Evolving Makati

I got a lot of feedback for the image I showed in my last article “Tree-fic Makati.” It was the 1970s picture of two ladies waiting for a ride on Ayala Avenue. Since I’ve started showing images like these, I’ve had many readers send me pictures from Makati’s evolution of the last few decades. It makes for fascinating viewing as it clearly shows the tremendous changes that have made Makati the premier central business district (CBD) in the country.

A lot of the pictures I have accumulated on Makati are in black and white, like the aerials from the early 1960s and the image of three necktied salary men walking down Ayala Avenue. A lot of those that have been sent me (with some uncredited ones from the Internet) are in color, since Kodacolor became quite affordable in the late ‘60s and ‘70s before Fuji and the rest invaded the market.

I also received some original slides and negatives from my old boss IP Santos. I used to work for him in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. He had a penthouse office at the Doña Narcisa Building on Paseo de Roxas. I found an old picture he took of that building (designed by Gabriel Formoso) in the mid-‘60s when it and the Insular Life (designed by Cesar Concio, also an ex-boss of mine) were the

Makati Avenue in the ’70s, from a cache of images circulating on the Internet.

only buildings around the area.

The Ayala Corporation had a great idea in the ‘50s and that was to properly plan a business district that addressed the problems of the old original one in Binondo, Manila. They created a wide central avenue to house tall buildings on both sides, and provided them with more than adequate parking in the rear. Nearby, they developed exclusive subdivision or “villages” to house the executives needed by these establishments.

The plan worked and the district filled up in the ‘60s and ‘70s with all the major banks and commercial concerns that had their

Ayala Avenue in the ’60s was head and shoulders above any other avenue in the region.

main offices in Manila. The emerging district even attracted new investors like IBM (in a building by Carlos Arguelles) and returning concerns like Citibank (by Leandro Locsin.) The modern amenities and efficient road and parking system were great come-ons for locators.

I also found my old negatives from when I worked with IP Santos. I took a lot of pictures with my trusty Olympus OM-1 35mm SLR camera. Many of these were of the Ugarte football field across the road in what is now the wonderful the Ayala Triangle Garden. The trees then were not as big; and with today’s pedestrian system in both Legazpi and Salcedo villages, walking around the district is actually much better than in those days.

When the district started to fill up, the owners of the buildings and properties, along with the Ayala Corporation, formed an association to manage the district, maintain its parks and greenery and to plan for future improvements. The Makati Commercial Estates Association or MACEA has obviously done a good job. They are continuing these improvements to bring the district up to world-class levels in terms of urban design, streetscape and landscape architecture.

The Makati of the ‘60s and ‘70s has changed from relatively low commercial buildings that barely got past 12 stories (because of technological limitations and mandated ceiling then) to really tall skyscrapers between 30 and 50 stories high. Plans are afoot for new ones that will rise past 60 stories. No doubt the iconic skyline of Makati CBD will change even more, reflecting the vibrancy of the businesses that choose to set up shop there.

Lately, I have been frequenting the Peninsula Manila and the Shangri-La Hotel Makati, along with other hotels in the district, for business meetings. The Makati CBD is also the venue of choice for most such gatherings and because a lot of foreign investors are billeted there. The CBD’s proximity to the airport and modern amenities make it an ideal base for businessmen (and women) from overseas.

Ayala Avenue today is our version of Wall Street.

Makati, in fact, was one of the fist CBDs in the region to modernize. It was among the first to build multi-level car parks, the first to build a proper commercial center, the first to integrate residential quarters in a master planned development. Over the years, the district has evolved.

The seeds it planted in the ‘60s have blossomed and secured the district’s status as an acknowledged Asian CBD. With a slew of improvement programs, new skyscrapers, renovated complexes and enhancements of its pedestrian and vehicular circulation, the district is poised to evolve even more — to the ranks of top global city centers.

With proper planning, an efficient and progressive management association, the support of local government and the investment of local and multinational corporations, Makati will continue to evolve, improve and enhance both the Philippine business environment as well as the quality of lives of those who live, work and play there.

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com. If you have any pictures of Makati of the ‘50s, ‘60s or ‘70s and would like to share these memories, please send them to me. I can also scan from old negatives or slides.