Ayala Land’s ‘next BGC’ Arca South to take shape by 2019

MANILA, Philippines – Arca South, Ayala Land’s next flagship development which it bills as a “new Bonifacio Global City (BGC),” will start to really come into its own by 2019, according to the real estate firm.

“The year 2019 will be a big year for Arca South. We are really trying to get the best learnings from [Ayala Land’s] experience in building BGC and transfer it to this [new development],” said Ayala Land Premier (ALP) managing director Joseph Carmichael Jugo in a press briefing on Tuesday, September 12.

The P80-billion, 74-hectare Arca South is located along the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) in Taguig City, at the old Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI) property.

Planned features of the mixed-use estate include 3 residential projects targeting different demographics, and 6 office buildings targeted toward business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. The offices will have around 15,000 square meters (sqm) of leasable space.

Ayala’s own Seda Hotel will also rise at Arca South, offering 265 rooms.

There will also be a mall and lifestyle complex, which will feature 72,000 sqm of leasable space as well as open areas.

Much of the residential as well as office and commercial areas are expected to be completed in 2019.

“Unlike BGC where some of the components of developing the city came first, such as residential buildings, before being followed by malls and commercial developments, here we are taking all of our learnings and having all of our key anchors coming together at around the same time,” Jugo explained.

Arca South will also feature a transport terminal dubbed the South Integrated Transport System. This is a public-private partnership (PPP) project set for 2018 which will connect provincial buses to auxiliary transport throughout Metro Manila.

Early interest

Arca South is being positioned as a cheaper alternative to BGC. Its targeted demographics include young couples in their late 30s as well as foreigners, due to its proximity to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

According to Jugo, interest has been strong even at this early stage. One indication of this, he pointed out, has been the sales of Ayala Land Premier’s Arbor Lanes, the high-end residential offering at Arca South.

“Sales of the 3.5-hectare, 5 low-rise-tower, garden-themed development has hit P3.9 billion so far this year and is up 46% compared to last year,” Jugo said.

“We were quite surprised, as a lot of expectation this year was placed on ALP’s other project, Park Central Towers [in the Makati Central Business District], but Arbor Lanes actually beat it in terms of sales,” he added, noting that it would surpass its full-year sales target of P4.5 billion by the 3rd quarter of this year.

Currently, about 74% of the 3 Arbor Lanes towers being constructed is sold out. The average price range is from P160,000 per sqm to P220,000 per sqm, including tax and parking.

Units in the 1st Arbor Lanes building are scheduled to be turned over by the 1st quarter of 2018, the 2nd building by the 2nd quarter of 2019, and the 3rd building by the 3rd quarter of 2021.

Construction of the 4th building is slated to begin in the 3rd quarter of 2018, while construction of the 5th and final building will follow 6 months after.

“From a price appreciation point of view, in less than a year prices have increased by an average of 18%,” Jugo said. “It will go from strength to strength because the more we near 2019 and more of the [Arca South] development is completed, the stronger its pull will be.” – Rappler.com