Ayala Land to spend P65-B for Quezon City business district

MANILA, Philippines – A central business district will soon rise in Quezon City.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc is investing P65 billion over 10 years to develop Vertis North on a 29-hectare property near the popular SM North Edsa and Trinoma malls.

The project, which will consist of 45 towers, is the city’s version of Fort Bonifacio Global and the Makati business district. 

“This will be the biggest and most modern development catering to the north,” said Ayala Land President Antonino Aquino on Thursday, July 5.

Aquino said Vertis North’s first phase will feature office, retail and hotel components to be built on 7 hectares of the property called North Triangle.

The first phase will cost P12 billion and will be completed in 3 to 4 years.

Vertis North was born out of 2009 joint venture agreement between Ayala Land and the National Housing Authority (NHA) to develop North Triangle into a business district.

Seventy-two percent owned by Ayala and 28% by NHA, the venture marked the completion of a public bidding process conducted by the government housing agency for the property beginning 2008.

Under Ayala Land’s proposal, the property will be developed into the Philippines’ first transit-oriented, mixed-use business district that will be a new nexus of commercial activity. 

“The project is important to us. With this joint venture, we can turn an idle land into productive use,” said NHA General Manager Chito Cruz.

Cruz said NHA will contribute an initial P6 billion to the project, whose projected revenues will be used to build 60,000 housing units for informal settlers.

Thousands of informal settlers have set up homes in the North Triangle property because it was idle for several years.

Cruz said they hope to relocate the remaining families living there so they can start with the construction of the project by September. – Rappler.com