MANILA | Development Thread

[Ptah]

Manila has been the capital city of the Philippines since 1571. Under the more than 300-year Spanish rule, Manila prospered and gained fame as the Asian terminus of Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route for more than 200 years.

When the Americans took control of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War of 1898, Manila's transformation into a modern metropolis kicked into high gear. Here's a video of cosmopolitan Manila in 1938 with scenes of the Binondo-Tondo business district (4:08)
• Video Link

However, Manila was savagely destroyed by Japanese occupiers during World War II, leaving more than 200,000 dead. Here's a video of what happened (4:37)

After WWII, the business district in Binondo-Tondo never recovered, paving the way for the development of Makati CBD and others. The City of Manila is now just one of the 16 cities that form the metropolitan area known locally as Metro Manila.

However, when the world refers to Metro Manila, MANILA is often used and the other cities as districts. In the spirit of internationalism in this thread, any highrise development that is located in Metro Manila shall henceforth be labeled as a developent in MANILA.

There are currently three major central business districts in MANILA, where many highrise developments are concentrated around: MAKATI CBD (MAKATI) on the lower half of the photo below; ORTIGAS CENTER (ORTIGAS) on the upper left; and BONIFACIO GLOBAL CITY (BONIFACIO) on the upper right.


photo by chestersim

................

The following master project list will enumerate the significant highrise developments in MANILA, grouped according to the central business districts and stages in project development, which are then ordered by the number of floors.


MAKATI

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Park Central Towers | 69F+58F | MIX
Shang Salcedo Place | 67F | RES
The Rise Makati | 63F | RES
Century Spire | 60F | MIX
Garden Towers | 60F+54F | RES
The Proscenium | 60F+55F+51F+47F+45F | MIX
Air Residences | 56F | MIX
Solstice | 55F+55F+55F+55F | RES
Two Roxas Triangle | 53F | RES
Kroma Tower | 52F | RES
Air Residences | 51F | RES
Forbes Media Tower | 50F | MIX
Alveo Financial Tower | 49F | COM
Park Terraces | 49F+36F+36F | RES
The Lerato | 48F+37F+30F | MIX
Altaire | 45F | COM
Ayala Triangle Gardens North | 40F+23F | MIX
City Gate | 40F+30F | MIX
Callisto | 38F | RES
Mareic Residences | 38F | RES
Brio Tower | 37F | RES
Escala | 36F | RES
Ram Plaza Legazpi | 36F | RES
San Lorenzo Place | 36F+36F+32F+32F | RES
100 West Makati | 35F | MIX
Dowell Tower Residences | 35F | RES
The Stratosphere | 35F | RES
Paseo de Roces | 34F+34F | RES
The Index | 34F | RES
Salcedo Skysuites | 32F | RES
Greenbelt Hamilton | 31F | RES
Valero Grand Suites | 31F | MIX
Avida Towers San Lorenzo | 30F+28F | RES
Paseo Heights | 30F | RES
Salcedo Square | 30F | MIX
Technozone Philippines | 27F | MIX
The Linear Makati | 24F+24F | RES
One Ayala| ?F+?F+?F+?F | MIX

PREPARATION

Altaire Tower | 45 F | COM
The Estate Makati | ?F | RES

PROPOSED

Movenpick Hotel & Residences | 70F | MIX
Picar Residences | ?F | RES
Urban Deca Tower-Makati | ?F | RES


ORTIGAS & Vicinity

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Imperium | 65F | RES
The Royalton | 65F | RES
Acqua Private Residences | 56F+53F+46F+44F+42F+40F | RES
Rich Residences | 53F | RES
Mega Tower | 50F | MIX
The Exchange Square | 50F | COM
The Olive Place | 50F+48F | RES
SM-Keppel Tower 2 | 48F | MIX
The Sapphire | 48F+40F+40F+38F | RES
27 Annapolis | 45F | RES
Axis Towers | 42F+42F | RES
GLAS Tower | 42F | MIX
The Allegro | 42F | RES
The Legato | 42F | RES
The Sandstone at Portico | 41F | RES
Amaia Skies Shaw | 40F+40F | RES
Jollibee Tower | 40F | COM
Chimes Greenhills | 40F | RES
Light Residences | 40F+40F+40F | RES
The Chronicle Building | 40F | COM
Urban Deca Tower-EDSA | 40F | RES
Exquadra Tower | 38F | COM
Lumiere Residences | 37F+37F | RES
One Wilson Square | 37F | RES
The Currency | 36F | MIX
AMA Tower Residences | 35F | RES
One Filinvest | 35F | COM
The Baron Tower | 30F | RES
Vista Shaw | 35F+32F+32F | MIX
Kasara Urban Resort Residences | 32F+28F+27F | RES
Cyber Omega Tower | 31F | COM
Avida Towers Centera | 29F+29F+29F+29F | RES
Elements Residences | 28F+28F | RES
Sunshine100 City Plaza | 28F+28F+28F+28F | RES
IBP Tower | 26F | COM
The Residences at Westin Manila Sonata Place | ?F | RES
The Westin Manila Sonata Place | ?F | MIX


PREPARATION

The Exchange Square | 51F | RES
Fame Residences | ?F | RES

PROPOSED

Pearl Drive Twin Towers | 46F+46F | RES
Axis Residences | 42F+42F | RES
Sheridan Towers | 42F+42F | RES
Mango Tree Residences | 35F | RES
Elements Luxury Flats | 32F | RES
Urban Dec Homes-Ortigas | 26F | MIX


BONIFACIO & Vicinity

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Suites | 63F | RES
East Gallery Place | 51F | RES
Sunshine Fort | 51F+47F+45F+41F | MIX
West Gallery Place | 50F | RES
Uptown Parksuites | 50F+46F | MIX
Uptown Ritz | 45F | RES
The Finance Centre | 44F | COM
High Street South Corporate Plaza | 42F+32F | COM
Madison Park West | 43F | RES
Park West | 41F | RES
The Montane | 39F | RES
The Maridien | 38F | RES
Central Park West | 33F | RES
Ecoprime | 33F | RES
Menarco Tower | 32F | MIX
Venice Luxury Residences | 30F+30F+30F+30F+30F+30F+30F | MIX
Bonifacio Summit Center | 25F | COM
Capital House | 25F | COM
JP Morgan Chase Tower | 25F | COM
Avida CityFlex | ?F+?F | RES

PROPOSED

The Block | 56F | MIX
Hive Tower | 51F | MIX
Icone Tower | 40F | MIX
The Waltz | ?F | RES

[Ptah]

MANILA | MAKATI | Movenpick Hotel & Residences | 70F | MIX
Architect: Jose Pedro Recio

source https://picardevelopment.wordpress.c...-hotel-makati/

MANILA | MAKATI | Shang Salcedo Place | 67F | RES
Architect: Wong & Tung International Limited

source http://www.shangsalcedoplace.com/index.html

MANILA | BONIFACIO | Grand Hyatt Manila | 66F | MIX
Architect: Wong + Ouyang

source http://www.federal-land.com/global-c...tt-residences/

MANILA | ORTIGAS | One Shangri-La Place | 64F+64F | RES
Architect: P & T Group

source http://www.oneshangrilaplace.com/

MANILA | BONIFACIO | The Suites | 63F | RES
Architect: Handel Architects

source http://www.thesuitesonebonifacio.com

MANILA | BONIFACIO | Shangri-La at the Fort | 61F | MIX
Architect: Handel Architects

source http://skyscrapercenter.com/building...-the-fort/9233

MANILA | MAKATI | Century Spire | 60F | MIX
Architect: Daniel Libeskind

source http://www.designboom.com/architectu...es-06-02-2014/

MANILA | MAKATI | Garden Towers | 60F+54F | RES
Architect: Crone Partners

source http://www.gardentowersmakati.com/

MANILA | MAKATI | Trump Tower | 58F | MIX
Architect: Broadway Malyan

source http://www.starproperty.my/index.php...tcome-in-mind/

MANILA | MAKATI | Alphaland Makati Place | 55F | MIX
Architect: Wong + Ouyang; Casas Architects (Architect of record)

source http://casasarchitects.com/alphaland-makati-place

MANILA | MAKATI | Two Roxas Triangle | 53F | RES
Architect: SOM

source http://www.ayalalandpremier.com/cond...roxas-triangle

MANILA | MAKATI | Two & Three Central | 51F+29F | MIX
Architect: ?

source http://www.megaworldmcbdcondominium....e-central.html

MANILA | MAKATI | Park Terraces | 49F+36F+36F | RES
Architect: Architecture International

source http://www.archello.com/en/project/park-terraces

MANILA | BONIFACIO | Net Park | 48F | COM
Architect: Chad Oppenheim

source http://www.arthitectural.com/oppenhe...et-metropolis/

MANILA | ORTIGAS | BDO Corporate Center | 47F | COM
Architect: Arquitectonica

source http://archinect.com/fsla/project/bd...center-ortigas

MANILA | ORTIGAS | Avant-Garde Residences | 45F | RES
Architect: ?

source http://amberland.com.ph/avant-garde/

MANILA | MAKATI | World Hotel & Residences Makati | 45F | MIX
Architect: ?

source http://sevenseasproperties.com/wp-co.../2014/06/1.jpg

MANILA | BONIFACIO | The Finance Centre | 44F | COM
Architect: Gensler

source http://www.gensleron.com/work/2014/7...inance-ce.html

MANILA | BONIFACIO | The Curve | 36F | COM
Architect: SOM

source http://www.ect-architects.com/portfolio_page/the-curve/

MANILA | BONIFACIO | One World Place | 31F |COM
Architect: Gensler

source http://www.oneworldplace.com.ph/updates.php

MANILA | BONIFACIO | ArthaLand Tower | 30F | COM
Architect: SOM

source http://www.benediktjosef.com/#/arthaland-tower/

MANILA | BONIFACIO | Ore Square | 30F | COM
Architect: Gensler

source http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1707376

MANILA | BONIFACIO | W City Center | 28F | COM
Architect: CAZA

source http://cazarch.com/project/city-center/

MANILA | BONIFACIO | World Plaza | ?F | COM
Architect: Gensler

source http://www.gensleron.com/work/2013/1...tate-boom.html

MANILA | BONIFACIO | The Waltz | ?F | RES
Architect: BEHF

source http://www.the-waltz.com/location.php

[Ptah]

This news article gives insight on some of the driving forces behind the growth in highrise developments in Manila: offshoring and outsourcing companies choosing to locate offices in Manila and other cities in the Philippines.

Real estate sector poised to sustain growth — CBRE
Manila Standard Today
Othel V. Campos Dec. 03, 2014 at 11:30pm

The real estate sector in the Philippines grew 8.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter and is poised to sustain its expansion next year, on strong commercial activities, real estate advisory firm CBRE Global Research said Wednesday.

“The continuous transformation of cities into business landscapes will only strengthen the position of the country as an investment destination in the coming years,” CBRE Philippines president and chief executive Rick Santos said.

Santos said the growth was fueled by the positive trends across all sectors, such as efforts to improve public infrastructure, political stability, benign inflation and low interest rates.

He said the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic integration was expected to heighten investor interest as foreign companies expanded their market reach.

The advisory firm said third and fourth quarter commitments from offshoring and outsourcing companies boosted the sector’s performance.

The report noted the proliferation of township developments across central business districts such as the Bayshore in Pasay City; City Gate in Makati City; Uptown Bonifacio, McKinley West and Arca South in Taguig City; Woodside City and Capitol Commons in Pasig City; and Vertis North in Quezon City.

CBRE said the diversity of these developments was giving investors more convenient and creative ways to maximize each area.

Vacancy rates among central business districts dropped, with the exception of Quezon City, which increased to 0.93 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter’s 0.07 percent.

Prime office buildings in Makati are nearly fully leased out, with overall vacancy dropping to 0.58 percent from 1.58 percent the previous quarter.

source

[Ptah]

source

Ayala Land launches P7-b City Gate
MST Business
Dec. 14, 2014 at 10:30pm

Ayala Land Inc. launched the first phase of City Gate, another flagship mix-use development in the Makati Central Business District. It is the company's first stacked building combining three uses - retail, office and hotel on one building.

City Gate's prime location on Ayala Avenue at the corners of Amorsolo and Salcedo Streets makes it highly accessible to major thoroughfares such as Ayala Avenue, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, and the Skyway.

Elevated walkways will also connect City Gate to Ayala Center and to the rest of the CBD - great for those who choose to walk and enjoy the real city life.

The project will have a total of 120,000 square meters of gross floor area consisting of 53,000 square meters for business process outsourcing firms, 28,000 sq. m. for traditional headquarter-type offices, 25,000 sq. m. for Seda Suites Hotel; and 25,000 sq. m. for a retail mall.

Continue

[colemonkee]

Great thread, Ptah. It'll be nice to track all of these projects in Manila.

[Ptah]

Thanks, Colemonkee! I will try to keep this thread and the few individual Manila projects as updated as I can, so do check them out every now and then. Cheers!

[The ATX]

I like how the city has developed several distinct high rise districts.

[Ptah]

The multiple central business districts do sound nice, but they also make it complicated to coordinate metro-wide urban development plans, since each of these central business districts fall under different jurisdictions that often see themselves as direct competitors. Ortigas Center, for instance, is even more complicated as it falls under the jurisdictions of the 'cities' of Pasig, Mandaluyong, and Quezon. Personally, I would much rather have for Manila metropolitan area a single central business district.

Speaking of central business districts, there are actually a few more in Manila metropolitan area, but the three I mentioned in previous posts (MAKATI, ORTIGAS, BONIFACIO) are the major ones in terms of size and development. All three are located in what was once the City of Manila's surrounding grass-filled suburbs, away from the old Pre-WWII central business districts in Binondo District (Spanish colonial era) and Ermita-Malate Districts (American colonial era). Alas, WWII destroyed so much of the old city, and the rich and the businesses would eventually move to the suburbs to develop MAKATI, ORTIGAS, and BONIFACIO.

Manila metropolitan area today is like L.A. metropolitan area, where are there many cities and financial districts scattered around. In Manila, each of the 16 'cities' has its own rules and regulations, typically run by a corrupt, feudalistic mayor and his minions who take a blind eye in addressing chronic social problems, among which is the lack of affordable and proper housing for the urban poor. These corrupt government officials only see slums as 'vote farms' for election day.

The rampant corruption, which the current Philippine president is supposedly trying to finally address, is largely responsible for the western media's fixation to paint Manila metropolitan area as nothing but a city of slums, despite the fact there are many areas in Manila metropolitan area that are very much well developed, full of conveniences for cosmopolitan urban living.

[Libertarian]

Thanks for the thread, very impressive. I didn't know Manila was having such large-scale development.

[Ptah]

My pleasure, Libertarian. Glad to at least show an unkown side of Manila.

Manila is largely ignored by the foreign media, and if there is any media coverage at all, only the ghetto parts are shown. This is why most people are unaware of Manila's modern side, let alone the massive highrise developments going on right now. In fact, if you have seen the recent episodes of The Amazing Race that were shot in Manila, you'd be forgiven to think the place is nothing but an enormous slum!

The rise in the number of commercial highrises is driven by demand of foreign outsourcing and offshoring companies that decided to locate in the Philippines (instead of say, India) to take advantage of the cheap, college-educated labor force with relatively good command of the English language. There are now around a million outsourcing/offshoring jobs in the Philippines, helping to create a rising number of middle class with strong appetite for consumer goods.

The rise in the number of residential highrises is driven by foreign and domestic buyers. Foreign buyers are taking advantage of bargain prices compared to their native countries. Domestic buyers are coming from many segments: the few rich locals who are becoming more confident investing locally instead of abroad; the rising middle class with more disposable income; and overseas Filipino workers who tirelessly remit billions of dollars annually.

Manila also has the ambition to become the next gambling mecca in the region, with multi-billion dollar Vegas-style casinos opening doors along the Manila Bay recently: Solaire, City of Dreams, with two more to come. This has increased the development for more internationally branded hotels in the metropolitan area.

These are some of the reasons it is now possible for one lucky bastard to dine at a Nobu restaurant, shop for some ice from Cartier, 'commission' for a new ride at the lone Rolls Royce showroom, party like a rock star at a Buddha Bar etc. These things are only possible though in the modern areas of Manila, certainly not in the slums that the media loves to show of the city.

[Ptah]

The proposed 42-storey tower is shown on the left, next to BDO Corporate Center in Ortigas Center.


photo by anakngpasig

Keppel Land unveils $336m 42-storey office tower development in Manila
Singapore Business Review
Staff Reporter
14 Oct 14

Keppel Land yesterday revealed that it will develop a 42-storey office tower and an extension of an existing five-storey retail component in Metro Manila’s Ortigas central business district, with a total construction cost of $336 million.

The tower marks the second phase of KepLand’s SM-KL project. The project is jointly developed by Keppel Land, through Keppel Philippine Properties, and Banco de Oro (BDO), the banking arm of the SM Group. Keppel Philippine Properties holds a 40% stake in the SM-KL project.

To be completed in 2019, the new office tower will offer a net leasable area (NLA) of over 89,000 sm of premium grade office space and will be sited above the retail mall. The expansion of the retail mall will add over 34,000 sm of retail space, bringing the total retail NLA to over 50,000 sm when completed in 2016.

“We are confident that when the development is fully completed, it will meet the demand for business process outsourcing (BPO) space and prime offices for multinational corporations in Manila. The Philippines remains an attractive destination for foreign direct investments,” said Linson Lim, President (Vietnam and the Philippines), Keppel Land.

source

[Ptah]

New tower going up in Makati CBD: NEX Tower

http://leechiu.com/product/nex-tower/

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Address: 6786 Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Developer: NEX Development Group
Completion Date: 4Q 2018
Gross Leasable Area: 31,173 square meters
Typical Floor Plate: 1,400 square meters
Efficiency: 87%
No. of Floors: 28
Certifications: For PEZA Certification
For LEED Certification
Parking Levels: 7 basement parking
Air-conditioning: Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) AC System
Back-up Power: 100%
Elevators: 6 Low-Rise Lifts
5 High-Rise Lifts
1 Service Lift
2 Parking Lifts
Telco Provider: Globe, PLDT
Ceiling Height: 3 meters
Handover Condition: Bare Shell with VRF AC System
http://leechiu.com/product/nex-tower/

NEX Tower location, bottom right:

musclefashion84

[Ptah]

source

Federal Land, Isetan, Nomura tie up for $400-M BGC project
by James A. Loyola | Manila Bulletin | Monday | July 10, 2017 | 10:01 PM


Federal Land, Inc., the wholly-owned property subsidiary of GT Capital Holdings, Inc. is teaming up with Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. and Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. for a $400-million mixed-use development in Bonifacio Global City (BGC).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, GT Capital said Federal Land and its Japanese partners will jointly finance and develop Sunshine Fort, a mixed-use retail-residential project.

--- SNIPPED ---

Sunshine Fort, a Japanese-inspired residential and retail complex, is part of Federal Land’s 10-hectare Grand Central Park development in BGC. The master-planned community is expected to be completed in 2025.

source

This massive project is already under preparation stage as shown on the fenced lot below:

source

[colemonkee]

Wow, keep up the updates! We don't get a lot visibility into the projects here, so this is a great thread to have.

[The Best Forumer]

Looks like a nice town....

[Ptah]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Wow, keep up the updates! We don't get a lot visibility into the projects here, so this is a great thread to have.

Thanks, colemonkee! I'll try to keep this thread updated as best as I can

Originally Posted by The Best Forumer

Looks like a nice town....

There are many nice and modern areas around the metropolitan Manila, but like any megacity in a developing country there are still many areas that need improvement. The megacity though is going through a massive amount of construction unlike ever seen before, I believe, that it should be interesting to see how the megacity will change in the next few years

---

So it looks like Manila is going to get a Norman Foster tower pretty soon, called 'The Estate Makati'--a joint venture between two of the richest families in the country. This is going to rise next to Kenzo Tange's Discovery Primea (yellow tower below) along Ayala Avenue in Makati Central Business District. Calling it the 'country's most beautiful' is too much of a stretch though haha

Location:

Mina Deocareza

Biz Buzz: Tycoon-fit residence

Philippine Daily Inquirer
27 Dec 2017

SM Prime Holdings and Federal Land Inc.’s much awaited residential offering along Ayala Avenue’s upscale Apartment Ridge— touted to be the Philippines’ “most beautiful” skyscraper that will stand as a legacy of their respective founders, Henry Sy Jr. and George Ty— has yet to be launched, but the buzz is its pricing will break all records.

To be called “The Estate Makati,” the P5-billion residential address will offer only 188 units at a price that will likely cost much more than buying land (if a buyer can find any) in the most upscale gated villages in the metropolis. Sources privy to the project noted that The Estate, slated to be launched in the second quarter of 2018, may be offered at a price of P400,000 to P450,000 a square meter and the minimum cut (a two-bedroom unit) isn’t likely to be puny.

-snipped-

Expected to rise at around 270 meters...

—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
source

rumored render:

source

[JerellO]

Manila should really push for an expansive train system like Tokyo

[Ptah]

Originally Posted by JerellO

Manila should really push for an expansive train system like Tokyo

Indeed! Alas, the Philippines is a developing country that has a long history of corrupt leadership and dismal economic growth. It was not too long ago when the Philippines was called the 'sick man of Asia.'

Thankfully, starting around 10 years ago, the economy has been on the rise due to increasing remittances from overseas Filipino workers, multinational business process outsourcing companies setting satellite offices, rising tourism sector, and robust consumer spending. Add to this the credit ratings upgrades, and the government can finally afford now to spend on some long overdue infrastructure projects, especially those around metropolitan Manila.

The Duterte administration may not have such a good reputation in the West, but to its credit, it has made infrastructure a huge priority, with a long list of infrastructure projects line up to be started and/or finished before President Duterte's term expires in 2022.

For a metro its size (~20 million population), there are only 3 metro lines (LRT 1, LRT 2, MRT 3) and a crumbling suburban commuter line; although a major extension of LRT 2 towards the eastern parts of the metro is going to finish in a year or two.

If you have time, here's an update of LRT 2 Extension:
• Video Link

Here is a shocking look at how inadequate the public transport systems are around the metro.

[The Best Forumer]

what is the tallest thing here?

I like the way the buildings look from a distance. nice city.

[Ptah]

Originally Posted by The Best Forumer

what is the tallest thing here?

I like the way the buildings look from a distance. nice city.

Thanks, although there is still much to be improved on the street level for Makati and Ortigas business districts. Fort Bonifacio, "BGC" as the locals like to call it, however, is probably the most modern among the three business districts and is quite pleasant to walk around.

The current tallest is Grand Hyatt Manila, located in the Fort Bonifacio business district. It's the gold-topped tower below:

allaboutunitedkingdom