Ayala, Aboitiz to develop financial district in Cebu
CEBU CITY—A joint venture firm of the Ayala and Aboitiz groups is transforming a 17.5-hectare football field in Mandaue City into a new central business district and lifestyle destination, which has a budget of P10 billion for its first phase of development.
In a press briefing here, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) president Bernard Vincent Dy and AboitizLand president Andoni Aboitiz unveiled the master plan for the mixed-use estate, called Gatewalk Central, which would feature office buildings, a range of residential options, family-friendly parks and an Ayala mall. The project is under joint venture firm Cebu District Property Enterprises Inc., which is 50-50 percent owned by the two developers.
Located in Subangdaku, Mandaue City, Gatewalk Central is envisioned to be the dynamic center of the city. It is accessible via three national roads—Lopez Jaena St., M. Logarta St. and Ouano Avenue.
While under construction, the new development is estimated to generate about 1,300 jobs. This is seen to rise to 9,000 jobs once it becomes fully operational.
Dy said the multibillion peso investment, the first phase of which would rise in the next three to five years, showed ALI’s confidence in Mandaue City as one of the emerging growth cities in the region.
The new shopping mall, set to open by 2019, would be anchored by a Landmark department store. This would be the first time Landmark would set up shop outside Metro Manila.
A business process outsourcing (BPO) hub would also be built atop the mall and should bring a total of 20,000 square meter of GLA by the end of 2019.
Aniceto Bisnar Jr., head of ALI’s Visayas-Mindanao group and president of ALI’s Cebu-focused affiliate Cebu Holdings Inc., said the first phase also involved a land development and a residential project by Avida Land.
A one-hectare property has been assigned to Avida Land to develop, enough for three towers that would bring to the property market a fresh inventory of 1,800 residential units, said Avida Land president Christopher Maglanoc.
While Avida would pioneer residential development in the area, Bisnar said the group has not discounted the possibility of bringing in other residential brands in the future.
For ALI, this is its fourth major estate in Metro Cebu after Cebu Business Park, Cebu IT Park and an upcoming Mactan development.
