By Augusto Villalon
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines--Two upscale developments to watch are Hacienda Escudero near San Pablo City in Quezon, and Montecito in Canlubang, Laguna, both outstanding but each demonstrating a different approach to offering quiet getaways from city life.
Hacienda Escudero offers the reassuring comfort of Filipino tradition.
Covering the area around Villa Escudero, the venerable tourist destination that successfully pioneered the concept of an all-Filipino resort, the mixed-use development retains the all-Filipino flavor that has made the Escudero resort so popular.
The Escudero family and Landco Pacific are jointly developing 415 hectares of plantation land into a residential resort community that takes its cues from the resort’s down-home Pinoy charm.
In the halcyon days of the 1930s Philippine Commonwealth era, the plantation was recognized as probably the most progressive, innovative coconut plantation in the country. So forward-thinking was the Escudero patriarch that he installed one of the first hydroelectric plants in the country, harnessing the lakes in the hacienda property to produce power for mechanizing agricultural processing.
The modern development takes its identity from the Escudero family vision and their legacy.
When completed, Hacienda Escudero will have hotels, spas, medical facilities, shopping and restaurant facilities, and leisure facilities that include a golf course, water park and botanical gardens winding throughout the development.
Completely 21st-century Filipino in attitude, new houses are to be designed in Modern-Filipino style, contemporary architecture based on surviving plantation houses from the 1930s Commonwealth era that are typical to the San Pablo area.
Together with Monterrazas de Cebu, another Landco development, Hacienda Escudero is one of the few new developments that champions Modern-Filipino architecture.
Hacienda Escudero, designed to bring back traditional neighborhood values, is people-friendly, encouraging houses to have verandas face the street to give residents opportunities to interact with each other.
Walking is another way to get neighbors together. Parks and forests ring clusters of houses, all linked by pedestrian walkways.
Getting around by water is another feature. Choice Hacienda Escudero properties either have their own access to the freshwater lakes or open up to specially built waterways, allowing construction of moorings within lakeside lots for privately owned boats.
Laguna sanctuary
An abundance of water and limitless greenery is the first impression at Montecito, an upscale sanctuary slightly over an hour’s drive from Manila.
A portion of the vast Canlubang Sugar Estate has been turned into a development of generously sized lots surrounded by luxurious greenways, roads, lakes and recreational areas that create not only a strong feel of peace and serenity but also provide a powerful connection to nature.
The environment at Montecito is definitely green. Nature is so important that approximately 50 percent of its area has been given over to communal open space.
A spring originating in Tagaytay Ridge, called Matang Tubig (Eye of the Water), runs through the property, supplying water for residents, landscape irrigation and powering a mini hydroelectric plant which generates electricity to light up the streets until ultimately feeding into a large, fish-stocked lake in the property.
Residents are offered the opportunity to recharge from the pressures of city life in a tightly guarded, secure environment with unpolluted air and an intimate, landscaped panorama.
From the height of its rolling hills, the Montecito perspective stretches past a panorama of its designer landscapes to include the vistas of Mt. Makiling, Tagaytay Ridge and Laguna de Bay.
Intimacy among neighbors is achieved by the low-density development, where a total area of 60 ha accommodates only 250 houses, offering residents rare access to space beyond the boundaries of their properties.
Majority of Montecito lots are designed with a border of open space on all sides. No houses are ever adjacent to each other. Grass courtyards, greenways, and “open salas” effectively buffer houses from each other and provide a bonus of shared public areas for neighbors.
Model houses, designed around a series of courtyards that allow indoor and outdoor spaces to integrate, are surrounded by manicured lawns, banks of flowering plants, and lush fruit-bearing trees all grown in Montecito’s on-site private plant and tree nursery.
Montecito is the place for its residents to recharge themselves.
Whether it is high-end exclusivity at Montecito or the comforting familiarity of Pinoy traditions at Hacienda Escudero, lifestyle choices are increasing for those seeking refuge from the stresses of city life.
E-mail comments to pride.place@gmail.com
Covering the area around Villa Escudero, the venerable tourist destination that successfully pioneered the concept of an all-Filipino resort, the mixed-use development retains the all-Filipino flavor that has made the Escudero resort so popular.
The Escudero family and Landco Pacific are jointly developing 415 hectares of plantation land into a residential resort community that takes its cues from the resort’s down-home Pinoy charm.
In the halcyon days of the 1930s Philippine Commonwealth era, the plantation was recognized as probably the most progressive, innovative coconut plantation in the country. So forward-thinking was the Escudero patriarch that he installed one of the first hydroelectric plants in the country, harnessing the lakes in the hacienda property to produce power for mechanizing agricultural processing.
The modern development takes its identity from the Escudero family vision and their legacy.
When completed, Hacienda Escudero will have hotels, spas, medical facilities, shopping and restaurant facilities, and leisure facilities that include a golf course, water park and botanical gardens winding throughout the development.
Completely 21st-century Filipino in attitude, new houses are to be designed in Modern-Filipino style, contemporary architecture based on surviving plantation houses from the 1930s Commonwealth era that are typical to the San Pablo area.
Together with Monterrazas de Cebu, another Landco development, Hacienda Escudero is one of the few new developments that champions Modern-Filipino architecture.
Hacienda Escudero, designed to bring back traditional neighborhood values, is people-friendly, encouraging houses to have verandas face the street to give residents opportunities to interact with each other.
Walking is another way to get neighbors together. Parks and forests ring clusters of houses, all linked by pedestrian walkways.
Getting around by water is another feature. Choice Hacienda Escudero properties either have their own access to the freshwater lakes or open up to specially built waterways, allowing construction of moorings within lakeside lots for privately owned boats.
Laguna sanctuary
An abundance of water and limitless greenery is the first impression at Montecito, an upscale sanctuary slightly over an hour’s drive from Manila.
A portion of the vast Canlubang Sugar Estate has been turned into a development of generously sized lots surrounded by luxurious greenways, roads, lakes and recreational areas that create not only a strong feel of peace and serenity but also provide a powerful connection to nature.
The environment at Montecito is definitely green. Nature is so important that approximately 50 percent of its area has been given over to communal open space.
A spring originating in Tagaytay Ridge, called Matang Tubig (Eye of the Water), runs through the property, supplying water for residents, landscape irrigation and powering a mini hydroelectric plant which generates electricity to light up the streets until ultimately feeding into a large, fish-stocked lake in the property.
Residents are offered the opportunity to recharge from the pressures of city life in a tightly guarded, secure environment with unpolluted air and an intimate, landscaped panorama.
From the height of its rolling hills, the Montecito perspective stretches past a panorama of its designer landscapes to include the vistas of Mt. Makiling, Tagaytay Ridge and Laguna de Bay.
Intimacy among neighbors is achieved by the low-density development, where a total area of 60 ha accommodates only 250 houses, offering residents rare access to space beyond the boundaries of their properties.
Majority of Montecito lots are designed with a border of open space on all sides. No houses are ever adjacent to each other. Grass courtyards, greenways, and “open salas” effectively buffer houses from each other and provide a bonus of shared public areas for neighbors.
Model houses, designed around a series of courtyards that allow indoor and outdoor spaces to integrate, are surrounded by manicured lawns, banks of flowering plants, and lush fruit-bearing trees all grown in Montecito’s on-site private plant and tree nursery.
Montecito is the place for its residents to recharge themselves.
Whether it is high-end exclusivity at Montecito or the comforting familiarity of Pinoy traditions at Hacienda Escudero, lifestyle choices are increasing for those seeking refuge from the stresses of city life.
E-mail comments to pride.place@gmail.com
