Rockwell Land’s the Arton Gets the Katipunan Crowd

#NOFILTER – Chonx Tibajia (The Philippine Star)

Commuting, or even driving from one point to another, never gets easier. It’s a fact of life that’s perennially stressful and inescapable. During my years studying in Ateneo, I thought my travel time from Makati to Katipunan was bad. It was an hour and a half on a good day; three hours on a bad, stormy one. To be ease the ordeal, I made it a point to leave the house before 7:45 a.m.; by 7:46 it would be total mayhem on the road with everyone rushing to everywhere.

Imagine my horror when The Arton’s project manager Vienn Tionglico-Guzman told me that little children studying in the Katipunan area had to wake up at 4 a.m. and endure three hours of travel time. “They do their homework in the car and change into their pajamas in the car on their way home!” she says.

This is the market of Rockwell Land’s latest development in the north, The Arton: kids studying in UP, Miriam College and Ateneo, professionals working in the area, and families looking for a nice and safe place to settle down in an area familiar to them, perhaps not too far from their original homes.

“The Arton is the only high-end residential high-rise development within that area,” says Vienn, “Of course, it’s surrounded by exclusive villages, but what differentiates it is really the scale — that we were able to create a nice, exclusive community for, not just students, but young professionals and families to dwell in.”

Located in the two-hectare former Ramos compound along Aurora Boulevard, The Arton will have three buildings: Arton West, 24 stories, which Rockwell recently launched at Power Plant Mall with aerial ballet performances; the North Tower, 28 stories; and the East Tower, 34 stories. The project will have a five- to six-year development period.

“We want to bring the Rockwell living experience outside Makati, where the market would feel naturally comfortable. In Ortigas, we have The Grove, and we saw that it works. It was an alternative for people from Valle Verde and Greenhills when they started moving out of their homes. Nowadays, people find condo living practical, and that’s exactly why we look to the north. So we had the property formerly the Ramos compound. It’s strategically located, close to the schools and public transport stations. The size was also nice for us to be able to develop a lot of open space. Interestingly, too, the chemistry was there. The Ramos compoud, apparently, has been known by different generations. There’s a lot of nostalgia,” shares Vienn. “I think the most important is the peace of mind that we’ll be able to give the parents, should they decide to leave their kids there for the week to go to school. Right now, they don’t have that option.”

Vienn adds that many of their sales associates, who studied in the Katipunan/Quezon City area, have shared their own traffic horror stories. “They said, ‘Bakit walang ganyan dati?’” said Vienn. “So it’s very much appreciated in that sense.

Like all Rockwell Land properties, The Arton will deliver on the “100% Rockwell Promise,” which covers safety, security, community, exclusivity, convenience and stable capital value. The development will also have its own retail area, which will prioritize serving the most basic needs of residents.

One thing that makes The Arton unique and truly a development for the next generation is its co-working spaces. Within the property, exclusively for residents, are co-working spaces that will make doing business even easier. “It’s your modern-day library, but with a more youthful, agile space.”

Each tower will have its own pool, aside from the main pool. And there will be a FIBA-sized basketball court, which will be across the function room, where wellness classes like yoga will be held. The Arton will also have a separate trail for pets (standard size in terms of weight is 40 lbs.). There will be four high-speed elevators, automatic fire alarm, fire detection and fire sprinkler systems, closed-circuit TV monitoring, exclusive drop-off bay, and security system with electronic access control.

“I think what’s really striking with The Arton is how much we are able to put in, in terms of open space, at a very competitive price. We’re pricing it on the same level of what a standalone building offers. There’s a huge space for amenities. It’s very smart in terms of space allocation. We will also have 100 percent backup power, which makes it really comfortable for the end-user,” adds Vienn.

In terms of pricing, Rockwell Land positions The Arton as an affordable development. “The Proscenium is selling at P300,000 per square meter. The Arton is P145,000 per square meter. It’s a competitive rate along the Katipunan strip, as well,” says Vienn.

A studio unit at 27 sqm. is priced at P3.9 million, P5 million with parking. A one-bedroom unit at 45 sqm. is priced at P7 million, an 85-sqm. two-bedroom is at P12 million, and a 100-sqm. three-bedroom is around P16 million, with two parking slots.

The Arton has been well-received by those already living in the Quezon City area, and those who have homes in the south and Makati but are sending their kids to universities in the area. To date, Rockwell Land is yet to disclose how much of the property is already sold, but with its unique positioning — as a necessity that also offers the Rockwell lifestyle — it’s been well received even before the first tower’s official launch.

As published in philstar.com on August 4, 2017: https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/modern-living/2017/08/04/1725056/north-ready-rockwell-lands-arton-gets-katipunan-crowd