Construction of retirement village set

By Cheneen R. Capon
CONSTRUCTION of Phase 1 of the Healing Garden of Asia retirement village in Catigan, Toril is set to commence this April.
Carlos Vargas, chief executive of World Class Retirement Complex Inc. (WCRCI), an internationally recognized developer, they are just waiting for the ECC (Environment Compliance Certificate to be issued by the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)) on the project.
Vargas said the developer of the five-hectare retirement village in the upland of Catigan, Toril District, has to change the whole plan after discovering that there is a spring passing four of its 12 buildings which will have 36 units each.
“We target to start the first phase by April of this year because we have an agreement with the Japanese Tourism Bureau (JTB) that the first building should be ready for occupancy by December of this year,” Vargas told reporters in a recent interview.
He said the first phase include the construction of road networks and first retirement hotel building with 36 units complemented with a club house.
“Partnered Japanese and local investors will pour in P1 billion for the completion of the development project,” Vargas said.
He said he committed to JTB, who visited Davao City last Monday for inspection, that the whole project should be completed after two years.
The contractor will be Fuji Construction, a Japanese firm.
Once finished, the whole retirement village will have a total of 432 units with amenities like heated swimming pool, golf ball field, fitness and wellness center and a medical facility.
People from the community of Toril and health and medical professionals from Filipino-Japanese Volunteers Association will be hired in the village.
“We are looking forward to providing job opportunities to villagers,” Vargas said, adding that the retirement village will be catering local, Japanese and Filipino-Canadian retirees.
“There is a growing shortage of retirement homes in Japan that’s why retirement home owners and developers are looking for secondary locations,” he said.
Vargas said that he is eyeing to construct retirement villages in different parts of the country including: Bagiuo, Palawan, Tagaytay, Boracay, Butuan and Cebu.
“We’re already in negotiation with the land owners and developers from these areas,” he said.
Members of JTB and retirement home owners and developers from Japan visited Davao City recently for ocular inspection
“They were here to check whether the city is suitable as a location of retirement villages and so far, it (Davao City) is okay,” Vargas said.