Sustained demand from IT-Business Process Manufacturing (IT-BPM) firms, multinationals and expanding companies have minimized rent fluctuation in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) despite Covid and its mutations, according to studies by Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC).
BGC tenants are holding on to their spaces indicating their long-term confidence that things will eventually work out notwithstanding work-from-home arrangements and other difficulties of the moment. LPC brokers who closely watch for space availabilities in this district have even received inquiries for penthouse spaces signifying strong business optimism from those drawn to the area.
Consequently, BGC developers like Alpha Plus Property Holdings Inc., owner of the highly visible 32-story Ecoprime tower on the corner of 32nd and Ninth Avenue, are confident that Metro Manila’s 18 percent vacancy across all business districts will be temporary. More so because Peza spaces in BGC are currently registering a minimal 4 percent vacancy.
BGC buildings with available Peza space like Ecoprime continue to be sought after by IT-BPMs and firms that have sustained revenues during the pandemic due to their size, ability to make the most of opportunities or both. LPC Executive Director for Investment Sales Henry Cabrera relates that the largest concentration of multinationals is now in BGC with many having migrated from older buildings in Makati to newer ones in Taguig like the LEED Gold certified Alpha Plus development which has a superior air filtration system. “There are only two Peza accredited buildings in BGC available right now that can offer 10,000 sq m or more of contiguous space, and Ecoprime is one of them.”
Interest in BGC buildings has further been primed by infrastructure projects set to vastly improve accessibility to the district including the BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road. The government project partially opened with the completion last year of the Santa-Monica Lawton bridge. When the Lawton Avenue-Global City viaduct component is finished, the Link Road will improve mobility even more between Taguig and the Pasig-Mandaluyong area.
The Metro Manila subway for completion in 2027 will also connect BGC to key points of Metro Manila from Valenzuela to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in under an hour.
All these factors have kept BGC office towers like Ecoprime, now offering 15k sq m of contiguous space suitable for large tenants, attractive business destinations. The high level of commercial activities, residential options, cultural, leisure and other offerings of BGC keep it attractive not only for employers but also for employees.
Cabrera discloses, for instance, that employees living with their families on the weekends in outlying metropolitan areas will deliberately look for jobs in BGC because of the work-life balance available there. Many employees in their 20s and early 30s are now populating BGC’s co-living spaces or dorm-like accommodations where they stay weekdays. They would rather pay rent for co-living accommodations so they can socialize after hours and avoid long, costly commutes.
Employed newly-weds and starting families may also opt to seek work in BGC because of the range of residential options and after-work life available to them there.
“BGC has limited new office space supply coming in the next three years and demand will continue to grow as we recover from the pandemic,” according to Cabrera. For this reason, tenants attracted to the district’s top grade office spaces like Ecoprime will keep it robust and lively.
Ecoprime is designed by Miami based firm, Arquitectonica. It has efficient floor plates, 11 high-speed elevators and 2×4 meters double glazed low E floor to ceiling glass panels. Its in-house property managers ensure that the leading-edge office tower will remain efficient and attractive to tenants.