A new perspective in urban development

Written by Victor Sollorano

Wednesday, 26 November 2008 19:14

PHILIPPINE urban development has come a long way from the Malay settlement at the mouth of the Pasig river in the 16th Century, led by rajas who controlled the flow of trade with the Chinese to the inner settlements of Laguna de Bae, to the Spanish colonial center of Intramuros and its pueblos and arabales that spanned the 16th Century to the 19th Century, to today’s ultra-modern city of Makati. The current hub of business, commerce and finance in the Philippines also plays host to half of the country’s unified stock exchange in the swankiest address known as Tower One & Exchange Plaza in the Ayala Triangle—that was an airstrip before World War II—bounded by Ayala Avenue, Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue. (The other half is in the Philippine Stock Exchange Center on Exchange Road in Orgitas Center, Pasig City.) Before that, business, commerce and finance happened in the neighboring districts of Quiapo, Escolta, Binondo and Sta. Cruz in the city of Manila. That was from the 1950s to the 1960s, although they’ve always been there since before the Spanish era as in the case of Quiapo, which got its name after the type of aquatic lily that abound in that part of Pasig river. Binondo was, and still is, the Chinatown and was home to the original Manila Stock Exchange. Escolta was posh, the “Fifth Avenue” for more than half of 20th Century Manila; and Sta. Cruz was entertainment and shopping district for locals. Because the idea of urban settlement and its accompanying demographics is dynamic, a shift is always inevitable. Makati managed to maintain its status as an upscale, mixed-use township, especially since the 1980s, because the Ayala family—the third richest family in the Philippines whose wealth runs in the vicinity of billions of US dollars, according to Forbes magazine—espouses a religious adherence to development that employ innovative approaches to architecture and design of malls and living spaces that continue to attract that segment of urban dwellers with spending power. The peace and order aspect of urban dwelling is also given priority that visitors to the Greenbelt malls, for example, feel secure in their leisure moments when most people in other places are vulnerable to criminal acts. Along the lines of dynamism and constant evolutionary cycles of life, however, Makati and Ortigas may have to relinquish their respective status in the current scheme of Philippine-style urbanism as the trading floors of the stock exchange move out of their respective jurisdictions and into a single and truly unified bourse in Bonifacio Global City by 2010. This ambitious 25.78-square kilometer urban development in Taguig City, east of Makati, is also known as The Fort for it was part and parcel of Fort Bonifacio, headquarters of the Philippine Army from 1949 to 1995. Development is in full swing in Global City, the kind that costs money. So far, there is no landed housing available, and the high-rise and low-rise units in Pacific Plaza and Serendra go for as high as $1 million, or more, to as low as $250,000, respectively. If you can still find a unit available, that is. The concept of Global City revolves on a mixed-use urban center managed by the Bases Conversion Development Authority. The authority’s partner in this undertaking is the Bonifacio Land Development Corp., a consortium led by Metro Pacific. In 2003, Ayala Land Inc. and Evergreen Holdings Inc. of the Compos Group, led by industrialist Jose Campos, bought a controlling stake in Bonifacio Land from Metro Pacific. Apart from Serendra and Pacific Plaza, the other residential condominiums in Global City include Essensa, Regent Parkway, Bonifacio Ridge, One McKinley Place, Penhurst Parkplace, Seibu Tower, Fairways Tower, Forbes Town, Fifth Avenue Place and The Icon Towers. Many others are under construction. The British School Manila, Manila Japanese School, International School Manila and Chinese International School Manila now have their respective campuses in Global City. Also in the area are Summit School, Victory Leadership Institute, MGC-New Life Christian Academy and STI College Global City, as well as Enderun Colleges. In the vicinities of Bonifacio High Street, The Fort Square and Fort Strip are trendy restaurants, bars, clubs and retail outlets. On the eastern fringe of Global City is Market! Market!, a shopping center owned and operated by Ayala Land. Banks and corporations that are currently located in Makati have also acquired properties in Taguig’s upscale center where they have committed to relocate their regional or national headquarters, such as The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Those that are now up and running are Deutsche Bank, Sony and Sony Ericsson, and Lawson Philippine Solution and Service Center. Fujitsu Philippines Inc. also bought its own place in Global City. Construction is now ongoing for The St. Luke’s Medical Center and the Taguig Coliseum and Convention Center, as well as the embassies of Singapore and Korea. In the last five years, pop-rock events held in Global City reflected the global nature of this place from the Black Parade world tour of My Chemical Romance, to the Beyoncé Experience of Beyoncé Knowles, to the Bonez Tour of Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan, to the Back to Basics Tour of Christina Aguilera, to the Charmbracelet World Tour of Mariah Carey, to the MTV Music Summit for HIV/AIDS, now a yearly event held at The Fort. About a year ago, Bonifacio High Street, a pedestrian lane bounded on both sides with world-class restaurants and stores, was practically empty, except for curious denizens who were only passing through and wanted to see what Global City was all about. The Fort Square and The Fort Strip was where it was all happening at night. The nightclubs, bars and restaurants fill up, especially on weekends; and Friday nights were a special treat, like a tacit understanding among denizens of the night whose lives seem devoted to grove the night away and party on ‘till the break of day. These days the condos are fast filling up, and many from neighboring cities have discovered this new township that seems like a hinterland oasis at the border of Taguig and Makati on the fringe of opulence that is residential Forbes Park; and if you’ve been to Tokyo’s Ginza district, you’d probably recognize similarities in the neatness of The Fort minus the sense of Japanese formality in the air. Yes, this is the future and it is happening right now in Global City. After 600 years, we’ve come a long way from the mouth of the Pasig river to embrace this concept of urban planning and development that takes into consideration demography, population density and space allocation. In a world where change is ever present, we have that unique opportunity to shape our destiny as urban dwellers in a space-time continuum that we may open our eyes to a new morning, gladly and thankful in a way for the chance to communicate with the creative innovations of architects, engineers and designers to make life worthwhile; and living not just bearable but truly magnificent as we allow today’s architecture, technology and thinking to impact our existence in the way we live and play.