47-floor BDO headquarters to rise in Ortigas

Local banking giant Banco de Oro Unibank has unveiled plans to build a 47-story corporate tower above upscale shopping mall The Podium in the Ortigas central business district, casting a vote of confidence for the Philippine office property market.

BDO Corporate Center Ortigas, which is targeted for completion by the first quarter of 2015, is part of the “grand development plan” for the two-hectare prime commercial property located on the corner of ADB Avenue and Julia Vargas Street led by BDO and SM Keppel Land Inc.

The master plan spearheaded by the group of tycoon Henry Sy Sr. may also include, over the long run, the expansion of The Podium, a second office tower and another mixed-use edifice with hotel and serviced apartment components.

When The Podium was established years ago, its structural base factored in the eventual construction of a high-rise building above it. Industry sources said the SM group was only awaiting a good time to activate this plan, banking on good prospects for the Philippine economy in the years ahead. The construction of the new tower began earlier this year.

The upcoming building has been uniquely designed to rise from the ground as one continuous, “soaring” form, but it “balances its mass with the transparency of its curtain wall and the random play of the vertical metal panels in its facade,” BDO said in a statement.

“The building has been designed to international grade-A standards. The planning is functional and efficient, and floor-plates allow flexible layouts for both single and multiple tenancies,” said Peter Brannan, director for Asia-Pacific of the internationally known Arquitectonica, the architectural firm in charge of the design of BDO Corporate Center.—Doris C. Dumlao