Posted on
December 25, 2012 09:32:10 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
PROPERTY
DEVELOPER Ayala Land, Inc. plans to unveil new features in the Bonifacio High
Street (BHS), Market! Market!, and Bonifacio Stopover areas in Taguig City
beginning next year in a bid to further boost the company’s offerings in the
emerging Bonifacio Global City (BGC) commercial and business district, company
officials said last week.
The firm, for
one, is set to open in 2013 the Northwest building at BHS Central, which is an
expansion of the existing BHS retail strip in BGC.
“This was
launched in mid-2012, and is slated for completion by next year,” Carol T.
Mills, Ayala Land senior division manager for Business Development and
Strategic Planning, Commercial Business Group, said in an e-mail last Friday
when asked on updates on the Northwest building, which according to BGC’s Web
site broke ground last June.
“This
(Northwest building) is part of the BHS Central development, and will consist
of 18,000 square meters (sq. m.) gross leasable area (GLA), and will be taken
up by foreign brands of [Tantoco-led] Store Specialists, Inc., while 3,000 sq.
m. of GLA on the fourth floor will be four high-end cinemas. The cinemas will
complement our retail offerings in BHS,” Ms. Mills added.
‘MORE HIGH
END THAN GREENBELT’
Asked to
describe the cinemas, Ms. Mills said in a text message last Friday that these
will be “more high-end than Greenbelt, with 200 to 300 seats per cinema. One of
[Ayala Land’s] more luxurious cinemas.”
Greenbelt is
Ayala Land’s premier shopping mall in Makati City.
Currently,
BHS Central -- which lies at the west end of BHS -- consists of a southeast
building with gallery-designed office and retail spaces, a southwest building
housing fashion boutiques, and a northeast building containing restaurants,
according to BGC’s Web site.
BHS Central
is an expansion of BHS -- a one-kilometer strip consisting of premium retail
and dining spaces -- that claims to be the first “Main Street” retail concept
in the country.
Ayala Land is
also poised to refurbish Market! Market!, the company’s “one-stop” shopping
mall in BGC featuring themed retail zones, a fruit and flower market, and a
so-called regional food and hawkers’ area, according to the Web site of Ayala
Malls, Ayala Land’s mall operating arm.
“For the
coming months, we shall continue with the enhancement of the Fiesta Market
which has been the signature offering of Market! Market!,” Joseph F. Reyes,
Ayala Land general manager for Market! Market! and BHS, said in a separate
e-mail, referring to Fiesta Market, an outdoor market area within the shopping
mall.
MAKE-OVER
Ayala Land is
also giving the Bonifacio Stopover area a make-over, adding retail spaces at
the commercial hub located along 32nd Avenue.
“Another
project in the pipeline is the redevelopment of Bonifacio Stopover (where Shell
gasoline station is located). This is scheduled to open in 2014, giving it a
GLA of 6,400 sq. m.,” Mr. Reyes said.
“Previously,
this commercial area used to house popular and affordable dining destinations
which served nearby offices and schools. Its redevelopment will allow us to
increase its (Bonifacio Stopover’s) offerings to better serve the expanding
market,” he added.
BHS, Market!
Market!, and Bonifacio Stopover are all located in BGC, the site of the former
Fort Bonifacio that used to be the second home of various armed forces branches
after Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City, according to BGC’s Web
site.
Roughly 240
hectares of the old Fort Bonifacio was handed to the Bases Conversion
Development Authority in the 1990s, paving the way for the area’s development
into a business, residential, and commercial hub.
Ayala Land
was formed in 1988 when parent conglomerate Ayala Corp. decided to spin off its
real estate division into an independent subsidiary to enhance management focus
on its real estate business. Ayala Land went public in 1991.
Ayala Land
shares shed 15 centavos or 0.56% to P26.80 apiece last Friday from P26.95 last
Thursday.
Philippine
financial markets were closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Christmas holiday.
-- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
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