Why BGC's 5th Ave can be the next Ayala Avenue

MANILA – Ayala Avenue has a rich history, and is dubbed as the "Wall Street" of the Philippines because of the many businesses along the 1.9-kilometer road.

But real estate services provider KMC MAG Group Inc. said another stretch of road in Taguig may soon become the new premiere street in the Philippine capital.

Jose Carmelo Porciuncula, head of investments at KMC MAG Group, said most of the “prime” buildings currently in construction are located along Bonifacio Global City’s 5th Ave.

Four prime buildings—Net Park, Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), World Plaza, and Arthaland—have all chosen 5th Ave. as its location.

According to Porcuincula, only five towers in Makati are classified as prime.

“I think with any business district, there is a natural main road that is developed. If you look at Makati: Ayala Avenue. When you look at Ortigas: Emerald Avenue. So for us, in BGC it’s 5th Avenue. It’s where the headquarters are being placed. It’s where the prime buildings are being built, it’s where most of the expensive hotels are being built,” he told ABS-CBNnews.com at the sidelines of the real estate agency’s press briefing in Makati on Thursday.

Net Park is the seventh office building developed by Net Group, and is scheduled for turnover in the second quarter of 2015

The new PSE office tower will be completed in the second quarter of 2016 while World Plaza will be completed late 2016.

The P3.5 billion Arthaland Tower, meanwhile, is a 30-storey office tower that is targeted to be completed by 2017.

KMC MAG Group said around 287,000 sqm of new supply is coming online on 5th Avenue. Premiere hotel brands such as Shangri-La and Ascott are also on 5th Avenue.

Porcuincula said developments along 5th Avenue and nearby streets will be built within a 10-year period, unlike developments along Makati’s Ayala Avenue, which were completed in a longer period and in phases.

“BGC is just being built completely, so it will have a different feel, it will have a different look,” he said.

He added that rental rates in buildings along 5th Avenue are also more expensive compared to rates on Ayala Avenue.

“I think now they’re going to be more expensive than Ayala…If not as expensive, a little bit more expensive,” he said.

Porcuincula believes that although multinational companies will look into setting up shop in 5th Avenue due to the lack of space in Ayala, there is enough business for both streets to co-exist.

“There will always be affinity towards Makati, and you have developers like Ayala backing up their redevelopment and gentrification of Makati. But there is enough business to go around that you can have Ayala thrive and 5th Avenue also become the new main road of BGC,” he said.