ORTIGAS AND CO. is allocating P10 billion for the first phase of the planned P60-billion Greenhills shopping district redevelopment, which will include a second residential tower in the area, a mall, and a new office building for business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.
The bulk of the capital expenditure for the first phase will be for The Connor, an P8-billion residential tower catering to the affordable luxury market. The Connor’s launch comes after Ortigas turned over its 53-storey luxury tower, The Viridian, last month.
“We felt that it is just but appropriate to broaden the market reach by developing a product that we believe will address the requirements of a lot of people who intend to be in Greenhills… It will have the benefit of being right beside the new Greenhills shopping center as well as an office component,” Ortigas President and Chief Executive Officer Jaime E. Ysmael said in a press briefing on Thursday.
For The Connor, a total of 47 floors will be allotted for 970 residential units. Units will range from studio with a size of 27 square meters (sq.m.) to 3-bedroom units spanning 120 sq.m. Prices start from P3.1 million to P21 million, depending on the size of the unit.
The remaining seven floors will be dedicated to podium parking, while the tower will have one floor reserved for its amenity deck.
Meanwhile, a total of 216 units will be serviced apartments, operated by local serviced apartment firm Hospitality Innovators, Inc.
“There’s no hotel or serviced apartment, very little of that kind of product in that area. What we offer the potential buyers or investors is an opportunity to own a condo, put it into a rental pool, furnish it uniformly as the rest and which will be operated and managed by an established hotel operator,” Mr. Ysmael said.
The company targets to break ground for the project by the last quarter of 2017, and will be constructed in a span of five years.
Ortigas officials noted the high take-up for the project, which has been getting a lot of inquiries even before its launch.
“We have quite a number of buyers that are looking at buying a multiple number of units… I think we will be in a position to make an announcement of a record-breaking performance right after this weekend,” Ortigas Senior Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas F. Mirasol said during the same briefing.
Meanwhile, the mall and office component will contribute to around 100,000 sq.m. of leasable space in the district.
Asked where the company will get financing for the projects, Mr. Ysmael said they are maximizing the balance sheet before turning to external funding.
“We will assess whether we will need equity capital, but definitely debt capital will be the primary source on top, to supplement cash from operations which we are generating. There’s cash flows from the leasing business, especially now that we have more leasable space,” Mr. Ysmael said. — Arra B. Francia
