By Ted P. Torres (The Philippine Star)
| Updated January 12, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Township
development has become the biggest generator of growth for the major private
real estate developers in the country today.
This type of property development
features not just office towers. It brings together in the location residential
condominiums, lifestyle malls, retail
and commercial strips, open parks and even a transport hub.
Most of the big players have outgrown
their original shells – stand-alone towers, one-off projects – and
explored various sectors, creating new communities, Pinnacle Real Estate
Consulting Services Inc. said in a report.
The report cited Megaworld which is developing Bayshore City in Pasay
City, Uptown Bonifacio and McKinley West in the Bonifacio Global City (BGC)
area, Woodsite City in Pasig City; Alabang West in Muntinlupa City, Mactan
Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu; Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo City; and Davao
Park District in Davao City.
Under the banner of Suntrust Ecotown,
the group is also developing Southwoods City in the boundaries of Cavite and
Laguna; Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island; and Twin Lakes in Tagaytay City.
Megaworld envisions Woodside City as
an “environment-friendly” mixed-use development. A main “green” feature of the
township is the approximately 1,000 trees that will be planted around the
development. This greening feature will help provide an outdoor thermal comfort
for the future residents, workers, tenants and visitors of the township.
The company is also constructing
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-registered office
buildings in the township.
Among the first to rise are three
sustainable office towers. The first two towers, which will be located along the
C-5 entrance of the township, will be designed by Skidmore, Owings, and
Merrill.
Aside from office towers, the township
will also feature residential condominiums, a lifestyle mall, retail and
commercial strips, open parks and a transport hub.
For its part, the Ayala Land Group is
offering City Gate in Makati City, Arca South in Taguig City, Vertis North in
Quezon City, and Capitol Central in Bacolod City. The Ortigas & Company is
developing Capitol Commons in Pasig City, the report continued.
The SM group unveiled its plan to
merge the reclamation projects of Pasay and Paranaque cities into one major
investment totaling P100 billion.
Robinsons Land is also ramping up its
P30-billion mixed-use complex in Quezon City and is building the Tera Tower in
it to cater to the business process outsourcing (BPOs) sector.
Vista Land to a certain extent is
developing commercial malls and launching
its office tower in BGC.
The Pinnacle report said that building
townships as compared to one-off projects generates the opportunity of offering
various sectors and segments in the real estate market.
“More importantly, the top developers
can showcase their ability to create synergies across sectors and build
communities in new locations,” it said.
Ultimately, all of the top developers
would pursue growth whether by levera-ging the economies of scale in a township
project or through focused sectoral targets to take advantage of selected
demand drivers to create value for their shareholders.
This private sector-driven growth
would in turn provide quality developments at competitive prices and rents to
the public in general, the report said.
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