Megaworld, Araneta Group to put up P15-B residential condo project in Cubao, QC

Upscale property developer Megaworld Corp. has signed an agreement with the Araneta Group of Companies to put up a P15-billion residential development project to be integrated with the two existing mass transit systems at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

Under the agreement, Megaworld will design, plan and construct 17 residential towers made up of 6,000 condominium units on a five-hectare property at the Araneta Center.

The project, touted as "the first of its kind in Philippine real estate," will likewise be the first in the country to be connected to the MRT-3 and LRT-2 mass transit systems linking up the 35-hectare Araneta Center. The two lines transport an average 1.2 million passengers daily.

"This is the first time that a residential project will offer fast and safe access to more places in Metro Manila than ever before through its strategic location and orientation to two mass transit systems," said Megaworld spokesperson Francis Canuto.

The LRT-2 services 11 stations along a 14-kilometer stretch from Santolan in Pasig to Recto Avenue in Manila. The MRT-3 or Metrostar, on the other hand, runs from North Avenue to Taft Avenue along Edsa.

"All key points from north to south and east to west of Metro Manila along the service routes of the MRT-3 and LRT-2 lines will be just a few minutes away from the project," Canuto said.

Canuto said the Megaworld-Araneta joint venture will transform Araneta Center into a "scenic garden city." A focal point of the project is a three-story-high garden walkway – a first in the Philippines – that will interconnect all 17 buildings of the project to bring residents within walking distance to the LRT-2 and MRT-3.

Araneta Center, built by the Araneta family as the country’s first leisure and lifestyle complex in the 1960s, is undergoing a facelift to attract more shoppers within the area.

New residential and office buildings will be built around the P2.5-billion Gateway Mall, a modernized shopping and entertainment hub beside the Araneta Coliseum.

The Gateway Mall was completed late last year by the Araneta Group of Companies, which is focused on property development as well as food and beverage and leisure and entertainment.

Megaworld, on the other hand, focuses on the middle to high-end residential and office markets. It also has 43 percent-owned subsidiary Empire East catering to the lower to middle income-market segments.

Megaworld has a landbank of one million square meters, which could use up to 10 years of development excluding potential joint ventures.

Megaworld officials earlier said they expect net profit to grow by more than 20 percent this year, mainly coming from the rentals of office space by outsourcing companies and higher sales from middle-income projects.

Revenues are likewise seen to increase by more than 30 percent this year due to escalating rentals in the office sector.

Megaworld owns Eastwood City, a 16-hectare commercial and business enclave that houses a cyberpark where many call centers and information technology firms are located.

The company has set aside P25 billion over 10 years starting this year, on four major property developments, including the 50-hectare Mckinley Hill project in Fort Bonifacio and Newport City, a 25-hectare logistics center at the Villamor Airbase.

Another project of the company is the P15- billion Forbes Town Center, a joint development with the Bonifacio West Development Corp.

Other projects slated for completion from this year up to 2008 are The Eastwood Excelsior, One Orchard Road, The Grand Eastwood Palazzo and the Eastwood Parkview.

Apart from property development, Megaworld is also into hotel operations through Prestige Hotels & Resorts Inc., a subsidiary which operates the Richmonde Hotel in the Ortigas Center.