Ayala Land investing P3B in upscale condo

Local property giant Ayala Land Inc. is investing some P3 billion to build the third and last tower of upscale Park Terraces in Glorietta Center, the most expensive offering in its residential portfolio to date.

The new 49-story tower unveiled by the Ayala’s top-of-the-line residential brand Ayala Land Premier (ALP) will have 370 residential units selling for as much as P55 million for the biggest cut of 500-square-meter, three-bedroom penthouse units and as low as P6 million for the smallest studio units sized at around 37 square meters. These rates do not include the cost of parking space.

The project would be the most expensive real estate offering in the Ayala portfolio with an average selling price of P169,000 per sqm, ALP project development manager Catleya Moya told reporters in a briefing Thursday.

Park Terraces is located along Arnaiz Avenue (formerly Pasay Road) in between Dusit Hotel and the soon-to-rise Fairmont Hotel. Also within its neighborhood are upscale hotels Makati Shangri-La, upcoming Raffles Hotel, Intercon, Renaissance and Ascott.

“This year, the rise of its third and final tower marks not only the real estate market’s last chance to be a part of the unique residential ideal it offers, but also the continuation of Ayala Land’s biggest investment into the redevelopment of Ayala Center,” Ms. Moya said.

The units in the third tower are expected to be sold out within the next two to three years and turned over to buyers by the first quarter of 2017. About 30 percent of the units for sale are studio units, 30 percent one-bedroom units, 20 percent two-bedroom units and the rest three-bedroom units, including the rare penthouse units.

Demand for upscale residential address is brisk mostly among domestic investors looking to either rent out these strategically located units or sell them at a higher price in the future, Moya said.

As of May this year, rental rates for three-bedroom units in premium condominiums in Makati ranged from P140,000 to P250,000 a month.

“The overwhelming response of the market was demonstrated when we broke ground for Park Terraces’ first tower in January 2010, which sold P4.3 billion worth of units in a single weekend. Its success was soon followed by the launch of its second tower in October, which also exhibited an impressive sales uptake within its first six months,” Moya said.

“It only proves that there is real demand for premium living spaces within the city’s most desirable address and the introduction of Park Terraces’ final tower is the market’s last opportunity to experience its promise of residential living,” she added.

The three-tower Park Terraces is part of ALI’s P20-billion redevelopment blueprint for its premium Makati central business district property.

Residential units will be turned over one year after each tower beginning early 2015 for the first tower.

Asked about the long wait for potential buyers, Moya explained that the construction of each high-rise building alone would take about five years.