By MST Business | Jul. 02, 2014 at
12:01am [ manilastandardtoday.com ]
BoUtique developer ArthaLand Corp. is
breaking ground this month for its latest project, an office building that is
being promoted to host the regional headquarters of the world’s largest
multinational companies.
“This iconic building will be a
premium-grade building intended to attract the most prestigious companies,”
ArthaLand president Angela de Villa Lacson said in a recent report to the
company’s shareholders.
ArthaLand Tower will rise on a
2,233-square meter lot bound by three major roads at Bonifacio Global City—5th
Avenue, 30th Street and 4th Avenue. It will sit right across the proposed
Shangri-La Hotel.
The P3.5-billion, 30-story building is
designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (New York), architects of the One
World Trade Center in New York, also known as the “Freedom Tower.” The project
is designed in collaboration with top Filipino architectural firm GF &
Partners Architects Company.
It will have 21 office floors, 14
elevators, and 28,000 square meters of leasable space, the company said.
Among ArthaLand Tower’s special
amenities for tenants will be a roof-deck for events, a private terrace on the
27th floor, and a “cafetorium” for employes. There will also be high-end retail
outlets.
Lacson said ArthaLand decided to
develop an office building as a response to the “very strong” demand for office
space at BGC.
“Spaces are leased out one year before
completion, sometimes even earlier. Most of the buildings going up now in BGC
are pre-committed,” she said.
She said multinational companies were
drawn to BGC’s low occupancy costs.
Average rental rates at BGC now stands
at P800 per sq. m., while five “premium-rated” buildings in Makati charge about
P1,100 per sq. m.
“The rental values are likely to
continue rising for different types of requirements from large anchor tenants
to smaller lettings,” said Lacson.
She said with high demand and limited
supply, “new space has been absorbed rather quickly, suggesting chronic demand
for office space.”
Vacancy rates in BGC are at a low 2.9
percent, she added.
Lacson also said ArthaLand’s revenues
last year grew 60 percent to P2.33 billion from the previous year on high sales
take-up and on-schedule development of Arya Residences.
Net income increased 6.4 percent to
P283 million.
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