Zuellig builds P7-billion office high-rise in Makati

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo joined recently the groundbreaking ceremony for the Zuellig Building, the largest investment in a high-rise office building Makati has seen so far this year. The building will offer 33 floors (66,000 sq. m) of prime grade office space to tenants who look for the highest standards of quality and sustainability.

The building aims to be the first “green” office building in the Philippines with a LEED Gold certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a rating system for green buildings established by the US Green Building Council to guide developers, architects, engineers and the construction industry towards sustainable design.

Despite the challenging global economic environment, Zuellig reaffirms with this investment its confidence in the resilience of the Philippine economy and in the status of Makati as the country’s premier business center.

CB Richard Ellis, the exclusive leasing agent for the Zuellig Building, projects that office vacancy rates will increase as off-shoring and outsourcing tenants move into low-cost buildings, but expects demand for prime office space and rental rates to rebound to early 2008 levels by the building’s completion date in 2012.

The Zuellig family has been in business in the Philippines since the early 1900s. Zuellig Pharma is a major distributor of pharmaceuticals in the Philippines and other Asian countries.

On May 4, a testimonial reception was held in honor of the patriarch, Dr. Stephen Zuellig, on the occasion of his 92nd birthday. In addition to announcing the groundbreaking of the Zuellig Building, Dr. Zuellig highlighted the role of the Zuellig Family Foundation and Interphil, the Zuellig Group’s manufacturing arm, in making basic medicines available to the poor at affordable prices.