DMCI Homes' Raya Garden Condominiums offer long-lasting perks for family man

Raya Garden Condominiums, one of DMCI Homes' resort-themed condominium communities situated in Paranaque City, may be considered as the perfect abode since it can easily cater to different types of homeowners and their distinct lifestyles.

One of those who can readily attest to such an observation is Ping Mendoza, now a proud owner of a 2-bedroom unit at the Jakarta Building of Raya Garden Condominium. When he was still starting his professional career in 2007, Mendoza had a chance to pass by the place and readily fell in love with its enviable location along West Service Road in Merville, Paranaque City.

Before that time, Mendoza had been living in a rented condo for almost a decade (beginning with his student days), just to be near his school. When he graduated in college, his family then decided to live in a condominium, and they chose Raya Garden for good reasons. "We moved here because we really liked the design, which was different from the other condos," the 29-year-old Mendoza began.

It also offered him a convenient place going to work. "When you go home and you're tired from work, you also don't want to feel like you're going inside a box just to sleep. It really felt good to come home to a place like Raya Garden Condominium, which is just a few minutes' drive from the office and offers a refreshing environment with lots of trees and vast open spaces."

Raya Garden also provided acertain"uniqueness" back then. "It was really nice. At night, the lighting makes the place very eye-catching and relaxing," Mendoza adds, recalling his first sight of Raya Garden Condominium while passing by SLEX on the way to his first job at a manufacturing plant in Muntinlupa City in 2007.

"When I was single, I was very private. I don't go out and mingle with neighbors. I also never got to use the amenities because I was always out working," he says.

Life at the 5-building residence became even more enjoyable and beneficial now that he has become a family man. Mendoza got married in 2012 and now has a 3-year-old son, Drake, with wife Marielle.

"When I got married, I became more actively in touch with the community," Mendoza shares. "I now use the amenities more with my kid. We often play in the playground and in the basketball court. We also go swimming together on weekends."

Mendoza cited the importance of Raya Garden's open spaces and the single-loaded corridors as well as the atriums of the condo to his son. "Here, you can take your child walking. Just walking around is the most basic benefit for kids," he says. "It also helps that the corridors here are more refreshing."

Previously, the second bedroom of his condo unit was a walk-in closet. It is now the living quarter for the nanny. The entertainment area which used to have a playstation and a computer now has a study desk for the child.

"We still feel comfortable even if it's a 2-bedroom unit. It was just the right unit for my transition from being a single, mobile, on-the-go young professional to a more-senior-manager-with-a-young-family lifestyle," says the marketing head of Solar Philippines, which makes solar power systems for homes and businesses. "It's still a very good unit and for the next three years, I still think it would be a feasible option for a growing family like ours."

Raya Garden's location remains convenient for Mendoza as Makati City, where he works, is just 10 to 15 minutes drive away.

"Even with heavy traffic, I can get to Makati in 30 minutes. It is also near the airport, the south and the major roads," he says.

With its resort atmosphere, wide open spaces, high-quality homes, rich amenities, and good location, Mendoza says he has lived longest in a condo at Raya Garden. It was for the same reasons that his sister bought a unit for her own family at the 15-storey Surabaya, one of two high-rise residential buildings of Raya Garden, about three years ago.  She also found it comfortable and sensible to live in the neighborhood as her two daughters study in the nearby Colegio San Agustin.

Mendoza's loyalty and trust to the DMCI Homes brand are also shared by his father and another sibling. His father, who puts his savings in real properties instead of in the bank, bought a unit in Magnolia Place in Tandang Sora Avenue, Quezon City and another unit in Royal Palm Residences in Acacia Estates, Taguig City. His older brother rented a unit at Tivoli Garden Residences, a five-tower condo complex in Mandaluyong City, before acquiring his own house.

Mendoza will continue to patronize DMCI Homes because he really likes its products. "Should I have another baby or my career advances as I plan it to be, I would definitely want to upgrade to a bigger unit and most probably in another DMCI Homes project," he says.