Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) on Wednesday said it broke ground at its Central Bloc project, the company’s latest mixed-use integrated development in Cebu City.
The company said it will invest P8 billion on the 2.2-hectare property from which office, retail and hotel facilities will rise, all at the center of Cebu IT Park.
“This is a landmark event in ALI’s history,” Bernard Vincent Dy, Ayala Land president and CEO, said. He recalled that Cebu City was the first city outside of Metro Manila, where Ayala Land started developing mixed-use projects.
“It highlights our commitment to support Cebu City. We envision the Central Bloc to be a refreshing hub where business and leisure converge,” he added.
The mall, with approximately 43,000 square meters of gross leasable area, is also set to open in the first quarter of 2018. Envisioned to be a refreshing and hip hangout, Ayala Malls Central Bloc will help make Cebu IT Park the hub of convergence for a younger and more active market segment, the company said.
Central Bloc connects to The Walk with a landscaped open area that also features dining and retail spaces.
A Seda hotel will open by the third quarter of 2018. The 12-story hotel will have 214 rooms and will feature a roof deck bar. It will also be the first Seda hotel to cater to long-staying guests with its 58 apartment suites.
The company said two business-process outsourcing (BPO) office towers will also be part of the development. Upon completion in 2019, the two buildings are expected to generate 14,000 jobs in the BPO sector.
Ayala Land, the country’s second-largest property developer, said its net income rose 26 percent last year, to P14.8 billion in 2014, some 26 percent from the previous year’s already-record profit of P11.74 billion.
Last year’s rate of growth, however, was slower than the previous year’s 30-percent increase of its net income and 36 percent for its revenues.
Consolidated revenues reached P95.2 billion, 17 percent higher from the previous year’s P81.52 billion.
“Moving forward, we will continue to introduce new residential projects and scale-up our commercial leasing operations in support of our 2020 Vision,” Dy said.
Source: VG Cabuag | BusinessMirror
