Ortigas pours P50 B for Greenhills makeover

MANILA, Philippines – Ortigas & Co. is pouring in at least P50 billion to redevelop the popular Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan.

In an interview, Ortigas & Co. president and CEO Jaime Ysmael said the 16-hectare shopping district would be transformed into a mixed-use property with residential condominiums and a hotel.

The master plan for the redevelopment of Greenhills has been completed, he said.

Of the roughly P50 billion, the company has allocated at least P10 billion for the first two phases of the redevelopment plan.

Ysmael said the blueprint would be implemented in stages because lease contracts of existing tenants don’t expire all at the same time.

“We don’t want to disrupt the earnings stream (of the tenants),” Ysmael said.

Ortigas & Co. has four major land parcels, which are all being redeveloped jointly by the Sy and Ayala Groups since partnering in 2014 to manage and develop the Ortigas family’s property company.

These are the Greenhills Shopping Center (16 hectares); Frontera Verda along Libis (15 hectares), Capitol Commons in Shaw (10 hectares) and Cirkulo Verde in Kalye Industriya (10 hectares).

Ysmael said the company is still completing the master plan for the other land parcels but the concept for all areas is to have a mixed-use development.

“For Frontera Verde, we have not yet completed the master plan but we will again have a mixed use community, with a residential component as well as a shopping center. It will complement what we have in Greenhills,” he said.

There would also be business process outsourcing (BPO) campus-type development in the area.

The company, meanwhile, is expanding Capitol Commons to accommodate more shopping components and office areas.

“We’re on our way to expanding the shopping center component, Estancia 2 and 3 are now being constructed. It will complement Estancia 1, which is limited because the shops are mostly at the upper end of the spectrum,” Ysmael said.

The company hopes to broaden the market with Estancia 2 and 3 by also having more established brands.

“Aside from Estancia we’re also looking at offering office products because Capitol Commons is in a very unique location which is in Shaw and Meralco Ave.,” Ysmael said.

The last parcel is Cirkulo Verde, which is a residential enclave.