P3.5-B Arthaland Tower rising in BGC

Screengrab from https://www.arthaland.com.ph/

MANILA, Philippines—Arthaland Corp., a boutique property developer led by the Po and Gonzales families, is breaking into the office property business by investing P3.5 billion to build what it says will be an  “iconic” and “world-class” 30-story office tower across the street from the upcoming Shangri-la complex in Bonifacio Global City.

The company is to break ground next month for “The Arthaland Tower,” a premium office building targeted to be completed by 2017, giving the company a new stream of recurring income from office leasing, Arthaland president Angela Lacson said in a press briefing after the company’s stockholders meeting on Friday.

The upcoming office tower will have 28,000 square meters of net leasable area out of a gross floor area of 34,000 sqms targeting to serve as corporate headquarters, such as for top-tier and multinational corporations, rather than the business process outsourcing industry toward which most new office developments are geared.

Lacson said the building was designed by SOM of New York, architects of some of the most prestigious buildings around the world, such as the two towers at 9-11 Ground Zero of New York.

At the stockholders meeting, when the plan for the new business was announced, Lacson said, “We expect to generate premium rates for our future tenants.”

Arthaland is diversifying into the office property business to cater to strong market demand. “In BGC, there are no (new) premier buildings coming up,” Lacson said, noting that the company would want rental income to eventually account for 40 percent of total revenues.

At present, Arthaland’s revenues come mostly from residential development, particularly the upscale two-tower Arya Residences at BGC. The first tower has been completed and is expected to fully turned over to buyers by the third quarter of this year while the second tower is expected to be completed by end-2015 and turned over to buyers by 2016.

For Tower 2 of Arya Residences, 85 percent of 206 units have been taken up. Average selling price is now  P170,000/sqm and the remaining units are mostly two-bedroom units of 124-140 sqms.

This year, Arthaland’s capital spending is budgeted at about P1.5 to P1.8 billion to complete the second tower of Arya and begin the construction of the office tower.

“A boutique company like ours can compete in a highly competitive real estate industry,” Lacson said.