Township development seen as growth generator for property firms

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.