Arthaland invests P3.5B in BGC development

Arthaland Corp., a boutique developer led by the Po and Gonzales families, is breaking into the office property business by investing P3.5 billion to build what is described to be a world-class 30-story office tower across the upcoming Shangri-La complex in Bonifacio Global City.

The company will break ground this July for the premium office building “The Arthaland Tower,” which is set to be completed by 2017. It will give the company a new stream of recurring income from office leasing, Arthaland president Angela Lacson said in a briefing after the company’s stockholders meeting Friday.

The tower will have a gross floor area of 34,000 square meters, with net leasable space of 28,000 square meters. Rather than cater to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, for which most new office developments are gearing, Arthaland hopes that top-tier and multinational corporations will set up their corporate headquarters at the tower.

“The market demand for office space, especially in BGC, is very strong. Spaces are leased out a year before completion, sometimes even earlier. Most of the buildings going up now in BGC are pre-committed. Relatively low occupancy costs, compared with the rest of the countries in the region, drive multinational companies to base in the Philippines, and they in turn look for offices in BGC,” Lacson said.

The building is designed by SOM of New York, architects of some of the most prestigious buildings in the world, such as the two towers on Ground Zero in New York.