The privilege of space in Susana Heights
In a metro racing upward with steel and glass structures, Signature Series by SM Residences chose to bet big on “land” for its maiden project.
The premium residential brand of SM Prime Holdings is now in the midst of redeveloping the 280-hectare Susana Heights into a prime residential estate, with a planned 8,000-sqm retail hub, upgraded civic spaces and modernized facilities for the existing village, and an entirely new, tightly curated neighborhood that can cater to the growing demand for larger residences among the affluent few.
In an exclusive conversation with Inquirer Property, Jose Juan Z. Jugo, head of Signature Series and EVP at SM Prime, explains what’s driving the interest and excitement for this project, how buyers who came in a year ago are already sitting on meaningful gains, and why he believes there was always room for “one more giant” in the country’s high end residential market.
Q: Susana Heights is a familiar landmark in the South. How do you hope to breathe new life into it, and make it more appealing especially to the younger buyers?
Jugo: Susana Heights has been here for a long time. We’re coming in again to release the legacy lots the company has held. We will be committing ourselves to upgrading the facilities of the current village as well. These upgrades alone should make things more attractive to the market.
But at the end of it all, this is still Metro Manila. Until we relaunched Susana Heights, the options have really been pricey if you want to stay in Metro Manila or you can go farther South to be able to enjoy the lifestyle that Susana Heights can give you.
Now that we are coming in to continue developing Susana Heights and to relaunch the legacy lots (in the existing village), this becomes a viable option for the high end market.
Q: What components are you putting in to ensure that it will continue to sustain its value?
Jugo: Susana Heights [Village], at the moment, already has facilities but we’re coming in to upgrade them and add new things. The clubhouse, for example, we are rehabilitating and renovating it for the homeowners and for the market coming in. We’re also building a chapel and new sports facilities.
But there is only so much we can do (for the existing village), because the development is done. Everything’s already in place, but we’re coming in to improve it, even the roads. The landscaping will also be enhanced.
Q: How do you see the retail area adding value to the community”
Jugo: This place (sales lounge) we’re in right now will be the (site of the) future retail component. We’re planning a retail strip, quite sizable at about 7,000 sqm to 8,000 sqm of floor area.
The limitation for Susana Heights over the past decades has been that if you want to go somewhere, do your errands, chances are, you have to pay toll to get to where you want to go. So this (planned) retail complex is supposed to address that. The closest I can think of, really, is that this retail component would be like what San Antonio Plaza is to Forbes Park or to Dasmariñas Village. People need that kind of convenience, that kind of expediency to be able to get what they need and want.
We’ll develop it in phases, beginning with what is most important—maybe a supermarket, a bank and some other basic conveniences. Right now, we are in the final stages of designs. Hopefully within the year, we can break ground for this retail strip.
Q: Can you give us an idea of what to expect from the new village that Signature Series plans to launch?
Jugo: The new village is going to be developed from raw land. Susana Heights is an estate composed mainly of the current village, Susana Heights Village, and the raw landbank. So out of the 280 hectares, a substantial portion is undeveloped and that will be turned into the new village.
The main difference is that the lot cuts are going to be significantly larger. We’re looking at 700 sqm minimum all the way to 1,200 sqm. It’s larger but tighter in bandwidth.
In other developments, you might have lots that start at about 250 to 300 sqm then they go to as big as 1 hectare. It’s almost like a hodgepodge of offerings. But the new village would be more homogenous at 700 sqm to 1,200 sqm and that alone already caters to a specific kind of market.
If Susana Heights Village, where we are now, is already not for everybody, then this (new village) will be a much clearer story—it will be for a certain discerning market.
Q: What’s your brand promise for Susana Heights?
Jugo: Signature Series’ first project is the new village that we’ll be launching from scratch. But Signature Series is also marketing (build-ready lots in the existing) Susana Heights Village, which was launched back in the 80s. Whatever we establish ourselves as in Susana Heights—whether in the old village or in the coming one—will only set the pace for what we have down the line, so we really want to make sure we get things right.
In my past, I always knew that there was room for one more giant in the high end market. I always understood that. And it’s this group (SM Prime).
For now, our pipeline is mainly horizontal. We’ll be busy for quite a few years with Susana Heights Village redevelopment and the new village. When the global markets are better, when we see more encouraging signs to put up verticals, then we’ll go to that as well. We do have the land, so it’s just a matter of timing and planning.
For now, as you have seen in all the crises that the Philippines has been through, land has always succeeded. It’s land that always pulled through.
