ALP builds premium office space tower in QC

An artist rendition of ALP’s One Vertis Plaza

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. has brought P16.1 billion worth of rare office address for sale in Quezon City as the maiden offering of its most upscale brand in the area.

Ayala Land Premier (ALP)’s One Vertis Plaza offers 320 office units to be sold for P28 million to P114 million based on a footprint of 116 to 325 square meters (sq m) each.

With this project—which also marks ALP’s first office development venture—60,784 sq m of premium office space are up for pre-selling at an average price of P352,193 per sq m. This is seen as the most expensive office address in Quezon City to date.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified 43-story One Vertis Plaza will rise in the mixed-use Vertis North estate, where Trinoma and Vertis North shopping malls now stand. It is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2024.

Close to 70 percent of the units in this office project have been taken up, so far attracting companies from the manufacturing, food and pharmaceutical industries. Outside of the space offered for sale, ALP kept the five most premium floors in this future skyscraper for its own stock.

“One Vertis Plaza is a premium grade office tower targeting business enterprises that require larger, high-quality offices for headquarter-type operations,” said ALP managing director Mike Jugo. “We saw an opportunity to tap an unserved market that will understand and appreciate the benefits of a corporate address in a master-planned estate like Vertis North.

In the past, ALP focused on luxury residential developments. Jugo said this diversification into the office segment was a natural move for ALP as it realized that many of the discerning customers who were buying its luxury residences also needed office space for their own business or for leasing out.

In Metro Manila, office vacancy rate is very low at around 5 percent, based on data from property consulting firm Colliers Philippines. Compared to other central business districts like Makati, Ortigas and BGC, Quezon City offers lower lease and selling rates for offices. Most of new offices built in Quezon City are designed for the business process outsourcing industry. Recently, the city, which is seen to benefit from a string of massive infrastructure projects, has also started opening up to the online gaming industry.

But with upscale One Vertis Plaza, ALP aims to fill the gap for companies looking to establish corporate headquarters with newer, larger and high-grade space. These could be long-standing companies expanding their presence in the northern part of the metropolis, those wanting to upgrade their existing address or those looking to “space-bank” for investment.

“Besides presenting an ideal home for the region’s well-established conglomerates, this strategic location is also set to attract growing companies in areas north of Manila such as Malabon, Valenzuela, Bulacan and Pampanga,” added Jugo.

As a LEED-registered office tower, One Vertis Plaza features environmentally efficient plumbing and lighting fixtures. Its all-glass facade uses low-emissivity, double-glazed windows. The building has its own rainwater management system and materials recovery facility alongside a more efficient air-conditioning system. —DORIS ABADILLA