Philrealty exits 12-year rehab plan

The Andrea North residential project in Quezon City of the resurrected Philrealty. PHOTO FROM PHILREALTY.COM.PH

MANILA, Philippines—Property developer Philippine Realty Holdings Corp. has made plans for a big comeback in the property market after its exit from a 12-year court-assisted rehabilitation, becoming the first publicly listed company to graduate from court receivership in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.

To mark its return to the property market, Philrealty unveiled a P10-billion investment over the next 10 years in upscale residential development Andrea North in Quezon City. In line with this, the company launched Sky Villas Tower, the second phase of its five-tower, two-hectare Andrew North project, which is expected to create about P25 billion worth of property inventory in the next decade.

Philrealty is also planning to add a retail component in El Pueblo, Pasig City, and develop a mixed-use vertical development project at the Bonifacio Global City in partnership with Greenhills Properties Inc.

At the same time, the company will start pursuing projects outside the central business district in the form of master-plan townships.

For the 31-story Sky Villas, average price is estimated at P145,000 a square meter for a total sales value of P3 billion. There are 108 units with a cut of at least 200 sqm each in the tower, with each floor having only four units. Philrealty said it would need about P700 million to complete construction of Sky Villas.

On the company’s exit from rehabilitation, Philrealty president Amador Bacani said: “The path toward recovery was a long, arduous climb for us, but with sincere resolve and renewed vigor, we were able to weather the storm and emerge stronger than ever.”—Doris C. Dumlao