By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Megaworld Senior Vice President and Head of Public Relations and Media Affairs Harold Geronimo said thousands of Negrenses and Bacolodnons found employment through their development projects.
Geronimo, who is from Bacolod, was here for the sneak peek of the three-storey Upper East House on Thursday evening.
He said that the various development projects in the two townships of Megaworld here in Talisay City and Bacolod City generated local employment since it started in 2018.
He noted that current investments by Megaworld is not even half of the P36 billion they intend to pour into Bacolod and Negros Occidental.
Geronimo said Upper East House is an homage to the rich past of Bacolod.
Giving a nod to the township’s historic past as the location of the former Bacolod-Murcia Milling Company (BMMC) is The Upper East House, an iconic three-story township information center that pays homage to the elegance and sophisticated ambiance of the ‘White Mansion’ that once stood inside the sprawling development.
Located within the curated park beside McDonald’s Upper East along the eight-lane Upper East Avenue, the structure stands right across the four-story No. 1 Upper East Avenue BPO tower and just a short walk from One Regis, thetownship’s first residential condominium development.
AN ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE
A spacious veranda and outdoor lounge with a water cascade welcome visitors in front of The Upper East House, whose exteriors are painted predominantly in white.
The staircase outside leads guests to the upper ground floor, which hosts the reception area, lounge, negotiation area, and a gallery that will feature photos and other memorabilia of BMMC.
From the ground floor, there is an available elevator for seniors and persons with disabilities (PWDs) that brings them to the lower and upper floors. Located towards the back portion of the ground floor are two commercial spaces with a veranda.
The lower ground floor, meanwhile, hosts another negotiation area and lounge, meeting rooms, a bar adapted from heritage houses infused with modern touches, toilets, security room, and broker’s office. Upstairs on the second floor are the marketing offices, pantry, and training rooms.
The interiors of The Upper East House feature a warm color palette with hues of brown, white, and beige to emit a vintage, elegant vibe.
The walls are adorned with decorative wooden panels, while calados (carved wooden screens) and cartouches (decorative ceiling panels) hang from the ceiling as accents and help circulate air across rooms.
Meanwhile, the reception walls and partitions are adorned with solihiya (woven rattan strands), while patterned wooden planks, tiles, and stones are also used across the entire space to radiate a retro charm.
Furniture pieces inside The Upper East House are designed similarly to those in the old house’s chairs and tables and are characterized by the use of solihiya to facilitate proper airflow.
The wood stain colors vary from light to dark tones, as adapted from old furniture pieces.
There is also a grand chandelier—a modern take on the original dining chandelier of the old house.
Jars representing the banga or tapayan used in old times for water and food storage are displayed on the top of wooden pedestals.
AN AWARD-WINNING TOWNSHIP
The Upper East House is located just beside the refurbished, decades-old BMMC train, which now forms part of the “World’s First-Ever McDonald’s Dessert Station on a Train” that won a Silver Award under the Specialized Project or Purpose-Built Category at the 2022 Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards by FIABCI Philippines.
The Upper East was recently hailed the “Real Estate Project of the Year in the Philippines” at the World Business Outlook Awards 2023. The township is also a proud recipient of a Gold Award under the Master Plan Category, also from the 2022 Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards by FIABCI Philippines.
In the next few years, it will feature four residential condominium developments, namely One Regis, Two Regis, One Manhattan, and Herald Parksuites; the very first Landers Superstore in Western Visayas, which will be opening very soon; office towers No. 1 Upper East Avenue and No. 5 Upper East Avenue; the 300-room Kingsford Hotel Bacolod; and a lifestyle mall, among many other components, to complete the live-work-play experience in this Bacolod township.
