CityMalls to lease rooftops to telco, solar firms

CityMall Commercial Centers Inc., the shopping mall arm of DoubleDragon Properties Corp., seeks to unlock values from the rooftops of 50 of its provincial shopping malls by leasing the space to a common telecommunication tower provider.

CityMall signed an agreement to lease the space to ALT-Global Solutions Inc., one of the 19 common telco tower companies that have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The rollout of common telco towers is part of the DICT’s thrust to improve cellular services in the country by allowing telco companies in the Philippines to share vital infrastructure.

DoubleDragon, for its part, is finding ways to tap new revenue streams from leasing of roof space for solar and advertising space in its string of strategic properties around the country, alongside the latest deal on rooftop space leasing. About 100 CityMall community malls will be built across the country, catering to provincial locations.

“DoubleDragon’s portfolio of completed leasable space is like a large fuel tank and its secured leases is the fuel inside the tank, which will ensure the continuous flow of rental revenues into the company. As DoubleDragon completes more leasable spaces, the tank becomes bigger and as the company secures more lease contracts, the volume of fuel inside the tank increases,” said DoubleDragon chair Edgar Sia II.

“There are only a handful of companies in the Philippines that have accumulated a substantial portfolio of completed revenue-generating leasable properties and DoubleDragon is one of them. The company is now solidifying the rental yields of its portfolio as it prepares to be one of the primary beneficiaries of the establishment of a real estate investment trust (REIT) market in the Philippines,” said DoubleDragon chief investment officer Hannah Yulo.

REITs allow holders to invest directly in earning properties and not just developers. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA