By Zinnia B.
Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 2, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines - Leading real estate firms Ayala Land Inc. and Robinsons Land
Corp. are among the six groups that have set their sights on the Social
Security System’s prime property in the bustling Bonifacio Global City in
Taguig.
Informed
sources said that aside from ALI and RLC, real estate services firm Jones Lang,
Santiago and Santiago law office, Keyland Corp. and Clark Quay Holdings Inc.
also signified their interest to bid for the 8,300-square meter property put on
the auction block by the state pension fund.
The lot,
known as Block 56, has a floor price of at least P269,894 per square meter or a
total of P2.24 billion. It is located along Mckinley Parkway and between the
10th and 11th Avenues and near Market! Market!, Bonifacio High Street, and the
newly-opened SM Aura.
The property,
which is ideal for a mixed-use development, was acquired by SSS via a dacion en
pago agreement with Bonifacio Land Corp. in exchange for payment of the
latter’s P1.5 billion debt to the state pension fund.
RLC president
Frederick D. Go said while the company purchased bid documents for the SSS
property, it has yet to decide on whether to proceed with a bid or not.
Submission of
bids is slated on Sept. 4. The SSS will announce the winning bid on Oct. 2.
While it owns
the biggest landholdings in BGC, Ayala Land remains on the lookout for
properties in the rapidly-growing area to take advantage of the strong demand
for residential, retail, and office space.
Keyland, a
relatively small property developer, is headed by Cesar Zalamea, former
president of AIG Global Investment Group and PhilamLife. Rex Drilon, former
chief operating officer of Ortigas & Co. Land is listed as one of Keyland’s
directors.
Land values
in BGC rose 28.1 percent last year to a peak of P237,000 per square meter are
forecast to increase further to P250,000 by the end of the year as major
corporations set up business in the area.
In a briefing
last month, SSS said it was selling the property to maximize the full value of
its real estate assets especially at a time when land prices are still on an
upward trend.
SSS has P20
billion worth of real estate assets which include a four-hectare property
located on East Avenue along EDSA, prime pieces of land in BGC, and a big lot
near the Senate area.
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