Iconic Mandarin Oriental soon to be reduced to rubble

SOURCE: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=iconic-mandarin-oriental-soon-to-be-reduced-to-rubble&id=111459

AYALA Land, Inc. (ALI) said it will begin demolishing the Mandarin Oriental Manila — a signature feature of Makati’s skyline — and will spend about P12 billion to redevelop the Ayala Triangle Gardens where a new Mandarin Hotel will rise.

AFTER nearly 40 years of being one of Makati City’s most iconic structures, the Mandarin Oriental Manila will be reduced to rubble and a condominium tower is planned for the site, listed builder Ayala Land, Inc. said. — WWW.INTERAKSYON.COM
A residential tower is planned for the site, which sits on the corner of Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas. The property giant hopes to start selling units this year, ALI Chief Financial Officer Jaime E. Ysmael told reporters last week.

“We will soon commence the demolition of the building. Once we got the license to sell, we will launch it,” Mr. Ysmael said.

“We need new inventory for Makati so that will be the next one.”

Across the old Mandarin Hotel site is the Ayala Triangle Park. That complex will be home to the new five-star hotel. Ayala Land is also building a premium office building there, Mr. Ysmael said.

“I think P12 billion is the capex (capital expenditure) for that complex.

It will be consistent with the original plan,” Mr. Ysmael said, adding that hotel construction starts this year.

In June last year, the hotel’s former owner Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group had said the new luxury hotel will open in 2020.

BUILDING WITH ORTIGAS, SM
Ayala Land is also hammering out a five-year roadmap with SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and OCLP Holdings, Inc. for four main properties of the Ortigas family.

OCLP Holdings is the investment holding firm of the Ortigas family.

The master plan, which will determine OCLP Holdings’ capital spending requirements, will focus on the following: Greenhills in San Juan; Circulo Verde in Libis, Quezon City; and Capitol Commons and Tiendesitas in Pasig City.

The roadmap will also include plans for the family’s land bank in the Ortigas central business district, roughly 212 hectares of land in the Rizal province owned by Concrete Aggregates Corp., and portions of Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo along EDSA.

“There’s an existing plan that is up to 2020. We are now reviewing it and try to align it with the plans for Ayala Land,” Mr. Ysmael said.

“We will also craft a land-banking strategy because there are also some attractive areas that we want to pursue but all of that will be part of the five- to six-year plan that we need to finalize within the year,” he said.

After a legal battle that lasted two years, the SM and Ayala groups decided to settle their differences in November last year and jointly manage OCLP Holdings.

Asked about ALI’s performance in the second quarter, Mr. Ysmael said: “It is still consistent relative to the first quarter. We are still in line with the plan.”

The real estate firm reported a 19% growth in net earnings to P4.1 billion at end-March, fueled by the higher contribution of its property development and commercial leasing business.

Under its 2020 Vision, Ayala Land is targeting a 20% annual growth rate to hit a net income of P40 billion. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre

Advertisement