ALI allots P60 B for BGC development

MANILA, Philippines -  Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is shelling out over the next 25 years an additional P60 billion in fresh capital to create a premiere cultural district within the burgeoning Bonifacio Global City, pat- terned after cosmopolitan cities worldwide such as New York, Tokyo and Singapore.

In a briefing yesterday, Jen- nylle Tupaz, head for project de- velopment group at ALI unit Al- veo Land, said the programmed capital budget, which could still be adjusted, would go entirely to the 7.6-hectare High Street South, a pioneering master- planned urban address that will be home to a mix of residential condominiums, corporate head- quarters, hotels, parks, lifestyle and retail establishments.

Springing up three city blocks in the heart of BGC, South High Street will house 12 to 18 residential tow- ers with an estimated total gross floor area (GFA) of 735,000 square meters, according to Anton Sanchez, division manager for project devel- opment group at Alveo.

Tupaz said Alveo Land, the mid- dle-income residential property arm of the Ayala Group, would go full throttle in its expansion this year with the launch of at least 12 new projects, higher than the nine rolled out in 2011, as it aims to capitalize on a buoyant property market.

For its first salvo, Alveo began pre-selling High Street South’s first tower, The Maridien, which would make available a total of 508 units with a sales value of around P5.1 billion.

Sanchez said Alveo Land would spend P3.5 billion for the 33-story Maridien, which is slated to start construction in the first quarter this year with completion targeted in the first quarter of 2017.

He said The Maridien had strong sales during its priority selling event last November, selling 44 percent of the build- ing or 222 units valued at P2.15 billion.

Studio units with sizes ranging from 33 to 40 square meters will sell for P4.4 million to P5 million each while one-bedroom units (49 to 59 sqm) are priced at P5.9 million to P8.3 million.

Two bedroom units (80-112 sqm) will be sold at P10.3 million to P13.5 millionwhile three-bedroom units (113 sqm) will be sold at P15.2 million to P16.3 million.

On the other hand, urban villas (103- 224 sqm), will fetch at P12.4 million to P26.1 million while the penthouse villas (85-153 sqm) will sell for P10.5 million to P18.8 million.

Given The Maridien’s brisk sales, Tupaz said the group is now planning on its second tower which is slated to be launched in the second quarter of the year.

“There has been no let up in prop- erty sales,” said Tupaz pointing out the group’s aggressive stance.

Alveo accounts for 30 percent of the Ayala Group’s residential sales.

To make it a first-class world city, San- chez said High Street South would be a hotbed of different lifestyles incorporating all basic necessities and making it very “pedestrian-friendly.”