Bay Area, QC, Alabang: BPOs to push demand for new business districts

MANILA, Philippines - An unprecedented demand for new business districts in Metro Manila is best indicated by sharply rising land prices outside of the established urban centers like Makati and Ortigas.

At the 204-hectare Aseana City near the Mall of Asia complex facing Manila Bay, for instance, values have risen from P60,000 per sqm  in 2010 to an average P130,000 per sqm today. “That is assuming there are sellers willing to let go of their properties in this bullish real estate market,” said Delfin  Wenceslao, Aseana Holdings Inc.’s managing director.

The most recent studies of rental rates in new business districts by global real estate services firm JLL, formerly known as Jones Lang LaSalle, indicate as much. In December 2012, for instance, office rentals in Quezon City ranged from P400-P600 per sqm. In December 2013, rates ranged from P550 to P650 or a 20 percent increase over 12 months.

Wenceslao observed that expanding business processing outsourcing companies (BPOs) as well as firms benefitting from the growth of the Philippine economy are driving values in Metro Manila – in both the established and emerging business districts. He said because prices have sharply risen in Ortigas, Makati and Bonifacio Global City, “you can expect new subcenters like Aseana City in the Manila Bay area to rise.” Thus far, there are 23 new ones outside of the big three.

JLL data further showed that the new business districts will continue to grow for the next two years.  Aseana City and surrounding developments in the Bay Area are projected to host an additional 99,000 sqm of office space by the end of 2015. Quezon City’s office supply pipeline is set to grow by 147,000 sqm over the same period while Alabang’s will expand by 146,000 sqm.

Wenceslao noted that  Aseana Holding’s first office tower Aseana One was quickly taken up when it was launched in 2011. Soon after, the company launched Aseana Two with a gross floor area of 15,000 sqm and is due for completion by yearend. “This early, Aseana Two is already 60 percent leased out, even though we are still under construction,” he said.

New business districts benefitting from the expansion of BPOs are mostly those strategically located near well- populated residential areas and are easily accessible to transportation lines. Aseana City’s key attraction is its proximity to Cavite’s labor force of 1.1 million in addition to those in Paranaque and Las Pinas.

Aseana City’s location will further be enhanced with the completion of a number of priority infrastructure projects. To be completed in 2017 is the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) which will connect the two provinces and will begin at the South Luzon Expressway and end at the Manila-Cavite Expressway in Kawit. It will include an exit ramp at Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, which traverses Aseana City. To be completed in 2019 is the LRT Line 1 project which will extend the line from Baclaran all the way to Bacoor, Cavite. 

Aseana City’s growth has further been boosted by a number of hotels that have been attracted to its proximity to Manila Bay. The opening of Solaire Resort and Casino with 500 rooms in 2013 will soon be followed by the opening within the year of the City of Dreams with 920 hotel rooms. Still another hotel project scheduled for completion in 2015 will bring up the total number of new hotel rooms in the area to 3,500.

Aside from all the new developments set to rise in Aseana City, locators are further attracted by the flood-free environs of Aseana City. It was reclaimed over a 10-year period by D.M. Wenceslao & Associates Inc. headed by Wenceslao’s father, Delfin Jr.  The company’s other landmark projects include an 18-hectare reclamation project in Cavite City, Marala (Tondo) Bridge and a 10-kilometer portion of  Tarlac, Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) including Gerona-Interchange and Toll Plaza.