My Place South Triangle - News in Manila Times 062310

The housing arm of the SM Group launched its first residential condominium project under its low-cost brand My Place on Tuesday. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SM Development Corp. (SMDC) said the P2-billion, four-tower My Place South Triangle will rise at the site of the old Danarra Hotel in Panay Avenue, Quezon City.

The company said it will now increase the number of units to be sold from an initial announcement of 2,000 units to 3,000 units.

My Place South Triangle's amenities include a swimming pool, garden lounge, jogging path, and a children's playground, among others. It will also offer wireless Internet access in common areas.

The residential project will also house commercial and retail areas at the ground floor of the towers.

SMDC said the My Place brand is the company's avenue to tap the "unserved" market that is composed of "yuppies" or the young urban professionals, call center agents, workers moving out of their parents' homes, and investors who could rent the units out to students.

"Today's upwardly mobile young adults who are at the early stages of a successful career and who would want a place to call their own (either for themselves, alone or for their start-up families) are a perfect fit for My Place homes," Roger Cabuñag, SMDC president, said.

"Together with our SM Residences brand, this new and exciting business model will further strengthen SMDC's product offerings," he added.

Pre-selling prices for the units are estimated to start at P1 million for units ranging from 20 square meters to 40 square meters. The unit types available for My Place South Triangle are studio, studio with garden, one-bedroom, one-bedroom L-type and two-bedroom.

Construction of the project will start by the fourth quarter of the year and Phase 1 should be completed by the first half of 2013.

Henry Sy Jr., SMDC chairman, had said the company would earn a "slightly lower" profit margin from My Place compared with its other brands. He said that the price of housing units cannot keep up with construction materials, thus the company has to be "creative" by employing "value engineering" in constructing My Place.