THE big win of former Councilor Jose Benjamin Benaldo in the first legislative district of Cagayan de Oro City will undoubtedly mark a new era in the real estate boom of the city.

First, the very first bill that Benaldo will file into law once assuming his post as congressman come July 1 will be to convert the old Lumbia airport into an economic zone. It was learned that the airport will be rendered irrelevant by 2012 when the more state-of-the-art and safer Laguindingan international airport starts operating. Laguindingan international airport is easily navigable by pilots through even using the naked eye because and despite a thick overcast because the airport runway is the only prominent paved structure which stands out in itself and is clearly visible miles away. It is also close to the seaboard that pilots do not have to worry accidentally colliding their planes in the mountainsides.

The values of properties around Laguindingan international airport continues to rise and even multinational developers are quite interested to put up various businesses in the area – from hotels to shopping malls to residential estates. Factories are also expected to sprout the area as well as world-class resorts.

CAGAYAN de Oro will soon be bustling with more exciting activities with the entry of an Ayala mall here. The mall will be constructed along CM Recto and Corrales avenues in what used to be Cebu Southern Motors Corporation. The site itself is eight hectares wide. This property is owned by the Floirendos.

This development really poses a serious threat to the Gaisanos, with Gaisano City Mall located only a stone’s throw away. As everybody knows, the Gaisanos along with local Chinese entrepreneurs here, have strongly opposed to SM putting up a mall in the said property because of this obvious threat.

But the Ayala Group wasn’t to be intimidated and pushed for its plan to put up the mall. They enlisted Creba (who enjoys support from realty bigwig Sen. Manuel Villar) to lobby for an Ayala mall entry here exactly in front of Gaisano City Mall.

The mall is expected to cost P4.5 billion which means it will cost more than the currently-constructed AyalaDavao’s P3 billion worth of mall. See, the Ayalas were really challenged with the situation in Cagayan de Oro City because they felt that the local Chinese businessmen here such as the Gaisanos have monopolized this kind of business for a long time and even succeeded in stopping SM from putting up their own business in downtown Cagayan de Oro.

CAGAYAN de Oro can proudly claim that there is a growing number of expats here in Cagayan de Oro. The bulk of the expats here are South Koreans and Westerners. Of course, they like to be here in the city because the cost of living here is relatively inexpensive over other countries.

And there are lots of homes that expats can choose. Actually, there are two kinds of expats who are living in Cagayan de Oro City. Some still go back to their home countries but come back here either during the Christmas season where it is not too cold or during summer to get that real tropical feeling.

They all agree on one thing – that people here are very spiritual. They hate the fast-pace demeanor of life in urban United States. In here, people are wealthy and happy at the same time. Everywhere you go, people are really hospitable and friendly. After all, that’s one characteristic Cagayan de Oro is well-known for it is called the City of Golden Friendship.

Beauties here are the exotic kind too – not as fair-complexioned as the Caucasians just the right kind of tan. Try to visit Cagayan de Oro sometime.