New tower to rise in Ayala Center

PROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), through its high-end brand Ayala Land Premier (ALP) and subsidiary Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI), will build a 38-storey residential tower on top of Ayala Center Cebu’s soon-to-be-completed wing.

ALI president Antonino Aquino said ALI and CHI will allocate P7.5 billion over the next 12 months for the expansion of some of its projects in Cebu Park District, which includes the construction of Park Point Residences, ALP’s second high-end residential tower.

For the last three years, both companies have invested P10.5 billion in “developing and revitalizing Cebu Park District’s overall masterplan.”

ALP head Jose Juan Jugo said the company will allocate P2 billion for the construction of Park Point Residences, the first of its kind in ALP’s residential portfolio in the region.

Jugo said that despite the entry of several established real estate developers racing to build condominiums for the Cebu market, Cebu still has a large untapped market for high-end condominiums because of the drastic change of Cebu’s landscape.

“Cebu has evolved from a mere Queen City of the South into a strong economic powerhouse whose growth is crucial to the country’s economy,” Jugo said. “We now have to play catch-up because Cebu is growing faster than we expected.”

Hugo said that in the past, Cebu wasn’t ready for high-end residential projects, which limited CHI to its Amara development in Liloan. The company, however, said changes in Cebu in recent years allowed high-end brands like ALP to expand their projects here.

Aquino, meanwhile, dismissed reports of a glut in the high-end residential market. He said real estate is all about location.

“There may be oversupply of some products in some areas, but in the case of ALI, we are careful in choosing locations,” Aquino said.

Hugo said they were encouraged into pursuing the Park Point Residences project because of the positive response of the market, as manifested by the strong sales of 1016
Residences, ALP’s first high-end tower which is also located in Cebu Business Park.

Park Point Residences will have 255 one- to three-bedroom units with prices ranging from P8 million to P16 million. One-bedroom units make up 60 percent of the project.

Hugo said Park Point Residences is similar to the high-end condos they built in Greenbelt in Makati that have “seamless access to retail and dining outlets.”

Hugo said residents of Park Point Residences will have seamless access to Ayala Center Cebu’s new wing, which will house the three-level Rustan’s Department store and expanded Rustan’s Supermarket as well as high-end retail shops like Zara.

According to ACC general manager Joy Polloso, construction of the new wing is 10 days ahead of schedule and they are on track to complete it in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Polloso said 50 percent of available spaces for lease has already been confirmed.

Hugo also said there will only be a minimal disruption with the construction of the tower, whose completion is targeted in the third quarter of 2016.