BIZ BUZZ: Not the time for Makati, says CLI

Now that Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) has the land on which to eventually build its first Luzon project, it’s just a matter of time before it competes with other developers in Metro Manila.

It’s clear to us that the land is in Pasig—residential condominium glut aside—but what’s new (although perhaps expected) is that the prominent landowners in this city weren’t the only ones to approach CLI.

Jose Franco Soberano, CLI chief operating officer, himself told reporters that a “very prominent family” had set a “very unofficial” meeting with them to discuss CLI’s potential Luzon debut in Makati City, home of some of the biggest moneymakers in the country.

Makati seems the ideal location: after all, it is already the site of CLI’s Luzon office, tucked beside other businesses setting up shop in Metro Manila’s central business district.

But it wasn’t the right place for the developer’s next big move, Soberano said.

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“While we have actually been invited to do a nice fancy condo in Makati, we declined because we feel that our ball game is addressing the need to help our housing crisis here [in Cebu],” he explained, adding that Makati and BGC may be better suited for the luxury developers.

But the Soberanos have not fully closed the door on Makati just yet. Maybe sometime in the future, when the nine Pasig towers are already standing.