IN a bid to regain its status as a premier business and entertainment center, Ortigas & Co. is making all the stops to ensure the P60-billion redevelopment plan of Greenhills Commercial Center is on the right track.
The 86-year old company has recently launched a residential tower called Connor, the flagship project of the property developer seeking to revitalize Greenhills. From the P60-billion fund, P10 billion will be allotted for the development of Connor, the second residential development of the company following the Viridian.
The 55-story Connor tower will rise on the intersection of Club Filipino Avenue and Eisenhower Street. It is envisioned to bring in a fresh take on the iconic estate, which is now being transformed into a complete shop-work-play-live destination.
Connor is one of the key components of the first phase of the Greenhills redevelopment. It will join a new business-process outsourcing office building and a new mall to complete the initial stage of the estate’s upgrade.
The tower is targeted to break ground in the last quarter of 2017.
“Connor is going to be our next focal project in Greenhills. We are tapping into the market of second-generation Greenhills residents and other Metro Manila residents who are looking for an investment or a home that is centrally located within the city, as well as situated in a mixed-use setting,” said Ortigas & Co. President and CEO Jaime E. Ysmael in a recent news briefing held at Capital Commons.
“We have observed a major shift in buyer’s behavior on their residential needs. Gone are the days when opt to go to the suburbs,” Ysmael added.
With the tight traffic situation happening on a daily basis, property analysts noted that buyers prefer to acquire a residential unit near their workplace to ensure faster mobility going to and from work to home.
Dubbed as “contemporary manor”, Connor offers both familiar and fresh takes on living in the Greenhills and San Juan areas. It will have 47 residential floors, seven floors for parking and a floor dedicated to the tower’s top-class amenities.
Connor has a majority of studio units, as well as one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom options. Unit sizes range from 27 square meters to 120 sq m with prices from P3.7 million to P21 million.
The company said 216 out of the tower’s total 970 units will be allotted for serviced residences to cater to business travelers and Ortigas-based expats and tourists. Callison RTKL, one of the world’s leading creators of prime residential buildings, is the design consultant for the design of Connor. They are in collaboration with GF & Partners, an award winning local architectural firm.
“Connor is going to be another showcase of our development philosophy of building quality, value-for-money projects, and it will also afford future owners the privilege of having Greenhills Shopping Center as their multi-billion-peso backyard.”
Moreover, Ysmael said the company will strengthen the Greenhills redevelopment with the construction of a new mall. The new mall will have another tiangge, or bazaar, to add to the already extensive offers of the existing bazaar. A department store will also be put up to further augment Greenhills’s retail strong points, along with a new boulevard and cinemas.
“We are looking to add more office buildings and residential towers for the redevelopment’s upcoming phases, so we want the estate to be truly integrated and grounded on strong retail, dining and lifestyle offerings,” Ysmael stressed.
Ysmael also said Ortigas & Co. aims to grow its leasing portfolio to grow along with the residential component.
The company is also seeking to develop a major presence in the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry to boost its office portfolio. With their unique location, Ysmael said Ortigas & Co. is confident it can attract the major players in the industry.
With several mixed-used development projects ongoing in the metropolis, Ysmael acknowledged there is a stiff competition among the developers. “Hopefully, by banking on the Ortigas legacy and the partnership between SM and Ayala, we can compete with the rest of the field,” Ysmael explained.
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