Major real estate developers trooping to Aseana City

MANILA, Philippines - With the completion within the next 36 months or so of three mammoth entertainment complexes within the vicinity of Aseana City, the country’s major developers are negotiating to acquire properties in the 204-hectare district along Manila Bay projected to be the country’s tourism capital.

Still the biggest landowner in the area, Aseana Holdings of the DM Wenceslao Group, has received inquiries or are in discussions with a number of listed developers who recognize the opportunities presented by the rapidly growing district, according to managing director Buds C. Wenceslao. “We have received many proposals from real estate players. They know the role tourism will continue to play in our country into the next decade and are taking positions in Aseana City which has been a magnet for large-scale tourism investments,” he said.

Currently, five major hotels have opened in Aseana City in the past 24 months. These include Hyatt City of Dreams, Nobu, and Crown Towers-- all within the City of Dreams Manila complex;  Solaire Resort and Casino, which opened an initial 500 rooms in its first phase; and Tune hotel.  Recently, Ayala Land Inc. also announced its intention to open a hotel within a nine-hectare property anchored by a mall and an office tower. Set to open in 2017, the Ayala Land development will be along Asean Avenue, masterplanned to be “our own Vegas strip,” said Wenceslao.

Wenceslao noted the spectrum of new restaurants ranging from haute cuisine all the way to casual and quick-serve meals at City of Dreams and Solaire are already drawing more visitors to the area. Two other new must-visit places for Metro Manilans in the new Aseana City mega-complexes are DreamPlay, a 2,400- sqm. entertainment center with live and digital play spaces by Hollywood studio DreamWorks Animation and the state-of-the-art Theater at Solaire with 1,760 seats. “And more is yet to come within the vicinity, including well-known global nightclub brands and new complexes like Tiger Resorts and Megaworld’s 31 hectare Resort World Bayshore reportedly set to open in 2016 and 2018, respectively,” he said.

“In around 10 years, Aseana City is likely to be as lively as Bonifacio Global City is today,” said Wenceslao. Meanwhile, Aseana Holdings will be constructing more projects with the goal of making the new city a self-contained community that would complement the offerings of Pagcor’s Entertainment City and the adjacent Mall of Asia district.

The firm is set to break ground on a third office building catering to BPO’s named Aseana 3 before the end of the year. It also intends to launch by mid-2016 the 15-story Pixel Residences, which will cater to the key executives and top managers of the tourism and entertainment companies in the area, and a two-story retail facility in 2016.

In addition to the hotel projects, Aseana City has also designated residential areas, offices within commercial zones and parks. In line with being a complete mixed-use community, it  already hosts two international schools including the Singapore School Manila, offices including the Department of Foreign Affairs consular office, several residential condominium developments and commercial areas.

Aseana City’s growth will further be primed by the completion in 2017 of the NAIA Expressway which will connect the three international airports to Diosdado Macapagal Blvd., which is one of Aseana City’s main thoroughfares,  and the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 from Baclaran to Bacoor, Cavite in 2019.