By Jenniffer B. Austria
| Sep. 29, 2015 at 11:50pm [ manilastandardtoday.com
]
Ayala Land Inc. said it will spend P6
billion to acquire and develop the former Jaka Tower along Ayala Avenue into a
49-story premium office tower to be called Alveo Financial Tower.
Alveo Land head of project development
group Jennylle Tupaz said in a press briefing Tuesday the company started
pre-selling the office units in Alveo Financial Tower at an average price of
P240,000 per square meter to generate a total of P11 billion in sales.
The company has sold over 60 percent
of the total units so far, generating P5.6 billion in sales take-up.
Tupaz said 80 percent of the office
unit buyers were local investors, while 20 percent were taken up by foreign
investors.
“Including the acquisition cost, we
will spend a total of P6 billion for the project,” Tupaz.
Alveo Financial Tower is envisioned to
be a signature office building in the heart of Ayala Avenue.
“With its much-coveted location on
Ayala Avenue, Alveo Financial Tower has become a rare investment opportunity
for high-powered businesses and organizations wanting to be part of the
country’s premier financial center,” said Tupaz,
At P240,000 per sq. m., Alveo
Financial Tower will be the most expensive office development along the Makati
Central Business District. One office unit with an average size of 116 square
meters will cost P27.8 million. The tower is slated for turnover in 2020.
Alveo Financial Tower sits on a prime
2,400-square-meter plot of land along Ayala Avenue. It will offer a total of
363 office units and a variety of
amenities and facilities that enhance corporate activity.
Ayala Land purchased the Jaka Tower in
2014.
Jaka Tower was originally designed to
be a 49-story office skyscraper by the architectural firm of Hellmuth, Obata
and Kassabaum. It was supposed to be the first high-rise project of the then
fledging Jaka Property Group of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.
Construction started in 1996 and was
scheduled for completion by 1999. However, the project was halted when
construction reached the 21st floor amid the 1997 Asian financial crisis that
affected many other property developers.
Tupaz said Alveo Financial Tower would
form a major component of City Gate, Ayala Land’s P20-billion masterplanned
mixed-use development strategically located at the rejuvenated northern tip of
Ayala Avenue.
City Gate will have a 2.2-hectare core
area containing 81,000 square meters of gross leasable office space and 14,000
square meters of premium retail space, as well as featuring upscale residential
developments, green open spaces and a 312-suite hotel.
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