BY JOEL D. LACSAMANA
Tugbok District, Davao – The once agricultural landscape is now flattened out. Heavy rain clouds hover over the worksite, a dusty plain where half a dozen tractors crisscross from one edge of the field to the other, framed by billowing red flags. The flags, whipping against the monsoon gusts, are bright red, the color of this newest real estate development in southern Davao City. Emblazoned on each is the project’s brand name, Mahogany South.
“Our vision for Mahogany South aligns with the idea of promoting sustainable living, allowing families to build their future in a thoughtfully designed, vibrant community, “ said Miguel Rene A. Dominguez, President and CEO of Alsons Development and Investment Corporation (Alsons Dev), one of the premier real estate developers in the country.
Dominguez, a former three-time Governor of Sarangani Province, only took over the top post of Alsons Dev in June last year. The Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee for governance and public service, and Jesse Robredo Leadership Award winner, pointed out that his company has been quite serious in its real estate ventures from Davao City to Sarangani Bay in General Santos City, where it has built high and upper mid-range residential and commercial projects over the last 60 years.
His first foray as company CEO is to carve out a 13-hectare mixed use township on this windswept land located in Tugbok District, south of bustling Davao City, where towering mountain ranges from a distance provide a picturesque backdrop for future homeowners and commercial locators.
Mahogany South is Alson Dev’s first housing endeavor in the southern Davao region, and the third project under Alsons Dev’s Nurtura brand (Nurtura Land & Home) which caters to the mid market segment.
The masterplanned project is offering 594 house-and-lot and lot-units units. Alsons Dev is plunking a cool P1 billion, just for starters, to develop this township, about 30 kilometers from Davao City.
Dominguez said that his company will also break ground for another township in the area in early 2026, Northtown Resdences 5.
Pre selling price up from P3M to P4.5 M
According to Jolla Amparo-Soriaga, Alsons Dev AVP for business development and operations, over 60 percent of the well-designed homes, surrounded by nature-integrated settings have been snapped up by buyers, mostly first time, starting families and investors. “The direct buyers are mostly young professionals buying their first home, or investors who have been picking up 3 to 5 units in one go, due to the attractive rental opportunity. This has pushed up the original pre selling prices of the units from P3 M to 4.5 M in the last three months,” she revealed.
The range of home options inspired by Modern Asian architecture include bungalow, bungalow with loft and open lots for those who opt to design and build their own abodes.
“We don’t have the problems of the property scene in Manila, overcapacity , etc., in the south,” Dominguez confided to Malaya Business Insight. “ We’re building dreams and hopes for people here in Mindanao. Imagine, from three to almost 5 million pesos, that’s quite a jump in the pre selling price in just a short period. Obviously the market, especially those made up of young professionals, are taking notice.”
Learning from past experiences
Dominguez acknowledged that Alsons Dev has been learning from its past projects in Davao and Sarangani. “We’re putting in high ceilings, spaces for remote working, lofts, tree-lines sidewalks and expansive parks. That’s what people want,” he observed. “At the same time, we are investing in stakeholder relations, especially with the Local Government Units, where we take the lead in building safety centers, school partnerships, health centers and the like. It is not an added cost for us. It pays in the long run to have partnerships with the community,” he noted.
Soriaga said the target is to start turning over residential units by 2028. For commercial segments, Soriaga said negotiations are underway for locators and partners, and shops could open as early as 2027.
Quality-of-life features
Dominguez said his company’s architectural planners consider Mahogany South as somewhat of a “blank slate.” “Unencumbered by the usual developer problems in big cities like Metro Manila, such as unsuitable and uncooperative neighbors, unsupportive local governments, contested boundaries,” he explained.
“We will go all out for quality-of-life features like wide open spaces, sidewalks, parks and urban greenery, a trailblazing effort in these parts since the Tugbok district is not yet highly urbanized,” he noted. “We now have an opportunity to learn and avoid the mistakes of the Philippines’ big cities.”
“This is the opportunity for areas other than Manila to show how to do it (urbanization) correctly,” he declared.
