Industry observers attribute the phenomenal performance of Paseo de Magallanes to its proximity to the Makati Business district in addition to its small-community feel. In April 2001 at the height of political instability, the Ayala Land project moved 48 residentials lots within days. Despite pervading uncertainty that year, the rest of the 22 commercial lots were sold within the next few months.
According to Ayala Land project manager Bobby O. Dy, there is a strong pent-up demand for prime residential lots in Makati. The waiting list for more residential properties in the community is long and Paseo de Magallanes lots remain scarce in the secondary property market. Moreover, it is highly unlikely that similar developments will become available in the environs of the business district. "Ayala Land no longer has properties like this in its Makati land bank," he said.
A number of buyers of the first phase were residents of Magallanes Village who have grown with the community. "They appreciate that Paseo de Magallanes will also them or their children to live close to the business district but at the same time have the comforts of a home in the suburbs." This is according to Tristan dela Rosa, senior vice-president and concurrently heading the Sales and Marketing Services Group and the Land and Community Development Group.
In the new phase as in the initial one, residential lots will range from 359-436 sqm., a comfortable size which would allow a home with three to four bedrooms, a lanai or den for entertaining and even a small pool.
Moreover, the Paseo de Magallanes community benefits from new Ayala Land innovations. The utilities in the property will all be underground, which means less chances of service interruptions at the height of typhoons or as tall vehicles like moving vans and garbage trucks move through the streets. The community has also been planned by Ayala Land to retain its intimate scale. "We do not want to replicate in Magallanes any of our large-scale developments in the business district. We wanted Magallanes to remain a place where neighbors know each other," Dela Rosa says.
This early, Paseo de Magallanes already has a number of restaurants, a coffee bar, grocery and other convenience retail establishments to service the community. More stores and restaurants are expected in the low-rise buildings which will be constructed by individual owners in the commercial zone.
Paseo de Magallanes is adjacent to Magallanes Village, one of six Makati subdivisions developed by Ayala Land, Inc. in the last five decades.