BONIFACIO GLOBAL CITY: Into New Heights

jhaelsin · 1st October 2006, 11:20

Bonifacio Global City™, located in the progressive city of Taguig, is a project of Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC), backed by a partnership of two of the country's most reputable names in real estate development.

In April 2003, Ayala Land, Inc. and Evergreen Holdings Inc. of the Campos Group of Companies completed the acquisition of a controlling interest in FBDC. Together with the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) as major partner in FBDC, they now shape the vision of this premier business district.

Ayala Land provides its expertise in pioneering and sustaining successful business districts and large-scale integrated communities, starting with the Makati Central Business District. The Campos group lends it financial acumen and experience in real estate development. BCDA ensures total commitment to the land and guadianship of the property. Together, the partners have strengthened FBDC's financial stability and have provided a sustainable vision of the future.

jhaelsin · 1st October 2006, 11:21

Bonifacio Global City™ Gets A Grand Makeover

The Ayala–Campos Group that acquired a controlling interest in Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC) recently unveiled an ambitious makeover for the city center which will serve as the heart of the 240 ha, Bonifacio Global City™ (BGC). Working together with their partners in the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and in close cooperation with the City of Taguig, both groups envision a premier business district that could take its rightful place among Metro Manila’s existing network of financial centers while promoting innovation, creativity and work-life balance.

Joel Luna, Ayala Land assistant vice president in charge of technical planning, justified the need for a new masterplan. He recalled that upon takeover, Ayala Land officers realized that the circular form of the original city center masterplan was going to give rise to a host of problems. These included numerous traffic choke points, odd-shaped lots, and unevenly distributed access to parks and other amenities. “It was not going to be a city that would work and would allow business people and other professionals to stretch their creative potential to the fullest extent,” he said.

The new masterplan for the city center introduced four critical elements:

a road network with a grid layout that would allow for more efficient traffic management;
dedicated bus lanes for a managed public transit loop;
pedestrian walkways which comfortably and conveniently link buildings to parking and transit systems;
well-distributed and broadly accessible park areas to serve as focal points.

For BGC locators and residents, all four amenity elements are expected to become an integral part of their lifestyle. “For investors, the plan ensures that value will accrue to every property since each one is adjacent to one or more of these amenities. At BGC, every lot will be a prime lot”.

ALI executive vice president Vincent Y. Tan admits that the full implementation of the master plan will result in a significant loss of saleable land area on BGC’s balance sheet. “In revising the master plan for the city center, we actually lost a significant amount of saleable land, not a decision any businessman makes lightly,” he says. “But the plan we now have works better in all respects. Its rectangular street grid leads to reduced traffic congestion, more lots with regular shapes, and better distribution of amenities. For all this, the loss of saleable land is a price we are quite willing to pay.”

He revealed that the partners have embarked on a program to spend more than P8 billion out of FBDC’s internal funds over the next 20 years to implement the masterplan.

One of the earliest tangible benefits of the new masterplan is an innovative retail development which will be launched later this year. The development’s focus is a 40 meter-wide landscaped area that will be 500 meters in length and will be lined by stores and restaurants with the latest and most novel concepts. At the same time, this green pedestrian promenade will be a dynamic social hub for participative activities organized by the merchants in the area, as well as an interactive park that families can enjoy.

While Bonifacio Global City™ will generally be self-contained, it will remain connected to other business districts and well situated in relation to the larger region. Bonifacio Global City™’s location between Edsa and C-5 gives it many undue advantages. This benefit is all the more emphasized by its seven major access points: Kalayaan Avenue which connects it to the North; Kalayaan Flyover, which allows access from Makati in the West via Edsa; McKinley Road; the three main entrances from C5 highway in the East; and from the airport through the Villamor Airbase.

Luna reveals that a multi-disciplinary team comprised of Ayala Land experts in planning, office development, commercial centers, and property management sat down to map out development in the area together with officers from FBDC, Evergreen Holdings, Inc. (Campos group) and the BCDA. The team also benefited from the inputs of the best international consultants in the fields of urban design, landscaping, transportation, utilities and infrastructure. Inspired by some of the greatest cities in the world and banking on the Ayala’s experience in Makati – the team has matched an innovative masterplan with rock-solid shared commitment to shaping BGC into a city that works.

Credits: BGC Website

jhaelsin · 1st October 2006, 11:27

View of BGC from a plane from Legazpi City about to land at the Manila Domestic Airport

c/o Dex Psycho

jhaelsin · 1st October 2006, 11:40

from BusinessWorld Online
Property & Infrastructure
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Close to 100 buildings rising in Bonifacio Global City

In the next two years, the number of people living and doing business in the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) will dramatically increase. At present, a hundred or so buildings are being planned, constructed or have been completed.
"Construction and development activities are in full swing. Every year, large increments are added to our daytime population of office workers and full time residents as well as to the number of visitors with the completion of each project and building," said Jun Bisnar, head for commercial operations of Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC).

Bonifacio Global City is a self-contained area with a superior location. Its residential condominiums and office buildings enjoy a quick take-up rate, Mr. Bisnar said. "Even overseas buyers are well aware that BGC will be the business district of the future."

Alongside the vertical developments, horizontal developments including underground civil works are keeping pace with the growth of Bonifacio Global City. This includes the installation of underground drainage systems, water and sewage distribution lines, fiber-optic cabling network, and underground lines for liquefied petroleum gas and electric power. Overhead power lines are things of the past in Bonifacio Global City.

The city’s road and infrastructure network will further be expanded with the completion of Bonifacio Triangle, a section of the city near the North Gate along Kalayaan Avenue. Since the start of the year, land development within the City Center has also been prioritized by FBDC in terms of funding.

In anticipation of the increase in critical mass in the business district, the retail and office Promenade will be completed and opened before the year ends. Retail stores, wellknown brands and dining establishments, will be built around a 40-meter wide and 800-meter long landscaped park cutting across the city center.

An estimated 180 locators and tenants will be added to Bonifacio Global City with the completion of the retail areas at the Promenade and the Serendra.

With the increase in human traffic, vehicular traffic will also shoot up. Thus, FBDC has redesigned the city center roadway system to make circulation and traffic flows more efficient. Accordingly, the 5th and 11th Avenues and 32nd and 26th Streets, which serve as the boundaries of the city center, are being widened to 30.75 meter from 25 meters, to include a landscaped median and a four-meter exclusive bus lane.

"The exclusive bus lanes will become part of a transit system that will directly link BGC to Metro Manila’s light rail systems at EDSA and the Makati Central Business District," Mr. Bisnar said.

In a move to make BGC more pedestrian friendly, the transit stops of the shuttles will be no more than a 10-minute walk from all points within the city center.

Story Location: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW092806/content.php?id=102

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