Affordable rates draw in expanding businesses to Alabang business district

MANILA, Philippines - As office space options in established Metro Manila business districts thin out due to strong demand over the past five years, more companies are now searching for locations with more affordable rates like Filinvest City in the southern metropolis.

Don Ubaldo, business development head for Filinvest City, said a number of new office developments are among the 14 projects currently under construction in this integrated mixed-use community.

He said office occupiers like professionals, entrepreneurs in finance and trading are creating demand for premium Grade A office towers – in addition to the usual BPOs that have been driving demand for the past decade. Thus, the 32-story Parkway Corporate Center at the main gateway of Filinvest City was launched in 2015. It is a purely office condominium investment for end-user enterprises and has been warmly received by the market.

The office project was established as an early opportunity for investors to benefit from the growth of Filinvest City where land prices have consistently increased since 2010. According to studies, the demand for new office spaces across congested Metro Manila is projected to remain consistently strong until 2020. This means that values in the south – where there is still room for expansion and rates remain affordable -- are bound to increase further.

Much of Filinvest City’s growth in the office and other segments is the result of its distinctive status as a convergence hub, points out Ubaldo. It has five major access points from Metro Manila and the rest of Calabarzon where major industrial centers are located. These include the South Luzon Expressway, the Skyway, Alabang-Zapote Road and Daang Hari.

“It is a melting pot for professionals, entrepreneurs and workers coming from the residential communities of Southern Metro Manila and Calabarzon,” said Ubaldo.

Those professionals and executives with their own businesses are creating demand for Parkway Corporate Center that offers units averaging 36 sqm. within a rapidly expanding self-contained community with residential, commercial and entertainment amenities.

Filinvest City’s stock of office spaces had been quickly taken up in the last two years by growing enterprises headed by executives committed to residing in the South. Seeing the sustained demand for even larger and more premium work spaces, Parkway Corporate Center was designed as an iconic building with state-of-the-art facilities.

It will represent the next generation of office buildings in the South with 100 percent genset power, a fiber optic backbone and a top-end security system with RFID access. Most small office buildings in the South were constructed over 10 years ago and have yet to upgrade both building management and security systems.

Parkway Corporate Center will have entrances at the major thoroughfares of Corporate and Parkway avenues and quick access to a ground floor retail plaza catering to the needs of occupiers. It will also be just a short stroll away from the myriad dining and retail choices of Festival Supermall’s new phases.

Focused on laying the foundations for a vibrant business district well into the future, Filinvest set up Parkway Corporate Center to attract the professionals, traders and entrepreneurs that every major business district needs, according to Ubaldo. As the city thrives, so will these dynamic enterprises