Filinvest Envisions Mimosa Renaissance

The former Mimosa Leisure Estate is primed for a renaissance as Filinvest Land Inc. lays out its plans for a dynamic, mixed-use development on the sprawling 201.64-hectare property.
As the winning bidder in the privatization of the estate, Filinvest recently signed the lease agreement with Clark Development Corp. to develop, manage and operate the estate for 50 years, renewable for another 25 years.

“We are excited to implement our plans for the Mimosa estate. We envision this to be an urban renewal—the rise of a highly livable city that will offer countless opportunities for generations to come,” says Josephine Gotianun-Yap, president of Filinvest Mimosa Inc., the new company formed by the consortium of Filinvest Development Corp. and Filinvest Land.

To bring its vision to life, Filinvest has tapped the services of Broadway Malyan, an expert master-planner known for its portfolio of world-class and fully-integrated cities across the globe. “With its global perspective and extensive experience, we know that Broadway Malyan is the right firm to entrust with our vision for the Mimosa project,” says Gotianun-Yap.

The award-winning firm is behind projects such as the Emprasa Startup Valley in India, dubbed the City of the Future; and East Village in Calgary, which won the Canadian Architects/Town Planning and Landscape Architecture Institutes’ joint award for Best Urban Design Plan in 2012. Broadway Malyan also created the master plan for Erith Park in London, which was recognized as London Regeneration Project of the Year 2016 by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Forward-looking master plan

For the Mimosa estate, Broadway Malyan will apply its expertise in creating futureproofed, next-generation urban areas. Integrating Quest Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn) and the existing 36-hole golf course, the Mimosa project will be designed as a community-centric, year-round destination with varied offerings for both day and night users and visitors.

Current and future developments will be harmonized utilizing a cohesive architectural theme with various elements and spatial experiences that will increase the value of the development. The entire project will be implemented in accord with Clark Economic Zone’s overall objective of a green, smart and disaster-resilient development. “We want the development to be leisurely walkable so the master plan will pay close attention to the vehicular and pedestrian circulation,” Gotianun-Yap says. She says environmental impact will be minimized through sustainability strategies such as preservation of the existing ecosystem and respecting the natural topography of the land.

Balanced components

The Mimosa project centers on a balanced mix of components including hotel and leisure offerings, offices, a retail and commercial district, a residential section, as well as amenities and open spaces that can attract a year-round market.

The initial program is to add at least two more hotel locators, a retail area and numerous parks, bike paths and outdoor amenity areas. “With these in place, we will be in the best position to take advantage of the expected influx of guests with the rise in the meetings, incentives, conferences and events tourism market,” says Gotianun-Yap.

Planned mid-rise office buildings will target multinational BPO companies while the retail and commercial district will cater to hotel patrons, tourists, office workers, the surrounding local communities and the transiting market.

To encourage people to stay longer, the project will offer a good mix of residential offerings, rental units clustered around the hotels and golf course to achieve a resort village atmosphere. These will be complemented by public recreation facilities and
open-space amenities that can be experienced all year round.

“We are looking forward to carrying out these plans to fruition,” says Gotianun-Yap. “We will draw on our expertise in large-scale township development and our experience in the hospitality industry to realize our vision for the Mimosa estate.”

Filinvest is the developer behind the 244-hectare Filinvest City in Alabang, the 677- hectare Timberland Heights and 300-hectare Havila in Rizal and the 350-hectare Ciudad de Calamba in Laguna.

It also signed a joint venture agreement with tBases Conversion Development Authority for a 288-hectare, mixed-use development in Clark Green City, Tarlac. The Filinvest Group, through Chroma Hospitality, currently manages over 1,000 hotel rooms under the Crimson and Quest hotel brands.