RLC rolls out new projects, eyes 16 new malls in 5 years

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) remains confident about the long-term prospects of the real estate industry as it rolls out a full slate of new projects — 16 shopping malls to be developed over a five-year period, four residential condominiums, six housing subdivisions and two office buildings this year.

At the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders meeting, RLC president and chief operating officer Frederick Go said the company is budgeting P12 billion for the construction of the 16 new shopping centers, four of which will be built this year. 

RLC just completed and opened The Midtown, an expansion of Robinsons Place Manila, as well as Robinsons Place Otis beside the Otis 888 residential subdivision in Manila.  To follow suit are malls in Cabanatuan, Tagaytay and Pulilan in Bulacan.

Go said the company has already identified the sites for its planned new malls which include Dumaguete, Davao and Cebu, slated for construction next year.

He said four of the planned 16 malls will have a BPO (business process outsourcing) component to take advantage of the continued strong demand for office space from call center firms.

For this year, RLC is budgeting P10 billion for its capital expenditure program to sustain its growth momentum.

Go said the company has a pipeline of 29 residential condominiums for construction, with an aim to launch at least three projects per year and tap new overseas markets which include Europe and the Middle East.

To drive the future growth of its residential condominiums division, RLC acquired several prime properties  including two hectares in Fort Bonifacio and one hectare in the Ortigas central business district. 

As for its housing and land division, RLC currently has 27 ongoing projects and intends to launch at least three new and expansion projects per year to capitalize on the huge housing backlog and continuing growth in the number of households.  These projects include Monte Del Sol, Costa Verde, Forest Parkhomes North, Hanalei Heights, Wellington Courtyard, Brighton Parkplace, Blue Coast Residences, Brighton Parkplace North and Montclair Highlands. 

Go said the company will complete the construction of Robinsons Cybergate Tower 3 and will commence construction of Robinsons Cybergate Plaza.  Both buildings will provide an additional 90,000 square meter of office space to its portfolio.  

He said RLC remains the landlord of choice for top BPOs in the country, having leased out over 190,000-sqm of space to BPO firms as of end-December last year. 

The company is also set to build another 40,000 sqm office building in Ortigas Center which is currently masterplanned as a mixed-use complex. 

Aside from this, RLC will build a 100-120 room hotel in a six hectare property in Tagaytay to be named Summit Ridge.

To fuel continued growth, the company continues to be on the lookout for prime properties for future development.

RLC earlier acquired five hectares of land with a 170-meter beachfront in Mactan, Cebu which will be converted into a landmark five-star condo-resort.

To expand its reach, RLC has signed joint venture agreements with several landowners for the development of properties totalling 37.8 hectares.  These properties are located in Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Bantay, Ilocos Sur.