a questionnaire so we can assess their personalities, their style and taste and what they want.”

Vincent Sandoval, also a founder of Home Mavericks and a filmmaker, says that the key in creating a space that works is to harmoniously blend disparate elements. “These elements individually are not particularly groundbreaking but when we put them together, you see some things that you wouldn’t otherwise experience,” he says. “The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.”

Eric and Vince affirm that their strategy—customized solutions, collaboration with client, world-class design—is paying off. They have designed a number of units in the same tower based solely on word of mouth. But the ultimate satisfaction they feel is “when the balikbayans comes home, when they open the door, they say wow.”

Home Mavericks is located at G/F 926 Arnaiz Ave. (formerly Pasay Road), Makati City 1223 (across New World Hotel). Call 844-9549 or visit www.homemavericks.com for more details.

article source: mb.com.ph