Ayala luxury unit ventures into prime office market

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Land Premier (ALP) is making its foray into the prime office space market with the launch of its first corporate headquarters development, a P16.1-billion tower in Vertis North, Quezon City.

The project, One Vertis Plaza, is the company’s first prime office project for sale, officials said in a press briefing. It is scheduled for turnover by 2024.

Mike Jugo, managing director of Ayala Land Premier, said One Vertis Plaza is a premium grade office tower targeting business enterprises that require larger, high-quality offices for headquarters-type operations.

“We saw an opportunity to tap an unserved market that will understand and appreciate the benefits of a corporate address in a master planned estate like Vertis North,” Jugo said.

Furthermore, Jugo said that besides presenting an ideal home for the region’s well-established conglomerates, the strategic location is also set to attract growing companies from the areas north of Manila such as Malabon, Valenzuela, Bulacan and Pampanga.

With the corporate tower, Ayala Land Premier expands the company’s portfolio to prime office spaces for sale from high-end residences and subdivisions.

The AAA, premium grade LEED-certified building has already sold close to 70 percent of its available office spaces since the launch.

Hugo said the Vertis North central business district is an attractive location because of its proximity to key transportation infrastructure such as the MRT.

Compared to other CBDs like Makati, Ortigas and Bonifacio Global City, Quezon City offers lower lease and selling rates for offices.

Colliers International said Quezon City has been offering the bulk of fresh office supply in Metro Manila since the fourth quarter of last year.

Majority of these new workspaces were specifically designed for BPOs, which together with offshore gaming, are spurring office demand.

“One Vertis Plaza aims to fill the gap for companies looking to establish corporate headquarters with newer, larger and high-grade spaces,” Jugo said.

Units in One Vertis Plaza range in size from 101 square meters to 325 sqm, with only 10 units per floor.

The tower will offer a total of 60,784 sqm of office space for sale with 938 parking spaces from six basement floors. Unit prices are between P28 million and P114 million, an increase of over 20 percent from last year.