Circulo Verde masterplan

Circulo Verde, one of the largest property developments in Quezon City, has a masterplan that includes protection against natural calamities such as floods, earthquakes and typhoons. When it is completed in 15 years, this development project of Ortigas & Company, will build a community of 15 residential towers sprawled on 12 hectares of land along Bagumbayan in Quezon City.

Rex Drilon, Ortigas & Co. COO, said that a major part of the project’s planning process is how to prevent or lessen the impact of natural occurrences such as that brought by Typhoon Ondoy which badly hit most parts of the area surrounding the project.

“As a sustainable development, Circulo Verde is designed to protect both property and people. During typhoon Ondoy, water from Calle Industria, the street in front of Circulo Verde, reached only 20 percent of the property and had minimal effect on the guest house and temporary construction offices located up front. Waters receded or flowed out into the Marikina River immediately,” he said.

During the planning phase, the developer included a study on the design of Circulo Verde, and tapped the services of DCCD Engineering Corporation, a company with 50 years of experience in the field of hydrology and flood control, to meet technical challenges.

Michael Reyes, president and chief operating officer, DCCD, said, “In planning Circulo Verde, we wanted to prepare for anything. When we gave our parameters to our engineers and architects, we tasked them to provide protection against natural calamities, including earthquakes, flooding, and typhoons.”

To protect the property from flash floods, Ortigas & Co. spent P350million to build a retaining wall, which stretched for one-kilometer around the periphery of Circulo Verde. Complementing this design, the entire site has also been raised by eight meters from the level of the Marikina River. The design allowed water to easily flow out of the area during Typhoon Ondoy.

A new canal at the fore of the property is also in the works to collect the storm runoff coming from Calle Industria. This will guide floodwater from adjacent areas to the appropriate exits.

Aside from river protection, residential buildings will also be equipped with pumping systems as a secondary defense measure, especially in ground level car parks. The pumping systems are also equipped with one-way pipe valves to prevent back flow.

“Even with all these measures in place, we have instructed DCCD to revisit the Hydrological and Flood Study for Circulo Verde and will implement new designs if any is recommended,” said Drilon.

Part of the planning included extensive research of what usually occurs during typhoons around the area. The company worked closely with local barangays to get important information. In return, the company shared some of their plans to give ideas on how to prevent serious flooding in the community.

The first phase of Circulo Verde is the construction of five residential towers on 2.7 hectares of the property. This year, the 23-story Ibiza Tower, will be constructed. It will offer one to two-bedroom units (44 to 80 sqm) in single and bi-level layouts for young professionals working in Quezon City and nearby Ortigas area.

Also underway is the 11-story Majorca Residences with one, two, and three-bedroom units (42 to 107 sqm) dedicated to growing families.

Pre-selling of units in Ibiza Tower has reached 60 percent, while all units in Majorca Residences have now been sold out. Turnover is expected on 2012.

Circulo Verde is estimated to cost P15 billion in total investments, and is planned to be completed in 15 years. The project was designed to be one of the largest developments in Quezon City. It will have house 15 residential buildings, offering vistas of the Sierra Madre mountains and the Metro Manila skyline.

The development also works with the natural topography of the property, reserving up to 70 percent of land area for parks, playgrounds, and jogging paths and allocating more than P100 million for planting materials alone.

More information is at www.circuloverde.com.ph.