Filinvest Development Corp., the holding company of tycoon Andrew Gotianun, said Thursday it was awarded a 50-year lease of the 201-hectare Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.
The new deal with state-owned Clark Development Corp. will consolidate Filinvest group’s real estate development in Central Luzon, after it recently bagged the 288-hectare section of Clark Green City in Tarlac province.
FDC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it received the notice of award on Jan. 27, 2016 from CDC for the lease, development, operation and management of the former Mimosa Leisure Estate through a 50-year lease agreement.
“We are very bullish about the Clark area and the prospects of Clark as an international airport hub given the growth in this tourism corridor and the congestion experienced in Metro Manila airports,” FDC president Josephine Gotianun Yap said in a statement.
Mimosa Leisure Estate will be developed through a joint venture corporation, with Filinvest Group and CDC holding 95-percent and 5-percent stakes, respectively. The 50-year lease can be renewed for another 25 years.
FDC earlier formed a 50-50 joint venture partnership with real estate subsidiary Filinvest Land Inc. to bid for the Mimosa property. The Filinvest group was the lone bidder for the property and offered P800 million, the minimum acceptable bid.
FDC said it would soon start master planning the estate. “We are excited about this addition to our footprint in Northern Luzon. Our interest in this area is a reflection of our confidence in the growth prospects of the Clark Special Economic Zone,” Gotianun-Yap said.
The former Mimosa Leisure Estate includes an operating hotel with 303 rooms and 34 villas under the Holiday Inn brand as well as a 36-hole golf course.
CDC took over Mimosa Leisure Estate during the Estrada administration after former developer Mondragon Leisure Resorts Corp. of former tourism secretary Jose Antonio Gonzales failed to pay its lease rentals and other financial obligations.
FDC currently has over 1,300 rooms in its hotel portfolio. The Filinvest group owns the Crimson Resort and Hotel in Mactan, Cebu and the Crimson Hotel in Alabang and is currently constructing the newest Crimson Resort and Hotel in Boracay. It also manages the Quest Hotel in Cebu.
The Filinvest group is the developer of the 244-hectare Filinvest City in Alabang, Muntinlupa and the 70-hectare City di Mare at the South Road Properties in Cebu City.
“Together, FDC and FLI bring more than five decades of experience to manage and develop the former Mimosa property,” Gotianun-Yap said.