There is a new luxurious residential oasis in the middle of chaotic Divisoria. Megaworld Corporation just finished their Binondo project with an upscale mall, a small shopping complex and 2 residential towers. Let us check out Cityplace Binondo...
From Reina Regente Street, going to the entrance of 168 Shopping Mall, you will find a car dropoff driveway for Cityplace Residential Towers and Cityplace Square (the small shopping complex like 168). The exterior of the building is beautifully designed and stands out in the middle of the low-rise structures surrounding it.
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| residential entrance to the left and mall entrance to the right |
Unlike other developments, this one had quality and luxury in mind. A very spacious and contemporary styled reception area welcomes visitors.
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| ground floor lobby |
Going further, a curving short corridor lined with potted plants leads the way to the elevators.
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| corridor going to the elevators |
Parking areas are up to the 6th floor. We rode to the 7th where another wonderfully designed waiting area greeted us.
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| elevator waiting area at the 7th floor |
From there, we needed to pass by security before entering the open-air garden. A roofed walkway separates the two towers' entrances.
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| Tower A to the right and Tower B to the left. |
At the entrance of Tower A are the some of the amenities. One of them is the game room. The other amenities of both towers are day care center, gym, business/conference room. Unit owners can use all the amenities of both towers.
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| game room at Tower A |
The elevators come next.
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| Tower A elevators |
Walking past the elevators, a pair of glass doors opened up to the swimming pool and the clubhouse. I found the pool rather small, and the surrounding views are not that pleasing to the eyes. But, what else can you expect from Binondo/Divisoria other than old and rusty-looking buildings? The view could be better if the pool is located on higher floors, though.
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| swimming pool |
Next, we crossed to Tower B. Smaller units are in Tower B, while 2 or 3 bedroom units are in Tower A.
We rode the elevators to the 25th floor. The beige colored corridors and marble floorings are simple but still with good quality.
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| hallway |
The average size of their one bedroom units is 48 sqm. It is actually quite big, because in some other developments, there are already 2-bedroom units for only 38 sqm. So, this unit can be renovated to have 2 bedrooms.
We entered the wenge-colored wooden doors. And saw this...
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| living area and bedroom entrance |
The whole unit painted in Tiffany Blue, looks fresh and bright with the abundance of windows.
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| entrance and kitchen area |
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| entrance and living/dining area |
One thing I found not ok is the enclosed kitchen. It also has too much cabinets, eating up so much space. If I'm going to live in here, I'll have the kitchen walls knocked down.
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| kitchen cabinets |
Next, the bedroom. It is big enough to accomodate a king-sized bed. One side has floor to ceiling windows with relatively good city views. But these windows are still going to be changed (by Megaworld) to let more air in. I think many have complained because as you can see in the picture below, only the small upper windows can be opened. According to the admin office, the windows in some units were already changed.
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| bedroom with floor to ceiling windows |
Another problem with their 1BR units is the bathroom. It is inside the bedroom. Very inconvenient if you have household help or if you have visitors.
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| bathroom sink |
Bathroom fixtures are nicely designed. Size is average.
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| bathroom |
The ratings:
Location ****
The Cityplace is located in the heart of Binondo. Traffic is heavy especially at this part surrounding 168 Divisoria. Tricycles, jeeps, taxis can be found everywhere (convenient, yes but traffic-causing). But this is still a good location if you have children going to one of the many Chinese schools in this area, or if your businesses are located here. This is also a shopping haven, you can find the most bargain finds in Tutuban or 168, and also branded items from Mango, Payless, Shoe Salon, Bench, Kamiseta, etc in the newly opened Lucky Chinatown Mall. Restaurants are also abundant. Italianni's, California Pizza Kitchen, Pancake House, Starbucks, etc.
Location ****
The Cityplace is located in the heart of Binondo. Traffic is heavy especially at this part surrounding 168 Divisoria. Tricycles, jeeps, taxis can be found everywhere (convenient, yes but traffic-causing). But this is still a good location if you have children going to one of the many Chinese schools in this area, or if your businesses are located here. This is also a shopping haven, you can find the most bargain finds in Tutuban or 168, and also branded items from Mango, Payless, Shoe Salon, Bench, Kamiseta, etc in the newly opened Lucky Chinatown Mall. Restaurants are also abundant. Italianni's, California Pizza Kitchen, Pancake House, Starbucks, etc.
Amenities ****
Swimming pool (too small), club house, game room, day care center, business/conference room, garden
Security *****
There are 3 levels of security. Guards in the ground floor reception counter, Another couple at the 7th floor going to the garden. Then another group at the tower entrance.
Others *****
There both doorbells and intercom system.
Construction Quality *****
As in Megaworld's other developments, this one is of good quality. It has a striking exterior, far more luxurious than many recent developments in Metro Manila.
Aesthetics and Design *****
The attention to design and quality is evident in this Megaworld development.
Investment ***
If you plan to buy a unit and have it rented, save yourself the trouble as this area does not produce ideal rent income as in other places like the DLSU/Vito Cruz or Robinson's Ermita area. A 1-BR unit of 48 sqm costs 3.6M at pre-selling, (current price has gone up, as of writing it is around P88,000-P100,000 per sqm) and can only ask for a maximum of 15-18k rent. Better buy your investment unit elsewhere. Most lessees would be the Chinese shop owners at 168. But if you plan to live here yourself, then this is a good investment. As mentioned above, there is a new mall (also by Megaworld) where you can shop, dine, pay your phone bills and do your grocery.
Turn-over Process *
Make sure to check the computation of fee and expenses they send to you. I know a unit owner who was asked to pay an extra of P200,000 for the outstanding balance due to wrong computation. Then another mistake came up in the computation of expenses. They computed it based on the wrong unit size. There was a 10k or 20k difference. This same owner did not get his contract to sell until turnover time. He wasn't aware of this and Megaworld did not contact him either. It was much later when applying for a bank loan that they realized this mistake.
Imagine 2 wrong computations and 1 documentation problem for just a single unit! What if the unit owner was not careful in checking his outstanding balance. (hmm, I wonder where the money would go...)
I hope Megaworld will be informed of this and do steps to improve their service.
