Japan firms, ALI eye Market! Market! project

Joshua Bingcang —EUGENE ARANETA

The master plan hatched by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for its single biggest available property in central Bonifacio Global City—a 10-hectare area valued at around P100 billion that includes the Ayala Market! Market! mall as well as the site of a future Metro Manila subway station—has attracted the interest of Japanese investors.

Among those keen on this proposed transit-oriented development (TOD) are Japanese conglomerates Mitsubishi and Marubeni, BCDA president Joshua Bingcang said in a recent chat with the Inquirer.

“The Japanese are interested because they are doing the subway and they are an expert in this TOD kind of development,” Bingcang said.

Grant

BCDA had received a grant from Japan to master plan the site using the TOD framework, Bingcang said. A Japanese consultancy firm, Almec Corp., was enlisted to master plan the site similar to how it had been done in parts of Tokyo.

TOD, which England and Japan pioneered in the 1900s, integrates land use and transportation around urban hubs and a variety of medium-to high-density developments, including residential areas, according to a briefer from official development arm Japan International Cooperation Agency.

This is seen to promote a walkable environment and strengthen the linkage between mass transit and other transportation modes, resulting in “urban revitalization and suburban area regeneration, reduced reliance on automobiles and improved overall quality of life.”

An initial concept had already been presented to a multiagency steering committee composed of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation and Metro Manila Development Authority, he noted.

The master plan calls for a three-phase development that will involve a combination of lot sale and joint venture deals.

Of the total 10-hectare area, whose market value Bingcang estimated at P100 billion, the mall occupies five hectares. The remaining area is open space where the subway station will be built.

3 phases

The first area to be auctioned off is the five-hectare open space where the subway station will be. Bingcang said the terms of references for this area would be finalized next year to allow for a public bidding by 2026.

“We want to really maximize the TOD, the subway station, because we really want to increase the ridership of the subway. Of course it’s complementary; increasing the viability increases the value of our asset,” Bingcang.

There will be a station plaza, which will offer leasable retail and office areas. This first phase, which is expected to take six to 10 years to finish, will also include residential offerings.

Second phase will include a hotel, offices and residential areas as well.

“Eventually, Market! Market! market has to give way to a new development,” he said, adding, however that demolition would not happen right way.

“It (masterplan) will allow Market! Market! to wind down — because they may still have newer tenants — until market is ready to introduce new development,” the BCDA chief said.

The Ayala mall is due for lease renewal by 2027, subject to certain conditions, including an upward adjustment of lease rates that had been originally set back in 2001.

If the mall lease contract would just be renewed, Bingcang said Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) would have the right to first refusal.

“They themselves are aware that mall itself may not be enough to cover the rates (demanded by BCDA) so they are open to partnership with us for redevelopment,” he said.

But any redevelopment plan would have to be opened to a public bidding. Bingcang believes that Ayala Land would “fight it out” to maintain its foothold.

To fully maximize this vast property, Bingcang said, “I don’t think that there’s a single developer that can afford to develop and take that property by themselves. They really need a consortium unless they are really awash with excess funds.”

“We think at least two developers can take the site,” he added.