ALI to relaunch JAKA Tower redev’t

MANILA, Philippines - Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is planning to launch within the year its planned redevelopment of an uncompleted tower formerly owned by the family of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile.

Once launched this year, the JAKA Tower would be fully completed after three or four years, ALI chief finance officer Jimmy Ysmael said.

ALI in September last year completed the acquisition of the property from the Enrile family.

“That’s been acquired, we’re already planning for its launch as an office tower for sale and that will provide us additional income sources on the office sector,” Ysmael said.

“There will be some adjustments in the plan, it is still very structurally sound but we probably not build to the height it was originally intended,” he added.

JAKA Tower, located along Ayala Avenue, was originally planned to have 49 floors when construction commenced in 1996. It has been eyed for completion by 1999 but construction was never completed.

Ysmael said ALI initially intends to sell and not lease the office units of the tower.

He said it would provide ALI more than 30,000 square meters of saleable office space upon its completion.

“We can still recover enough GFA (gross floor area) to make it viable in terms of a development standpoint. It will also effectively complete and make Ayala Aven much more attractive as it will benefit the other developments in the area,” Ysmael said.