Filinvest City: Building values with its enhanced masterplan

Everything is looking up for the Metro South’s premiere CBD, Filinvest City, with the green light given by the Republic of the Philippines to roll out its enhanced masterplan.

Filinvest City, a sprawling 244 hectares of land, has always been planned as a self-contained central business district, integrating residential spaces, business district, a leisure destination centered on Festival Alabang, education zones, and medical and wellness hub. “We wanted to ensure a future-proof city, thus we saw the need to carefully review and reassess the already impressive masterplan of Filinvest City, utilizing best practices in urban planning,”” says Don Ubaldo, Vice President for Townships of Filinvest Alabang Inc, its developer.  “We wanted a place that would be at par with the world’s best, providing the best business advantages to businessmen and investors and a vibrant backdrop to everyone who chooses it to live, work and play here.”
 
A BREATHING CITY
It was no accident that the first phase of the revised master plan is the enhancement of the open spaces to practical ones like parks. At the heart of this is the innovative green system that is literally a ‘connector’ of the whole community— an extensive landscaped network that links the various districts and enriching the public realm. This results to a more meaningful built environment with a network of parks, greenways and pocket resting areas.
 
The first phase of this green system include the completed Spectrum Linear Park that spans almost one kilometer dissecting the city from north to south with tree-lined, landscaped pathways, lighted seating areas, and stimulating outdoor art installations. The next development is the Central Park that will intersect along Promenade Avenue. This park will have an expansive lawn that would be open to all and would then branch out to pedestrian highways, bicycle lanes and open-space public galleries. The hardscape and softscape design will be fully integrated to create a huge park.
 
 “A city is, first, a community of people as it is really them who give heartbeat and soul to it. We want to anchor on that, thus the creation of functional linear parks where they can sit, enjoy, generally interact with one another, and also which pedestrians can use to move within the city by walking or by cycling through the bike lanes” shares Ubaldo.
 
THRIVING DISTRICTS

Filinvest City’s masterplan, its original, and the enhanced version, has always been separated into districts, with each district having its own character and is contributing to the completeness of the city. Its popular districts are the Spectrum District where high-rise offices, and residential buildings are located; Northgate, which houses the premiere IT-BPO Park, Northgate Cyberzone; the Civic Plaza, where hospitals, and civic offices like the fire and police stations can be found; and the City Center, where the biggest regional mall Festival Alabang is.

“We have maintained the districts as we believe they are necessary, but enhanced their design in such a way that each exhibits the modern metropolis characteristic of Filinvest Cty, where all you need is just a few minutes away. Take Northgate for example. While it is known as the district for IT-BPO offices, you can find hotels and residential options in the area, as well as retail options for dining and shopping,” Ubaldo furthers.

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN THE SOUTH

Filinvest City urban planning, after all, is about building a sustainable future. Eyeing the US Green Building Council’s LEED Certification for Neighborhood Development Plan, Filinvest City will be the first in the country and third in the world to achieve such certification. “Having infrastructure that promote wellness will eventually bring a high quality of life for the community. A key part of a successful urban plan is ensuring the built environment is designed with the lifestyle of people in mind,” says Ubaldo.

These refinements are part of a deliberate plan to ensure Filinvest City would be a model township; that businesses would grow alongside its progress; that every investor, every businessman, and every resident of the city enjoys a steady increased value of their assets. Right now, the city still has a lot of growth potential, and these enhancements would definitely boost it further.