(GGDC vice chairman and president Wilfredo A. Placino and chair
Dennis A. Uy sign a joint venture agreement with Century Properties
chairman and CEO Ambassador Jose E.B. Antonio and COO Jose Marco
R. Antonio. Contributed Photo)
CLARK FREEPORT – Aimed at accelerating the development of this freeport, the Global Gateway Development Corp. (GGDC) and the Century Properties Group, Inc. are joining forces.
The two companies signed a memorandum of agreement on January 9 for the creation of a joint venture that will develop 2.6 hectares of the 177-hectare Clark Global City (CGC) here.
“We are delighted to welcome Century Properties as another key partner in developing the country’s new center of business, life and innovation,” GGDC chairman Dennis A. Uy said.
“This is in line with our strategy to fast-track the development of Clark Global City. By joining forces with the country’s leading local developers, we can sooner unlock the potential of Clark Global City, expand our economy’s capacity, nurture businesses and generate more employment opportunities,” Uy said.
The joint venture will develop a mix of residential and office buildings with support retail establishments. The tie-up will represent Century Properties’ first development in this freeport, a former military base currently being transformed into the country’s next big metropolis and primed as the answer to Metro Manila’s congestion.
For his part, Century Properties chairman and CEO Jose E.B. Antonio said: “We are proud of this joint-venture partnership with GGDC and we look forward to sharing our expertise from 33 years in the real estate business and bringing our experience from past successes to this project.”
Antonio added that, “Century Properties is one with GGDC’s vision of building a green and efficient model city in the North. Our new project together will certainly make a great addition to Clark Global City’s iconic master plan. We are very optimistic about the growth of Clark as the country’s premiere aerotropolis and we hope this is only the first of a series of projects.”
The real estate company is banking on the phenomenal growth of Central Luzon, which has the highest number of occupied housing units; and also Clark, which has emerged as the second largest market for office after Metro Manila.
“We believe in the vision for Clark Global City as the premiere address in the North,” Century Properties COO Marco R. Antonio said. “As massive infrastructure projects are underway to make Clark connected and highly accessible, Century Properties wishes to ride on this growth momentum by serving the real demand in the office and residential markets,” he added.
With a buildable area of more than 109 hectares, Clark Global City will host top-grade office buildings, up-market retail outlets, contemporary academic centers, sports centers, an urban park, an iconic tower, in integrated resort and casino, and modern support services and amenities.
CGC was previously envisioned as an aviation- focused logistics park exclusively developed by GGDC. When the Udenna Group took over in 2017, it renewed its lease agreement over the estate to run until 2085 and amended the master plan with a vision of developing the area as the next Central Business District – maximizing allowable building heights and floor area ratios, opening additional access points, right-sizing the lot cuts to the needs of the market, and welcoming local partners in developing the leasehold.
The development has since received strong interest from locators. In its Real Estate Market Insights for December 2018, Leechiu Property Consultants cited CGC as the most in-demand development outside Metro Manila, having accounted for a majority of the 156,000 square meters of office demand in Clark.
“Its location within a special economic zone; proximity to major thoroughfares and international gateways; and access to a young and highly skilled talent pool easily make Clark Global City an outstanding business destination,” Uy said.
