AMA Group makes big push into real estate with P60-B investment

MANILA, Philippines - Amb. Amable R. Aguiluz, acknowledged as the pioneer of IT education in the country, is making a big push into real estate with a planned investment of P60 billion in residential condominiums, five-star hotels, offices, retail establishments and master-planned communities over a 10-year period.

Picar Development Inc., which forms part of Aguiluz’s AMA Group of Companies, is embarking on 10 to 15 projects across the country in line with its goal to become a major player in the booming property sector.

In a press briefing yesterday, Picar general manager Danilo B. Jugno said the company is aggressively building up its investment portfolio, which is expected to translate to 630,000 square meters of prime residential and commercial lots in Makati, Alabang and Gen. Trias, Cavite, among others.

Jugno said around P11 billion of the P60 billion capex will go to the group’s flagship development, Picar Place, a mixed-use complex along Kalayaan Ave. in Makati City.

Nestled on a 1.5-hectare lot, Picar Place will give rise to the tallest skyscraper in Makati dubbed Stratford Residences and the first five-star, Swiss-run International hotel in Metro Manila (Movenpick). Both projects are slated for completion in 2016.

The 74-story Stratford Residences will comprise three towers housing a total of 1,124 units priced at P3.2 million to P20 million each.

The Movenpick Hotel, on the other hand, will feature 324 hotel rooms and 280 residential apartments all generously sized with European designs.

The company has already completed the construction of Buddha Bar within Picar Place at a cost of P500 million. It is the first Buddha Bar in Asia and the 27th of the world’s high-end bar and fine dining restaurant chain.

In Alabang, Picar is developing Chelsea, a 32-story mid-range residential and commercial condominium. Estimated to cost around P1.7 billion, the project will offer 696 units.

Also in the pipeline are a traveller’s hotel in a 3.5-hectare property in Caticlan and an IT building in Cebu.

Future projects also being planned in Calamba, Quezon City and Davao.

The group has already established a solid footprint in the southern part of the metro with Ara Vista Village, a 50-hectare residential/commercial development in Gen. Trias, Cavite. When completed, the project will be the country’s first WiFi-enabled township.