Lopez Group to expand Rockwell

BY JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO, BusinessWorld Senior Reporter Lopez-owned Rockwell Land Corp. wants to expand its flagship project, the 15-hectare Rockwell Center, and has started negotiations with owners of neighboring properties. In an interview, Nestor Padilla, president, told BusinessWorld the firm wants to expand Rockwell Center because it now only has three lots left to develop. The Rockwell Center is a mixed-use project in Makati City which has office buildings, upscale residential condominiums, a school and a mall. The three lots that are yet to be developed are the area that is currently being used as a parking lot for the Ateneo graduate school, a lot beside the mall that has been allocated for a hotel, and the lot that is allocated for the Lopez Tower. "We’ve invested so much in Rockwell. We’ve been talking to our neighbors and hopefully we can make Rockwell Center not just 15 hectares, but eventually make it 30 hectares," Mr. Padilla said. He said the company has been in talks with the factory owners beside Rockwell Center as well as those on the other side of Pasig River. "There’s so many factories around us. One day they will have to redevelop that," he said. Rockwell Center, Mr. Padilla said, has initiated talks with SC Johnson and Colgate Palmolive which have properties along Estrella Street and beside Rockwell Center. He said that across Pasig River, the company has already started talks with manufacturing firm Noah’s Ark for a 2.5-hectare property and Apollo Steel for a five-hectare property. Mr. Padilla said Rockwell can expand across Pasig River since the government is planning to build a bridge that will extend Estrella Street over the river. "The government wants to get it built. We’re hoping we can do something across the river and get the bridge built," he said. He said Rockwell Land will try to enter into joint ventures with these land owners, since the company wants to "preserve its capital." He added if the company is able to get additional land for Rockwell Center, it will develop these into more residential towers. Mr. Padilla said the newly acquired land will be developed ahead of the three existing vacant lots of Rockwell Center. "The three will be the last to go," he said.