Bonifacio Global City? Gets A Grand Makeover
Source: FBDC (http://www.bonifacioglobalcity.com.ph)

The Ayala?Campos Group that acquired a controlling interest in Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC) recently unveiled an ambitious makeover for the city center which will serve as the heart of the 240 ha, Bonifacio Global City? (BGC). Working together with their partners in the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and in close cooperation with the City of Taguig, both groups envision a premier business district that could take its rightful place among Metro Manila?s existing network of financial centers while promoting innovation, creativity and work-life balance.

Joel Luna, Ayala Land assistant vice president in charge of technical planning, justified the need for a new masterplan. He recalled that upon takeover, Ayala Land officers realized that the circular form of the original city center masterplan was going to give rise to a host of problems. These included numerous traffic choke points, odd-shaped lots, and unevenly distributed access to parks and other amenities. ?It was not going to be a city that would work and would allow business people and other professionals to stretch their creative potential to the fullest extent,? he said.

The new masterplan for the city center introduced four critical elements:

  • a road network with a grid layout that would allow for more efficient traffic management;
  • dedicated bus lanes for a managed public transit loop;
  • pedestrian walkways which comfortably and conveniently link buildings to parking and transit systems;
  • well-distributed and broadly accessible park areas to serve as focal points.

    For BGC locators and residents, all four amenity elements are expected to become an integral part of their lifestyle. ?For investors, the plan ensures that value will accrue to every property since each one is adjacent to one or more of these amenities. At BGC, every lot will be a prime lot?.

    ALI executive vice president Vincent Y. Tan admits that the full implementation of the master plan will result in a significant loss of saleable land area on BGC?s balance sheet. ?In revising the master plan for the city center, we actually lost a significant amount of saleable land, not a decision any businessman makes lightly,? he says. ?But the plan we now have works better in all respects. Its rectangular street grid leads to reduced traffic congestion, more lots with regular shapes, and better distribution of amenities. For all this, the loss of saleable land is a price we are quite willing to pay.?

    He revealed that the partners have embarked on a program to spend more than P8 billion out of FBDC?s internal funds over the next 20 years to implement the masterplan.

    One of the earliest tangible benefits of the new masterplan is an innovative retail development  which will be launched later this year. The development?s focus is a 40 meter-wide landscaped area that will be 500 meters in length and will be lined by stores and restaurants with the latest and most novel concepts. At the same time, this green pedestrian promenade will be a dynamic social hub for participative activities organized by the merchants in the area, as well as an interactive park that families can enjoy.

    While Bonifacio Global City? will generally be self-contained, it will remain connected to other business districts and well situated in relation to the larger region. Bonifacio Global City??s location between Edsa and C-5 gives it many undue advantages. This benefit is all the more emphasized by its seven major access points: Kalayaan Avenue which connects it to the North; Kalayaan Flyover, which allows access from Makati in the West via Edsa; McKinley Road; the three main entrances from C5 highway in the East; and from the airport through the Villamor Airbase.

    Luna reveals that a multi-disciplinary team comprised of Ayala Land experts in planning, office development, commercial centers, and property management sat down to map out development in the area together with officers from FBDC, Evergreen Holdings, Inc. (Campos group) and the BCDA. The team also benefited from the inputs of the best international consultants in the fields of urban design, landscaping, transportation, utilities and infrastructure. Inspired by some of the greatest cities in the world and banking on the Ayala?s experience in Makati ? the team has matched an innovative masterplan with rock-solid shared commitment to shaping BGC into a city that works.