By Neil
Jerome C. Morales (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 8, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines - Ongpin-led property developer Alphaland Corp. is venturing into
the premium office segment with the opening of its 34-story Alphaland Tower
along Ayala Ave, estimated to generate sales proceeds worth P8 billion, a top
company official said.
“The newest
premium grade office building in the Makati central business district is also
the only pre-certified Grade-A tower of its kind, it’s either for sale or
lease. At the minimum, we’re selling or leasing one floor at a time,” said
Alphaland president Mario Oreta.
He said ideal
tenants for the premium office space are multinational and law firms as
business process outsourcing (BPO) firms
are more price-sensitive.
Alphaland
Tower, which has a gross floor area of 48,000 square meters, is divided into
three zones: the 14-story low zone, the 13-storey high zone and the three-story
penthouse. It also has a five-level basement parking.
Alphaland is
already in talks with several firms, some of which are looking to buy five
floors at P200,000 to P250,000 per square meter, Oreta said.
Designed by
Hong Kong-based architects Wong & Ouyang, the Alphaland Tower has earned a
pre-certified gold rating from the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
“Its
environmentally-friendly solutions aim to cut down on utility costs while
increasing employee productivity,” Alphaland said.
Alphaland is
a joint venture between London-based private equity fund Ashmore Group and RVO
Capital Ventures of former Trade Minister Roberto V. Ongpin.
The company
was incorporated in May 2007, with the Alphaland Southgate Tower and Mall at
the corner of EDSA and Chino Roces Ave. in Makati City as its first completed
project.
The lifestyle
developer will jack up its capital spending this year to roughly P5 billion
from P4.4 billion a year ago as it completes its existing projects.
Alphaland is
completing the three-tower, P9-billion Alphaland Makati Place this year. The
upscale property developer is also completing and expanding this year its
Balesin Island Club in Quezon province.
In February,
the Philippine Stock Exchange lifted the trading suspension for the shares of
Alphaland, which finalized several transactions increasing its public float to
10.53 percent from 8.03 percent.
Alphaland is
also building the Alphaland Marina Club, which forms part of the 32-hectare Bay
City development that will be a mixed-use community.
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