Sun.Star Cebu
Friday, April 04, 2008
THE Cebu City Council approved last Wednesday the minimum floor price for the South Road Properties (SRP) lots as proposed by the mayor, including other conditions for the sale or lease of the 290-hectare facility.
Based on Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s memorandum, the lots will be sold at P8,000 to P15,000 depending on the location. The sale, though, could yield more for the City depending on the outcome of the bidding.
The sale offer for lots on Pond F, which makes up the entire 1.4-kilometer stretch facing the sea, is P15,000 per square meter.
The 17-hectare Pond F alone can earn P2.5 billion for the City even if it is sold for the minimum floor price.
As specified by the mayor, the City will not entertain lease proposals for one or two years, and only Kawit Island will be leased to investors.
For lots located within 80 meters from both sides of the South Coastal Road and the Mambaling access road, the minimum floor price stands at P11,000 per square meter. These lots are considered prime properties.
All other lots outside Pond F and the 80-meter area from the coastal and access roads are considered non-prime properties and will be sold for a minimum price of P8,000 per square meter.
The Council confirmed the floor prices and other conditions of the sale of the SRP lots in a resolution it approved last Wednesday.
In his news conference last Wednesday, Osmeña said he changed his mind and decided not to deal with real estate brokers in the early stages of the sale of the SRP.
“We’re not working with brokers at this point. We’re willing to but I feel it’s not right to do it at the early part. It’s not safe because this project will go through a bidding,” he told reporters.
Osmeña fears the commission for brokers would affect the bid price of the lots, or worse, cause legal problems for the City Government.
He said the giving of commissions and whether or not it should be added to the price of the lots might not be approved by the Commission on Audit (COA).
“We want to avoid legal problems that can lock up the SRP in court, unless the COA will give a very clear stand on this. It’s okay to give brokers a commission as long as it will not affect the price of the bid,” Osmeña added. (LCR)
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