Sambil is coming to Santiago, but no one really knows where exactly is going to be located, rumors say that it could be in the old cigar factory of Leon Jimenez on 27 de Febrero, though like I said these are only rumors. There is a big solar close to Villa Maria owned by the same people who run the Encanto, and they might built a Mall or something similar in the future, but I doubt it will really affect the tranquility in Villa Maria, the solar in the Duarte highway is to far from Villa Maria but not too close either, so it might be beneficial for you Sayonara, or anyone who buys there. Anyways, that eastern part of Santiago, Villa Maria, Quintas de Pontezuela etc are the places to invest, just think about it, all the mega projects of the city are being built there, just to give you guys an example HOMS, Gran hotel Cibao, etc have already been built there, so a few more years and a few more projects like these two, and the price of property there is going to skyrocket. If I had enough money to invest, I would definitely buy land there, but as of now I can barely I afford to buy an apartment in Gurabo.
To comment on the topic of the thread, almost anything in the nor eastern part of Santiago is a good place to live and invest. Santiago is an extremely segregated or divided city when it comes to neighborhoods, nearly all the middle to high class neighborhoods in the city are in the northeastern part of Santiago, while all the barrios are in the northwestern and south part of the city. Not to say that there isn't some Barrios in the "good" side of Santiago, but they're few and the ones that exist like hoya del caimito are far from bwing slums or what people imagine as bad barrios, that's one of the things I love about Santiago, you'll rarely find a guetto or slum right next to sector like Villa Olga, or El dorado, or los Jardines etc..