Montierra sits in new ‘gateway’ to Oro, says Moreno

THE development of Montierra, an upcoming townhouse community for the middle class in Upper Balulang, came so timely with the expansion of the “New Gateway” to Cagayan de Oro City from the south, according to Mayor Oscar Moreno.

“The location is just but perfect. The city is expanding in Lumbia area, opening and widening the roads from central and southern Mindanao,” Moreno said during the recent grand launch of Montierra near Lumbia.

He told guests at the event that travelers, traders and commuting students and professionals from the south will soon easily pass through Lumbia from Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato, and from central and southern Bukidnon.

The mayor told the people behind Johndorf Ventures Corp. (JVC), developer of Montierra and various other residential projects in Cagayan de Oro, that “you are on the right track.”

“With real estate as an investment, you will realize the value in the long term,” he said.

JVC opened the finished main gates of Montierra along with four model houses and the field sales office with CEO Richard Lim, EVP Norma Lim, and managing directors Frances Abegail and Frances Dominique Lim joining Moreno in the ceremonies.

It is located in Cagayan de Oro’s booming uptown district along the south diversion road that has become a better location for residences following the unforgettable experience during Sendong in December 2011.

“After Sendong, everybody wants to go uptown,” quipped Moreno.

The mayor compared the expansion of Cagayan de Oro to the original Manila that was then what is Intramuros today. It first expanded to Escolta and the rest of Binondo across Pasig River, and eventually towards Makati and the rest that has become Metro Manila.

“Now, we are seeing an expansion of Cagayan de Oro. The expansion is not just a plan, we are seeing it,” he declared.

Moreno recalled some years back when the United Nations (UN) Human Settlement Program (Habitat) worked with the city government and embarked on converting Lumbia area as a “new city” under the Planned City Expansion (PCE).

“UN Habitat considers Cagayan de Oro as one of the eight ‘Emerging Cities in the World,” he said, adding that the UN program sent urban planners to coach their city counterparts to develop the PCE.

Moreno pointed out that development is often driven and led by the private sector, and he commended JVC for building up Montierra along with the projects of other developers and investors in the city’s uplands.

“Thank you for giving the vote of confidence in Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao,” he told the Lim family and their trusted executives in JVC, further citing Montierra as the new benchmark for affordable living.

The subdivision is planned for 600 townhouses in back-to-back clusters of eight townhomes, a clubhouse and large swimming pool, parks and jogging trails, wide arterial and secondary roads and efficient electrical and drainage systems.

Moreno said his administration and the rest of the city government continues to be bullish about the future of Lumbia and Upper Balulang in truly becoming the “New Gateway” from the south.

He said the city will be accessed better from Bukidnon and Iligan City through Lumbia via Talakag town in Bukidnon, while the roads from the cities of Valencia and Iligan will be connected through Barangay Bisigan.

Don Carlos, Quezon, Kalinlangan, Pangantukan, Kibawe, Maramag, Baungon in Bukidnon will connect with Marawi City through Bumbaran and Wao (along with Amai Manabilan, Maguing and Bubong) in Lanao del Sur, to Lumbia passing through Talakag and Baungon in Bukidnon, he added.

“What is supposedly an 8-hour travel from Bumbaran (in Marawi City) and Wao will be shortened to less than three hours,” he pointed out.

“Lumbia area is going to be a growth area, not only because it is safer from any devastation like Sendong, it is the gateway coming from Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur and Iligan City,” Moreno declared. pr