The three-level township information center will be inspired by Negrense heritage houses and will house a gallery about the history of Bacolod-Murcia Milling Company
PROPERTY giant Megaworld is bringing another iconic addition to its 34-hectare The Upper East township with the construction of The Upper East House, a three-level township showroom that will be designed to pay tribute to the historic institution that used to occupy the township’s current location, the Bacolod-Murcia Milling Company (BMMC).
The expansive township showroom will occupy a more than half a hectare lot along Upper East Avenue just within the curated park beside the soon-to-open McDonald’s Upper East. Its vintage look takes inspiration from the elegant and sophisticated design of the BMMC’s ‘white mansion’, an old bahay na bato that used to be inside the former sugar milling complex.
Beside The Upper East House will be the retrofitted and refurbished century-old BMMC Train that used to be the main mode of transport to deliver sugarcanes during the early days of the sugar mill.
A gallery featuring memorabilia from the historic sugar mill will also be the main highlight of The Upper East House.
“We take pride in The Upper East bearing a part of the legacy of its location as the former site of the Bacolod-Murcia Milling Company, an institution that played a pivotal role in jumpstarting economic progress in Bacolod City. Today, we continue to honor this legacy as we develop this historic site as Bacolod City’s iconic central business district and once again become a catalyst of progress in this part of the region,” said Jennifer Palmares-Fong, vice president for sales and marketing, Megaworld Visayas.
Among the structure’s most prominent design features include the silong, which was used in the past for storage and to raise farm animals, and the tukod, a long piece of wood used to hold open, swing-out windows.
Guests and visitors will be welcomed to a spacious veranda and outdoor lounge with water feature fronting the eight-lane Upper East Avenue.
The interior walls will be adorned with decorative wooden panels, while calados (carved wooden screens) and cartouches (decorative ceiling panels) will hang from the ceiling as accents and to help circulate air across rooms, respectively.
The reception walls and partitions will be adorned with solihiya (woven rattan strands), while patterned wooden planks, tiles, and stones will be used across the entire space to radiate retro charm.
As a showroom, The Upper East House will feature model units of the township’s residential developments and sales offices complete with facilities.
Meanwhile, the upper ground floor will also have spaces for retail shops and cafes.
“The Bacolod Murcia Milling Company spurred economic growth in the City of Bacolod. It influenced social development, as well as the political rivalries and alliances in Negros Island, but most specially it drew into Bacolod a lot of population, not only from Negros but also from the entire Panay Island,” said local historian and journalist Modesto P. Sa-onoy, who specializes in the history of Negros Island.
The Upper East House is expected to be completed by fourth quarter of 2023.
Continuing its rise as the city’s first master-planned mixed-use community, The Upper East will soon have its own Megaworld Lifestyle Mall, commercial parks, hotel, church, and other institutional and recreational facilities. Just recently, the company announced that Landers Superstore will open its first superstore in Western Visayas inside the township next year./PN
