Posted on November 19, 2012 10:28:02
PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
GOKONGWEI-LED property developer
Robinsons Land Corp. has moved to broaden its mixed-use development portfolio,
launching yesterday The Sapphire Bloc, an upscale project that was described as
the company’s biggest development in Ortigas Center yet.
Robinsons Land yesterday unveiled The Sapphire
Bloc in a press briefing at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, a four-tower complex
that will rise on an 8,400-square-meter property bounded by Sapphire and Garnet
Roads in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.
“This is our biggest project to date
in Ortigas,” May L. Precilla, Robinsons Land vice-president for sales and
marketing, said during the briefing.
Ms. Precilla noted in an interview
after the briefing that Robinsons Land’s biggest development in the area had
been the 5,000-square-meter Robinsons Galleria complex at the corner of EDSA
and Ortigas Avenue.
LIFESTYLE BLOC
Robinsons Land said that as a
so-called lifestyle bloc, the 38-storey The Sapphire Bloc will be a “centrally
located, integrated development close to office and commercial institutions, a
showcase of unique dining and retail conveniences, and complemented by a
residential enclave.”
The Sapphire Bloc will offer 30- to
37-square-meter, one-bedroom units at P3 million-P4.16 million each; 45.50- to
60-square-meter, two-bedroom units at P5 million-P6.74 million each; and
97-square-meter, three-bedroom units at P10.59 million-P10.77 million each, a
statement yesterday read.
“The first building is expected to
bring P1.6 billion in sales, with turnover in 2016,” Mybelle V. Aragon-Gobio,
Robinsons Land vice-president for business development and financing, said at
same the briefing.
“[W]e have yet to estimate (sales
from) the three other buildings, but the other buildings will be taller and
have more units, so they will fetch higher sales.”
Ms. Gobio declined to cite investment
cost.
Robinsons Land has also allotted a
2,000-square-meter area at The Sapphire Bloc’s ground level for retail tenants.
UPBEAT
The Sapphire Bloc will absorb
Robinsons Land’s Sapphire Residences --- currently under construction -- after
the company bought additional properties toward Onyx Road which crosses
Sapphire and Garnet Roads from Meralco Avenue.
“We were fortunate to be able to
acquire the properties beside that (Sapphire Residences). We expanded that lot
and we now have this development,” explained Trina B. Cipriano, Robinsons Land
assistant vice-president for leisure and retirement.
Robinsons Land had said last April
that it was confident it can sustain growth of its business in Ortigas Center,
where bulk of office properties were developed by the company.
One of the company officials
reiterated this view during the briefing yesterday.
“We continue to be very bullish about
Ortigas. We started here, we’ve grown here, and we know the market quite well.
We are confident our projects will continue to sell,” Ms. Cipriano said.
FUNDING
Robinsons Land, incorporated in 1980,
is the property arm of listed conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, Inc.
The property developer has built 32
malls, 33 residential projects, eight office buildings, and nine hotels to
date.
For the 2012 fiscal year, the
Gokongwei-led company has allotted P13 billion for capital expenditures -- just
a little over the P13.9 billion the previous year -- which will be sourced from
cash operations and debt, Frederick D. Go, Robinsons Land president, had said
last April.
More than 60% of the funding will go
to malls, office buildings, and hotels, while the remainder will be earmarked
for residential condominiums and housing units, he explained.
Robinsons Land shares gained 40
centavos or 2.14% to P19.10 apiece yesterday from P18.70 last Friday. -- Franz
Jonathan G. de la Fuente
__________________________________________________________
