Ortigas & Co. launches latest residential enclave in QC

MANILA, Philippines- The developer of the Greenhills Shopping Center and Tiendesitas will be embarking on a multi-billion worth of projects in a period of 15 years. Ortigas & Co. said it may spend up to P60 billion for the construction of 12-hectare residential enclave in Quezon City, the expansion of the Greenhills Shopping Center and the construction of the tallest building in the Philippines in Ortigas Center. All the three projects have a budget of P20 billion each. On Thursday, the company launched mixed-use Circulo Verde in Bagumbayan, Quezon City, which is near Eastwood. Joey Santos, Ortigas & Co. deputy chief operating officer, said the project will have 15 residential buildings of staggered heights to give residents view of the nearby Sierra Madre mountains and the Metro Manila skyline. “This project will have 4,000 residential condominium units. There will be a row of shops for the convenience of the residents," he said. The first phase of the mid-market project will consist of five residential buildings. “We believe that the market still has money and that it is just looking for products which have value for money," Santos added. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Rapadas, Ortigas & Co. chief finance officer, said the company will rely on its strong balance sheet to fund about 60 percent of the Circulo Verde project and the rest to be funded by pre-selling of the development. Greenhills Shopping Center may start to get its facelift within the year, by first tearing down the Unimart Supermarket. Santos said the company will first built a temporary building for Unimart and then will go on to expand its current 10,000 square meter floor area building into 20,000 square meters by adding more floors. After that, the Music Museum, which currently has 1,000 seats, will be transferred to a new location with 1,200 seats near the shopping center's theater area. The first renovation of the Greenhills Shopping Center took eight years, while its planned expansion will take the company some 15 years again to complete. “We want to double the size of the shopping center," said Santos. As for the tallest building in the Philippines, Ortigas & Co. is still drawing up the plan for it. Santos also said the company's earnings last year improved earnings by 7.5 percent to P800 million while gross revenues amounted to P1.9 billion. Ortigas & Co. will also get back the ownership of a 10-hectare property in Kapitolyo in Pasig from the Rizal local government. Santos said the development of the project may start a year and half later. “We're focused on Circulo Verde for now," he said. Ortigas Center is a project of Ortigas & Co. CMA, GMANews.TV