Megaworld to put up P7.2-B mixed-use complex in Binondo
by Zinnia B. Dela Peña
The Philippine Star - 06/09/2006

Upscale real estate developer Megaworld Corp. has signed a deal with the city government of Manila to develop a 4.6-hectare property in the Binondo district into a mixed-use project estimated to cost P7.2 billion. This marks Megaworld’s first venture in Manila.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Megaworld said the first parcel of land will be developed into a modern educational complex comprising six school buildings and 414 residential units for public school teachers and non-teaching personnel of the Manila City government.

The second parcel is intended for a self-contained residential community to be called Cityplace, which will comprise more than 1,700 residential condominium units, a shopping center, office space for business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and a boutique hotel for business travelers.

The hotel, along with a centerpiece promenade accessible to residents and open to the public, is envisioned to help establish Binondo, Chinatown as an important tourist destination.

Development of the whole project is expected to be completed over a five-year period.

The educational complex is slated for completion in 2007 while the residential units are due in 2011.

Megaworld chairman and president Andrew Tan said the project will be the largest real estate development in Manila over the past 25 years. It will also pay tribute to Binondo Chinatown as a melting pot of Malay, Spanish and Chinese influences.

"Our plans for this themed development include creating new green parks for the benefit of people living and working in Binondo, constructing a public car parking facility and building new by-pass roads and pedestrian overpasses to make the project environment and pedestrian-friendly.

We have pioneered in urban renewal and redevelopment in Metro Manila’s key cities such as Makati, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City and we intend to put this expertise to energize Binondo Chinatown and take it to the next level as Manila’s premier growth center to help move the country forward," Tan said.

Megaworld Corp. is setting aside P47 billion over a 10-year period for the development of new residential projects, office buildings for BPOs, and retail outlets.

Around P20 billion of the programmed capital budget will be channelled to the construction of office buildings catering to the needs of call center companies or BPO firms and the acquisition of additional properties to expand rental income.

To take advantage of the continued robust growth of the call center business, Megaworld will build around 400,000 square meters of BPO-ready office space over the next five years in Eastwood City, Mckinley Hill and Newport City.

For this year, Megaworld is building two call center buildings. Once completed, these structures would raise the company’s BPO leasable space to 105,000 square meters.

Among the big-ticket township or residential projects of the company include the 50-hectare McKinley Hill in Bonifacio Global City, the 25-hectare Newport City near the Villamor golf course in Pasay City, and Manhattan Garden City in Araneta Center, Cubao.

These projects combined require total investments of $787 million (roughly P40.14 billion).

Of the $787 million, $350 million will go to the development of Mckinley Hill, Newport City ($300 million), and Manhattan ($137 million).

Other projects slated for completion this year up to 2008 are The Eastwood Excelsior, One Orchard Road, the Grand Eastwood Palazzo and the Eastwood Parkview. The Eastwood Excelsior is a twin-tower residential condominium building while Parkview is a Miami-style twin tower residential-cum-mall development.

Apart from property development, Megaworld is also into hotel operations through Prestige Hotels & Resorts Inc., a subsidiary which operates the Richmonde Hotel in the Ortigas Center.

^^ So if ALI has Avida San Lazaro and Alveo San Lazaro, Robinsons has Otis 888... Megaworld now have the Cityplace. :D

^^ Competition is really stiff... Megaworld vs. Ayala vs. Robinsons

Megaworld is building something upscale. Avida lang kasi yung sa Ayala. Malay ko sa Robinsons... Magtayo na rin ng mall ang Ayala para talagang competition...LOL

^^ Bawal eh, pumayag ang SM na magtayo ng mall sa San Lazaro provided that it says on the contract that no other mall will be allowed there.

really? wow! so let the competition begin! this will benefit the end users/consumers. thanks for posting this article. we look forward to the start of this project.

Cityplace is a much more prime location in my experience. It's a block away from 168 2 minutes walk to divisoria. It's not a market most people are familiar with but this is the market that pays Php 200,000 per sq.m. for RIGHTS! They do not have freehold but are just leasing it at over Php 1000 per sq.m. per month. Very good Market.

This is a really impressive project, judging from the renderings I've seen earlier in Kontrobersyal, ABS-CBN. (Anyone who has screen captures of the renderings?)

It's sad to say that almost all of the students and likely about half of the faculty members oppose the relocation of Jose Abad Santos High School and Raja Soliman High School to the new location which will be developed by Megaworld into a modern school-complex with more amenities and facilities than what they currently have as a public-funded school.

Lahat ng students na ininterview nila, ayaw sa relocation ng school nila, sabi nga nung isa eh, "Ang dami-dami namang lugar na pagtatayuan ng call center, bakit dito pa sa school namin?".

Apparently, they're totally clueless as to what will be built there (thank God we at SSC know better!), they may not have even heard of Megaworld and all the projects that they've done, and judging from the renderings, this will be one the best projects of Megaworld that I’ve ever seen (well at least in the renderings it looks awe-inspiring as if it’s one of those multi-tower residential developments with massively beautiful podiums that we usually see in our Southeast Asian neighbors, I’m not sure though if the real thing would look as good because some previous projects of Megaworld would look stunning on the rendering but when built would look so-so, but at least they maximize the use of every meter of space in their projects), and dapat lang naman because it will help in the renewal of Manila’s dusty and grimy streets within that area, I just hope that it will blend with it’s surroundings, considering that the place is considered a bargain-haven, future residents may have concerns about the (sorry for the term but I can’t really think of another more appropriate word, and please, I hope this won’t fill the thread with posts regarding the use of the word jologs, we’ve had enough of that discussion already) jologs invading their place.

Where on Google-earth will this be? Fronting the Pasig or along Escolta?

^^ It's adjacent to Meisic Mall and near 168. Try locating Jose Abad Santos High School and Raja Soliman High School, that's exactly where it will be built, on the site of those two school.

next year pa itong project.. marketing stage pa lang sila ..Joint venture kc ung cityhall at megaworld. right now nasa demolition stage pa lang yung relocation site ng mga school sa may urbiztondo St. sa san nicholas.

wala pa bang available na rendering nito on the net?

^^ Wala eh, I've tried searching everywhere, pero wala talaga. I have the rendering shown on TV imprinted on my mind though. :D

^^ paki email naman yung file na na save sa mind mo hahaha... parang sci-fi...

Why not show these students a rendering of their new school?

I guess it's time to redevelop the Escolta-Binondo area. It's about time that this place gets a facelift. May potential ito na maging tourist attraction.

Question lang, Was the McDonald's McNuggets ad shot in Escolta? (That's the commercial where office workers were racing to get to McDonald's.)

umaabot ba ang binondo hanggang divisoria o hanggang sa aranque lang sila?

any rendering??

^^ we are also dying to see it :D

^^No available rendering yet on the net

Megaworld Enters into a Joint Venture Memorandum of Agreement with the Manila City Government

Under a master plan drawn up by Megaworld Corporation, the first parcel of land will be redeveloped into a modern educational complex comprising six school buildings specially equipped with an English language proficiency center. The school buildings will be complemented by a housing project with a total of 414 residential units intended by the Manila City Government for public school teachers and other non-teaching personnel. The educational complex is primarily designed to provide an environment conducive to learning. It will also host retail space intended for various providers of food and school supplies in addition to sports amenities and parks and playgrounds.

The second parcel of land, on the other hand, will give rise to a self-contained residential condominium community called Cityplace. In addition to more than 1,700 residential condominium units, Cityplace will feature a shopping center with BPO-ready office space and a botique hotel for business travelers. The hotel, along with a centerpiece promenade accessible to residents and open to the public, is envisioned to help establish Binondo Chinatown as an important tourist destination.

The cityplace project will pay tribute to Binondo Chinatown as a melting pot of Malay, Spanish and Chinese influences. According to Megaworld Chairman and President Andrew L. Tan: Megaworld is proud to undertake this urban renewal project in the heart of Binondo Chinatown as it is the largest real estate development in Manila in the last 25 years. Cityplace is our way of helping preserve and enhance the rich history of Binondo Chinatown and its multiracial and multicultural heritage. Our plans for this themed development include creating new green parks for the benefit of people living and working in Binondo, constructing a public car parking facility and building new by-pass roads and pedestrian overpasses to make the project environment-and pedestrian-friendly. We have pioneered in urban renewal and redevelopment in Metro Manila's key cities such as Makati, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City, and we intend to put this expertise to work to energize Binondo Chinatown and take it to the next level as Manila's premier growth center to help move the country forward.

next year pa itong project.. marketing stage pa lang sila ..Joint venture kc ung cityhall at megaworld. right now nasa demolition stage pa lang yung relocation site ng mga school sa may urbiztondo St. sa san nicholas.
just an analysis

I read on a newsweek article about blacks complaining in the US of the bleaching of traditionally black community due to economic changes.....

with the transfer of this two public school.....there would also be a "shall I use the word" molting in the divisoria area.....all the filipino would be moved to the new tondo area relocation site and new incoming GI would complete the picture of a more homogenous chinese populace at that area....

^^ Wala eh, I've tried searching everywhere, pero wala talaga. I have the rendering shown on TV imprinted on my mind though. :D
there are renderings in chinese newspapers as they are the intended customer

^^ would you be so kind to scan them? :D

just an analysis

I read on a newsweek article about blacks complaining in the US of the bleaching of traditionally black community due to economic changes.....

with the transfer of this two public school.....there would also be a "shall I use the word" molting in the divisoria area.....all the filipino would be moved to the new tondo area relocation site and new incoming GI would complete the picture of a more homogenous chinese populace at that area....

Binondo didn't became 'Chinatown' for nothing, of course its only right that there's a significant amount of the Chinese there for it to really become a Chinatown, halos Lahat naman yata ng lugar sa mundo eh may Chinatown.

nakita ko yun rendering sa kontrobersyal, parang yung sa cubao xcept walang stadium
kawawa naman yung jose abad santos high school

Halos Lahat naman yata ng lugar sa mundo eh may Chinatown.

There is none in Pitcairn Islands. All inhabitants are related to Fletcher Christian and his co-mutineers of the Bounty.

apparently in china, they just call it, corner store

ano yon sali sali?

nakita ko yun rendering sa kontrobersyal, parang yung sa cubao xcept walang stadium
kawawa naman yung jose abad santos high school

Eh di nakita mo rin si forumer Sugarboy? Dun sya sa feature ng Kontrobersyal about billboards, yung nasa driving range sya, mukha talagang mahilig sya sa golf.

^^ would you be so kind to scan them? :D
sorry don't have it tsaka last week ko pa nakita yun

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1231.jpg
owner yata o president ng megaworld

ito yung rendering
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1232.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1233.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1235.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1236.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1237.jpg


oppose 'to
bugbugin :lol:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1239.jpg
dahil daw
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1230.jpg

^^ :applause: Ang galing-galing mo tigs, ako kasi nakatago yung camera nung pinalabas yan eh. :D Post mo rin pics ni Sugarboy. :colgate:

So, does the oppostition to this development that strong or this is really going to push through....?

^^ Wala na namang yatang magagawa yung mga kumokontra eh. Pilit kasi nilang hinahanapan ng butas yung ginawang pagbebenta ng lupa nung dalawang schools at yung legality nung pagbebenta, feeling ko naman Megaworld knows what they're doing, and besides, they won't spend loads of money for a project that will only be cancelled, planning pa lang nga eh madaming pera na ang kailangan dun.

hehehe galing ni tigs, sundalo talaga: laging handa!:okay: mukhang maganda naman tong project na to. yung highrise portion, gaano kataas sila?

sundalo daw laging handa :lol:
:applause: Ang galing-galing mo tigs, ako kasi nakatago yung camera nung pinalabas yan eh. :D Post mo rin pics ni Sugarboy. :colgate:
na-post na dun sa wala lang

nice! babalik na naman ang lost glory ng binondo/chinatown

sundalo daw laging handa :lol:

na-post na dun sa wala lang

Ang sundalo... laging tigs!!! :D

galing mo tigs!!! astigs! :D

Wow tigs! Thank you very much! The project is massive! Grabe, this'll have a big impact on Manila's image!

wow.. it looks like makati... :eek2:

matanong ko lang... yung bagong 'modern school' na gagawin diyan, ang mga students ba nila eh yung mga pinaalis nilang students nung mga public schools?
if yes.. why are they opposing? if no, i guess they have a reason to oppose nga.

my god those pix are amazing... :colgate: parang hindi sa pilipinas... and imagine, halos katabi lang yan ng 168.. heheh.. :) ang saya-saya. :)

if this pushes thru, this would be the next biz dist.
sabagay from history, escolta was once the center of commerce.

matanong ko lang... yung bagong 'modern school' na gagawin diyan, ang mga students ba nila eh yung mga pinaalis nilang students nung mga public schools?
if yes.. why are they opposing? if no, i guess they have a reason to oppose nga.

my god those pix are amazing... :colgate: parang hindi sa pilipinas... and imagine, halos katabi lang yan ng 168.. heheh.. :) ang saya-saya. :)

Jose Abad Santos High School and Raja Soliman High School, public-funded schools.

so what happens to the public schools? baka kaya sila nag-oopose kasi pangit ung relocation sa kanila... i cant blame them for opposing kahit na napakaganda ng project na to. sayang. i still hope this project pushes through with the students having proper compensation..

i thought pa naman na ung school na gagawin nila na bago ay para sa mga students ng raja soliman at jose abad santos...

^^ Para sa kanila nga yung bagong school. Kaya nga dalawa yung location kasi yung isa yung para sa Cityplace mismo tapos yung isa naman yung para sa relocation nung school, ayaw yata nila yung bagong location para sa school eh, yung iba naman, kaya ayaw nila sa project na 'to eh dahil sayang daw ung mga memories nila sa kanilang school na gigibain lang.

^^ Yet the project is for sure now,despite the opposition, right?

^^ I think it's for sure, unless the oppossers find a way to disprove the legality of the sale of land (to Megaworld) that suppossedly belongs to the Manila Gov't.

Well, it's official.... with the city of Manila as partner of Megaworld, this will surely push through(well, we all know of Atienza's "stuborness")

--------------------------------------------------------

CITY OF MANILA, MEGAWORLD TEAM UP IN BINONDO PROJECT


Megaworld Corporation has signed a joint venture memorandum of agreement with the Manila City Government for the development of two parcels of land totaling 4.6 hectares in Binondo Chinatown.

Under a master plan drawn up by Megaworld Corporation, the first parcel of land will be redeveloped into a modern educational complex comprising six school buildings specially equipped with an English language proficiency center. The school buildings will be complemented by a housing project with a total of 414 residential units intended by the Manila City Government for public school teachers and other non-teaching personnel. The educational complex is primarily designed to provide an environment conducive to learning. It will also host retail space intended for various providers of food and school supplies in addition to sports amenities and parks and playgrounds.

The second parcel of land, on the other hand, will give rise to a self-contained residential condominium community called Cityplace. In addition to more than 1,700 residential condominium units, Cityplace will feature a shopping center with BPO-ready office space and a boutique hotel for business travelers. The hotel, along with a centerpiece promenade accessible to residents and open to the public, is envisioned to help establish Binondo Chinatown as an important tourist destination.

The Cityplace project, to be developed at a total cost of P7.2 billion, will pay tribute to Binondo Chinatown as a melting pot of Malay, Spanish and Chinese influences.

According to Megaworld Chairman and President Andrew L. Tan: "Megaworld is proud to undertake this urban renewal project in the heart of Binondo Chinatown as it is the largest real estate development in Manila in the last 25 years. Cityplace is our way of helping preserve and enhance the rich history of Binondo Chinatown and its multiracial and multicultural heritage. Our plans for this themed development include creating new green parks for the benefit of people living and working in Binondo, constructing a public car parking facility and building new by-pass roads and pedestrian overpasses to make the project environment- and pedestrian-friendly. We have pioneered in urban renewal and redevelopment in Metro Manila’s key cities such as Makati, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City, and we intend to put this expertise to work to energize Binondo Chinatown and take it to the next level as Manila’s premier growth center to help move the country forward."

http://www.malaya.com.ph/jul03/spe2.htm

hey everyone,
I'm a property consultant of Cityplace.
I would just like to clear some things.
The schools will be relocated in Numancia Street, right in front of the Galeria de Binondo. It is a 1.6 hectare lot. It will all be shouldered by Megaworld. The construction of the school is now on-going and will be finished before the next school year. The construction of Cityplace will start right after this construction of the schools are done.

After several years, Cityplace will be the new face of Chinatown. It will surely be a historical landmark. :)

If you have any questions, kindly PM me.
thanks!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/rainraz/cityPlaceResidencesal.jpg

^^ OOHhh, thanks for the renderings! Truly, how beautiful this would add to Manila's skyline(it seems that the new urban devoloper of MegaManila is Megaworld)!!! :)

[QUOTE=tigs]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/jon%20photos/IMG_1231.jpg

He is not the chairman of Megaworld Corporation. :)

Cityplace will have 8 residential condominium towers and 1 hotel. A shopping mall will be placed right beneath the residential towers.
It also have a Chinatown Walk similar to the Nanjing Road in China. :)

san web site ito kinuha

looks good but i could just imagine the volume of traffic that it would add to the area. wish they have a FAR all throughout metro manila.

nice! babalik na naman ang lost glory ng binondo/chinatown
paano ba pumunta don?
don daw nakakabili ng eng bee tin hopia :cheers:

hey everyone,
I'm a property consultant of Cityplace.
I would just like to clear some things.
The schools will be relocated in Numancia Street, right in front of the Galeria de Binondo. It is a 1.6 hectare lot. It will all be shouldered by Megaworld. The construction of the school is now on-going and will be finished before the next school year. The construction of Cityplace will start right after this construction of the schools are done.

After several years, Cityplace will be the new face of Chinatown. It will surely be a historical landmark. :)

If you have any questions, kindly PM me.
thanks!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/rainraz/cityPlaceResidencesal.jpg
ganda ng place..
madame daw flies sa binondo..can something be done about that?

looks good but i could just imagine the volume of traffic that it would add to the area. wish they have a FAR all throughout metro manila.

true, but Megaworld will widen the surrounding streets to ease the traffic. A lot of parking lots will be made available to prevent cars from parking in the streets esp. in the vicinity of 168 mall. :)

^^ They will really fund for the expansion of the roads? Wow... Megaworld is really changing much of our urban Landscape... first Eastwood... then Forbestown...then Newport....then Cubao and that Manhattan Garden City and now this!

^^ You forgot that McKinley Hill, it's also gonna be a mixed-use complex with schools, embassies, residences, hotels, retail (McKinley Hill Town Center), etc.

true, but Megaworld will widen the surrounding streets to ease the traffic. A lot of parking lots will be made available to prevent cars from parking in the streets esp. in the vicinity of 168 mall. :)

Will the adjacent areas also be landscaped? Pangit kasi talaga generally ang cityscape nung area.

onga pano yung mga katabi? will the entire divisoria be the same? i mean, lets face it, kakabit ng binondo yun e.

I hope this is just the start and that others will follow resulting in the revival of Binondo. Who knows, there might be a second coming of Escolta.

^^ It's actually hard to revive the street-shopping scene with all of the malls the we have and all the new ones in the pipeline.

looks good but i could just imagine the volume of traffic that it would add to the area. wish they have a FAR all throughout metro manila.
just had a flashback, we couldnt find parking in santa cruz for an hour :lol:
maybe they can add parking space on those building

^^ Alam ko may public parking ang Cityplace.

Sana Megaworld will also sets it sights on the southern Metro Manila at magdevelop din sila ng mixed -used project there. Magaganda projects nila na gaya nitong CityPlace Manila at yung Manhattan Gardens in Cubao . To think 4 hectares something lang ang CityPlace pero maganda . May for sale kasi sa Alabang area na 6.61 hectares private property ( old Filipro factory-plant ) at wala pa ako nababalitaan if what corporation had bought it . Okay na okay if Megaworld or any of the major urban developers/company in the country ang makakabili at magdevelop ng isang mixed-used complex .

^^ That is if the price is right.

^^ It's actually hard to revive the street-shopping scene with all of the malls the we have and all the new ones in the pipeline.


Yung the Promenade sa BGC , is it somehow a street shopping concept ?

With or without this development, Binondo is still a nightmare to get to by car, commute, or otherwise. Something should be done about that...

^^ Alam ko may public parking ang Cityplace.
yup, there will a lot of parking spaces. There will a basement plus a three-storey parking. :)

^^ Basement level? Megaworld better make sure that the drainage system of that area is rehabilitated. Or else, we'll see floating cars in the parking when it rains. :D

construction for the new JAHS and RSHS already began with target completion before the year end. Megaworld may start construction of the 1st phase within this year

Yung the Promenade sa BGC , is it somehow a street shopping concept ? Well medyo hybrid na tong Promenade since it's not exactly actual street shopping per se though close enough to kinda resemble one. :)

^^ Pwede siyang street-park shopping kasi may park sa gitna nya eh. :D

^^ Basement level? Megaworld better make sure that the drainage system of that area is rehabilitated. Or else, we'll see floating cars in the parking when it rains. :D

rehabilitation of the drainage is part of the master plan. Megaworld will make sure that there is plenty of clean water and good drainage. :)

Hi. Not exactly in Escolta. It's actually shot along the end of Dasmariñas st. perpendicular to the street where it leads to a tunnel underneath the Jones Bridge. I think that's Muelle de Industria?
It is a fave spot to shoot tv commercials due to the architectural designs of the old buildings there. Smart, V Fresh, Juicy Fruit, among others had shot there. Scenes from Mano Po were also taken there.

Hi. The park in the center of the Cityplace won't be able to accomodate cars as the Chinatown Walk (the park you're referring to) is only for park-goers, for people and it's residents to walk on to. It's actually 200 meters long.

Hi Ladies & Gents,

Megaworld Chairman Andrew Tan was born and raised in Hong Kong but his parents were from China. The eldest of only 2 children, Mr. Tan and his whole family migrated here to the Philippines and he took up his high school education here in Manila. He graduated suma cum laude in University of the East.

Mr. Tan used to reside somewhere in Sto. Cristo, Binondo, Manila, during his foremost years in the country which could really make us say that he has "sentiments" toward this area. Now that he has become a tycoon, a real-estate legend as some would say, he's determined to build homes and beautify the area, the place where he once called 'home.' The Cityplace project is the ONLY PROJECT INSIDE BINONDO, MANILA AND HAS THE ABILITY TO ENHANCE AND BEAUTIFY. It's the only development that could lay claim to that distinction. It will literally transform the area.

Troy Yaw
Megaworld Property Consultant
0922-9717369
newtroyedison@yahoo.com.hk

Hello Troy,
Thank you for your contributions, maybe you help update us on some of the exciting prospects for this and other megaworld projects. As skyscraper enthusiasts people in this forum are always interested to learn more about the projects specially if there are tall buildings involved. Your contributions on this and other megaworld projects would be highlyl appreciated. Welcome to the forum.

I appreciate it. :)

Anyways, Megaworld would also be having a project in the Cubao area, exactly around the Araneta Coliseum. Exciting eh? Watch out for it! :cheers:

PS Are there potential Cityplace investors in here? Kindly message me up. Thanks so much again! :)

Troy Yaw
http://clickthecity.com/denizens/?p=75

- has 6 swimming pools
- has basement parking for it's mall-goers
- will have 330 ornamental trees planted literally on the 7th floors
- will have a 4-star Richmonde Hotel adjacent to it's 8 residential towers
- is critical to reviving the image of Binondo, Manila

'Nuff said!

PS We'll be displaying the scale model for the NEW Jose Abad Santos and Raja Soliman High School buildings SOON in our office.

PPS The new school buildings will have dormitory rooms for the teachers. If they choose not to occupy those, they could lease them out and would result to additional income for them. Also, the schools would have computers and high-tech amenities which would (in one way) aid their students for the current "call center industry" boom in the country. Nice huh? :)

For more info and other inquiries regarding the prestigious development, kindly reach me @
2418701-05
2416563

Thank you so much and God bless! :)

Troy Yaw

Please post the rendering and pictures of the scale models here. :)

- has 6 swimming pools
- has basement parking for it's mall-goers
- will have 330 ornamental trees planted literally on the 7th floors
- will have a 4-star Richmonde Hotel adjacent to it's 8 residential towers
- is critical to reviving the image of Binondo, Manila

'Nuff said!

PS We'll be displaying the scale model for the NEW Jose Abad Santos and Raja Soliman High School buildings SOON in our office.

PPS The new school buildings will have dormitory rooms for the teachers. If they choose not to occupy those, they could lease them out and would result to additional income for them. Also, the schools would have computers and high-tech amenities which would (in one way) aid their students for the current "call center industry" boom in the country. Nice huh? :)

For more info and other inquiries regarding the prestigious development, kindly reach me @
2418701-05
2416563

Thank you so much and God bless! :)

Troy Yaw

How I hope Mega World or Mr. Andrew Tan build a similar project in downtown Cebu. The area is really ugly.

^^ That's why the project is being built there.... to revive Binondo... urban renewal for the entire Binondo area is set when this project finishes..

^^ i think he's talking bout downtown cebu..

That's why the project is being built there.... to revive Binondo... urban renewal for the entire Binondo area is set when this project finishes..
__________________

VANGUARD OF QUEZON CITY
TRUE BLUE AND MARY FOR YOU
I'm a right inclining centrist; so sue me!!!
CITY_OF_QUEZON BLOG

Yes it is. Unfortunately, a lot of other developers are badmouthing the project because they're threatened with the magnitude of it. Some have gone far by saying Megaworld's only leasing the land when it is actually PURCHASED from the city government. The company guarantees PERPETUAL OWNERSHIP of the condominium units.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l302/troyster923/citywalk.jpg

In the future, overseas Chinese from all over the world would be visiting and strolling the Citywalk in the Cityplace.

http://www.megaworldcorp.com/about_us/index.cfm?action=about_us_board

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l302/troyster923/citywalk.jpg

In the future, overseas Chinese from all over the world would be visiting and strolling the Citywalk in the Cityplace.

Para siyang yung Ayala Promenade ng BGC.

BTW, the enhanced version...
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b210/ofngol/Citywalk-at-Cityplace.jpg

Anybody in here who could help me sell the condo units? :)

We're currently preselling:

Tower A
4 bedroom - 168 square meters
3 bedroom - 148.5 & 138 square meters

Tower B
2 bedroom - 88, 75, & 72 square meters

Let me know. :)
Thanks!


Troy Yaw
0922-7009980
2418701-05

given the scale of this project, I'd like to know whether any historical buildings are threatened and if so which ones?

given the scale of this project, I'd like to know whether any historical buildings are threatened and if so which ones?

Hi cusket,
Fortunately, none. =) Binondo Church's still intact. Do both Jose Abad Santos and Raja Soliman have historical value? Thank you.

I was bemused this morning when I was checking my emails. I got to receive an email from a confused prospect. I'll hide his name as Richard Ong. I also altered his email ad. This' how it read:

In philippine_real_estate@yahoogroups.com, richard ong
<ric_ong2006@...> wrote:

What is the price per square and assurance are we that the project
will finish? Tan yu and Mega world is notorious for unfinished
projects??

Here's my reply:

Hi Mr. Ong. In regards to your post, this is my reply:
Before I disclose any prices, I'd like to clear things. I'm sorry
that you have it mixed up. You've confused Tan Yu for our Chairman
Andrew Tan. Tan Yu has been long gone in the country (from what I've
heard) and his company is ASIAWORLD, NOT MEGAWORLD. Megaworld's
chairman Andrew Tan, whose co-chairman is George Yang of McDonald's,
also owns Emperador Brandy. The company created Eastwood City which
is the center of the IT Capital of the Philippines - Quezon City. In
fact, our 2nd satellite city Newport City is currently being
constructed as well in Pasay. Recently, agreements were signed
between Megaworld and Marriott as the 5-star Marriott Manila will
rise inside the 25-hectare Newport City. Condo units there are also
selling like hotcakes for investors are knowledgeable of our
company's credibility!

Kindly check this link to view all the board members of our company:
http://www.megaworldcorp.com/about_us/index.cfm?actionfiltered=about_us_board

See our Chairman with Pres. Arroyo at the Philippine Stock Exchange:
http://www.megaworldinvestor.com/news/index.cfm

And if you were able to secure a copy of Entrepreneur Philippines
(Summit Books) Collectors' Edition of the Success Secrets of the
Country's Top 50 Entrepreneurs several months ago, I'm so delighted
to inform you our Chairman was included in that collection. The back
cover even included a quote from our Beloved Chairman, alongside
Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee, Socorro ramos of National Bookstore,
and John Gokongwei of Robinson's, Sun Cellular, and Summit.

Mr. Andrew Tan was quoted as saying: "A good businessman would know
what is successful today may not be so tomorrow. Technology changes
at a fast rate, and so do people's needs and wants. That's why a
good businessman must know how to adapt to change, or his business
would not last."

It's apparent that Andrew Tan isn't the Tan Yu you're referring to.
I hope that you're enlightened now. =) And now that you all are,
kindly spread the truth as well.

If you're still interested, kindly call me for the prices. Or if you
may, provide me your contact #s and I'll contact you personally.
Thanks so much! God bless us all! =)

Troy Yaw
0919-3255076
0922-7009980
2418701-05

Hi. Not exactly in Escolta. It's actually shot along the end of Dasmariñas st. perpendicular to the street where it leads to a tunnel underneath the Jones Bridge. I think that's Muelle de Industria?
It is a fave spot to shoot tv commercials due to the architectural designs of the old buildings there. Smart, V Fresh, Juicy Fruit, among others had shot there. Scenes from Mano Po were also taken there.

Ahhh...thanks for the corrections. It's a nice place. Hope it undergoes renewal.

This will be a great addition to Manila.

We are now entering a phase of rejuvenation and remodelling.

ASad only for those who still love the architecture of Old Manila

uhmmm.. when is the completion of citywalk?

well this is the start of a new era.. in manila.. reviving the city's glory.. i do hope this will all continue for the porgress of the entire nation.. :cheers:

sana Megaworld will also consider to revive or develop some parts of manila. like Tondo, Quiapo, hehehe well para nman gumanda ung manila.. and if your going to take a look in google earth.. man the shanties are overflowing... :scouserd:

Phase 1 of the Citywalk's residentials towers (together with the whole Lucky Plaza mall) targeted to be finished by 2011. The whole Cityplace? Maybe 2015.

in addition to what troy had said, this is the exact location of the site. :)
plus the daytime perspective of the two towers.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/rainraz/location.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/rainraz/CityplaceTowersABDaytimeView.jpg

Al Rainier Chua
0917 7928386
241-8701-05

This project now has a website!!! :

http://www.cityplace.com.ph/

Just passed by the area where the schools are going to be transferred and Im happy to say the new schools is almost complete. This means cityplace cud really begin construction soon woohooo

It looks like the City Walk is fashioned similar to Santana Row in San Jose, CA. Santana Row is VERY nice and upscale, I hope this City Walk is similar in its prestige. Although having McDonald's is a little bit of Filipino touch as that is all around the place, Jollibee would be even better. Every restaurants and cafes in Santana Row are all expensive, but this City Walk will probably go for a middle ground between the high class and the middle class.

It looks like the City Walk is fashioned similar to Santana Row in San Jose, CA. Santana Row is VERY nice and upscale, I hope this City Walk is similar in its prestige. Although having McDonald's is a little bit of Filipino touch as that is all around the place, Jollibee would be even better. Every restaurants and cafes in Santana Row are all expensive, but this City Walk will probably go for a middle ground between the high class and the middle class.

FYI, Megaworld owns 49% of Local McDo Master Franchise.

I was bemused this morning when I was checking my emails. I got to receive an email from a confused prospect. I'll hide his name as Richard Ong. I also altered his email ad. This' how it read:

In philippine_real_estate@yahoogroups.com, richard ong
<ric_ong2006@...> wrote:

What is the price per square and assurance are we that the project
will finish? Tan yu and Mega world is notorious for unfinished
projects??

Here's my reply:

Hi Mr. Ong. In regards to your post, this is my reply:
Before I disclose any prices, I'd like to clear things. I'm sorry
that you have it mixed up. You've confused Tan Yu for our Chairman
Andrew Tan. Tan Yu has been long gone in the country (from what I've
heard) and his company is ASIAWORLD, NOT MEGAWORLD. Megaworld's
chairman Andrew Tan, whose co-chairman is George Yang of McDonald's,
also owns Emperador Brandy. The company created Eastwood City which
is the center of the IT Capital of the Philippines - Quezon City. In
fact, our 2nd satellite city Newport City is currently being
constructed as well in Pasay. Recently, agreements were signed
between Megaworld and Marriott as the 5-star Marriott Manila will
rise inside the 25-hectare Newport City. Condo units there are also
selling like hotcakes for investors are knowledgeable of our
company's credibility!

Kindly check this link to view all the board members of our company:
http://www.megaworldcorp.com/about_us/index.cfm?actionfiltered=about_us_board

See our Chairman with Pres. Arroyo at the Philippine Stock Exchange:
http://www.megaworldinvestor.com/news/index.cfm

And if you were able to secure a copy of Entrepreneur Philippines
(Summit Books) Collectors' Edition of the Success Secrets of the
Country's Top 50 Entrepreneurs several months ago, I'm so delighted
to inform you our Chairman was included in that collection. The back
cover even included a quote from our Beloved Chairman, alongside
Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee, Socorro ramos of National Bookstore,
and John Gokongwei of Robinson's, Sun Cellular, and Summit.

Mr. Andrew Tan was quoted as saying: "A good businessman would know
what is successful today may not be so tomorrow. Technology changes
at a fast rate, and so do people's needs and wants. That's why a
good businessman must know how to adapt to change, or his business
would not last."

It's apparent that Andrew Tan isn't the Tan Yu you're referring to.
I hope that you're enlightened now. =) And now that you all are,
kindly spread the truth as well.

If you're still interested, kindly call me for the prices. Or if you
may, provide me your contact #s and I'll contact you personally.
Thanks so much! God bless us all! =)

Troy Yaw
0919-3255076
0922-7009980
2418701-05

Yes, its true that Tan Yu's Asia World is notorious for unfinished projects. They have a complex in Ortigas (back of Galeria) named Empire that's also unfinished. But what I really want to say is Tan Yu is already dead. I think his business empire in the Philippines is now handled by daughter Bien Bien Roxas.

It's great that Megaworld has envisioned this project to revive my birthplace that is Binondo... kudos to them since Cityplace is certainly the biggest real estate project there in years. However the question in everyone's mind (esp. those who plan to buy or invest now) is about the horrible TRAFFIC around the area. During ordinary days, traffic is bearable but at Christmas? How will Megaworld solve this? Road widening perhaps?

:drunk:

TC

From the MM proposals and U/Cs thread
PHASE 2 NG CITYPLACE
3 TOWERS
MEDYO HAWIG SA THE GREENBELT RESIDENCES
It does look like TR@G now but it used to look like this before on earlier designs...

Cityplace Phase2 - previous design consisting of four towers layout ala Eastwood's One Orchard Road Towers.

The design flaw... four towers blocking-out each other's view, genius diba?!?! Buying a condo-unit only to get a view of the other tower's windows, a very bright idea isn't it.

Not to mention the ventilation troubles that units facing each other will get, just imagine all the heat that your next-tower-neighbor's-aircon will be blowing on your unit just in case. How thoughtful of Megaworld's architects.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_ph-2_version1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_ph-2_sitedev_version1.jpg

Fast forward to the future of Cityplace Phase2 - a layout that reminds one of The Residences at Greenbelt and Mezza Residences. What's with the "Residences" name anyway? It seems like developers nowadays love adding it to their projects' name huh?

With a whole tower scrapped and the other one twisted to the side, the result... more air to breathe, more views to appreciate, and a bigger and better pool area with greeneries. Definitely worth sacrificing a whole tower's worth of units.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_phase-2.jpg

The bridge on the top links to the twin-tower phase-1 while the two
on the left-side links to phase-3 which includes Richmonde Cityplace.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_phase-2_sitedevplan.jpg

Cityplace Phase-1

Night rendering, facade
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_phase1_night.jpg

Day rendering, facade
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_phase1_day.jpg

Pool Area
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_ph1_pool-area.jpg

Site Dev't Plan
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_phase1_sitedev.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_phase1_sitedev2.jpg

Halata ko nagiging mahilig ang mga developers ngayon sa twin towers. Wala lang.

Cguro kasi it would give a building identity(more) rather than building a single one.

Hindi rin kasi dumadami na silang twin towers eh. Maybe kung triplet towers. Or quadruplet towers.:D

pero sana kahit twin towers dapat merong difference sa height para mas interesting naman. parang sa tao, kahit twins merong mas matangkad hehe! parang yung Enterprise sa makati.

^^ Oo nga. O kaya three or more towers tapos ascending or descending ung height para cute.:D

pero sana kahit twin towers dapat merong difference sa height para mas interesting naman. parang sa tao, kahit twins merong mas matangkad hehe! parang yung Enterprise sa makati.

exage naman yung enterprise.. sobrang taas ng gap ng height nila..

Twin Towers are actually "Tipid Towers" because if you look at it there's essentially one design for the towers resulting to time and cost savings for the developer.

^^ So why not build office complexes with three towers? I think mas tipid and mabilis.

gawin nalang nilang parepareho ang design ng mga upcoming building sa MM.. :D

^^ Eh di naging redundant ang buong MM niyan.:lol:

Here is the latest rendering of Cityplace Phase II. They have a cool model of the project in the Megaworld showroom, which shows old Manila in such great detail (including LRT2's tail track). My mom and I bought a unit in the 26th floor of the tower to the right but our unit is facing Reina Regente Street.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/queetz9/Miscellaneous/DSCF0007.jpg

^^ So why not build office complexes with three towers? I think mas tipid and mabilis.

Actually, the latest plan has two office towers. The current rendering in the latest Megaworld brochures still show residential towers in its place (phase 3?) but they will be offices instead. In the old rendering below, it is the two buildings between Reina Regente Street (at the bottom) and the large pool (on top). This is in addition to that Richmonde Hotel.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/Cityplace_ph-2_sitedev_version1.jpg

I think they will be built at the same time as the rest of the project since there are anchor tenants to them already.

hmmm, parang TR@G.

It's almost like a carbon copy of The Residences at Greenbelt.
They ran out of originality and decided to steal a design already in construction. In poor taste, but since the The Residences is a good design I suppose this one is ok as well. They should have stayed with the old round twin towers design.

It's almost like a carbon copy of The Residences at Greenbelt.
They ran out of originality and decided to steal a design already in construction. In poor taste, but since the The Residences is a good design I suppose this one is ok as well. They should have stayed with the old round twin towers design.


i don't think so... they only copied the general design - ie 3 towers with a shared podium, swimming pool/garden at the podium & commercial spaces at the lower levels... however the building design, imo, is more megaworld/manhattan garden-ish than TRAG

^^ The old round twin towers, known as "City Place Phase I" is still there. Judging by the markings in the unit list, I think that is approximately 60% sold for each tower. The rendering that I showed is Phase II. The first building (to the right) is called "Olympian".

The units in City Place Phase I are far more expensive and quite large. Units in the Olympian (and presumably the next two towers) are smaller, similar to Eastwood LeGrande, but even those ones are not cheap (around 3 million php at least).

As far as the office towers are concerned, that is the million dollar question. I'm curious to see myself how they will look like and how tall. The realtors say its probably the look, height and size of CyberOne (since I pointed that building to the realtors when asking that question) but not really sure if they know the answer since I don't think Megaworld have gotten that far yet in terms of the decision making.

They should have stayed with the old round twin towers design.

Those two round twin towers compose the whole of phase-1, while the three-new towers will make-up phase-2. The three new towers of phase-2 originally has a design of 4 towers, blocking each others view.

^^ I like the original design of the buildings, much more modern looking than the present design

twin towers, 3 towers are okay. but to me the twin towers in manila are all so boring because it is just a blatant clone of the original.

i like how dubai gives a twist to twin towers. even if developers save time with using the same floor plan, simple moves they do (along with the architect) gives the towers a varied and not cloned look even if the plan is all along, the same and even reused for other developments.

its time developers use some other methods than just mindless clones. if a methodology is sucesful and generates positive results it is worth copying, of course not blatantly, but at least the idea works. then from there, the developer himself can innovate or improve upon these ideas. nothing wrong with emulating. big mistake for outright copying.

btw yes the olympian is quite similar to the residences esp the orientation of towers, color scheme, spires on the towers etc.
they should review this design. i feel its too obvious.

Note the article about the development and Alfredo Lim...

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0518&192007/companies05.html

MegaWorld Corp. chairman Andrew Tan will be getting an offer he can’t refuse once Alfredo Lim is officially proclaimed mayor of Manila.

You see, Lim intends to reimburse Tan for whatever he spent putting up a school in Numancia, Binondo, and then convert the school building into a free hospital.

MegaWorld constructed the school on public land in exchange for a 2.7 hectare publicly owned Meisic property valued at about P130,000 per square meter near the 168 Mall. Under the joint venture deal worked out with outgoing Mayor Lito Atienza, the Jose Abad Santos public school would be transferred to Numancia and MegaWorld would construct a 40-story mixed-used condominium on the Meisic property. As part of the deal, City Hall will be given a couple of floors to earn money from while MegaWorld sells the rest of the units.

Hi @queetz, I read that item in BusinessMirror this morning too. I have a question for you and for others in the know... if Lim is indeed converting the recently completed school buildings along Numancia into a hospital... where will the public school in the Meisic property relocate to now? Remember that Cityplace cannot proceed without the relocation of the school. This was why Megaworld made a deal to build the school buildings in Numancia in the first place right? So what happens to the plan for Cityplace now? Will this project push through as it is or will Cityplace have be scaled down?

Note the article about the development and Alfredo Lim...

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0518&192007/companies05.html

MegaWorld Corp. chairman Andrew Tan will be getting an offer he can’t refuse once Alfredo Lim is officially proclaimed mayor of Manila.

You see, Lim intends to reimburse Tan for whatever he spent putting up a school in Numancia, Binondo, and then convert the school building into a free hospital.

MegaWorld constructed the school on public land in exchange for a 2.7 hectare publicly owned Meisic property valued at about P130,000 per square meter near the 168 Mall.

^^ I think smokingun or someone else from Megaworld or more involved with the project would be best to answer that. I'm curious about this myself... :dunno:

It is always risky to deal with the government and this situation is proof positive of that. When you change the people in authority (whether local or national), you risk changing everything else as well. I hope for our sakes and for those who have already bought at Cityplace that Tan would not kowtow to the new mayor's wishes.

^^ Nakakatakot naman yan! To think Megaworld is one of the most stable developers there is right now, tapos pwede pala pabagsakin dahil lang sa isang mayor. I find this quite disturbing, both as a buyer in one of their projects, and as an occasional Megaworld shareholder (since failure to deliver a high profile project such as this will freak out its shareholders). Its all speculation at this point though and smokingun does have a point in the other thread regarding Alfredo Lim's ethnicity.

Well don't worry about the Mega in Divisoria..Lim is very friendly to the chinese community and he never touch those...since he is one himself...



The fact of the matter is Alfredo Lim is Chinese so perhaps he wouldn't be doing anything to bring such a significant project to Binondo down...hope hope....

I went back to an old news article titled "Megaworld Plans Chinatown Project" and I just realized that this Lim-Tan issue will only affect one of the adjacent parcels intended for a new educational complex. If this is true then this project will only be scaled down and not totally cancelled.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/june/09/yehey/business/20060609bus9.html

MEGAWORLD Corp. plans to develop two parcels of land in Binondo, Manila, into a multipurpose center with space for homes, educational institutions, and other businesses.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the real-estate developer on Thursday said it has entered into a joint-venture agreement with the Manila City government for the 4.6-hectare lots.

John Hao, Meagworld investor relations officer, told The Manila Times that the project would cost P7.2 billion.

Under a master plan, the first parcel of land will be turned into a modern educational complex comprising schoolbuildings equipped with an English-language proficiency center.

”The schoolbuildings will be complemented by a housing project with a total of 414 residential units intended by the Manila City government for public-school teachers and other non-teaching personnel. The educational complex is primarily designed to provide an environment conducive to learning.

It will also host retail space intended for various providers of food and school supplies in addition to sports amenities and parks and playgrounds,” Megaworld said.

The second parcel of land will be turned into a self-contained residential condominium community that will be called “Cityplace.”

Besides the more than 1,700 residential condominium units, Cityplace will also feature a shopping center with business-process outsourcing-ready office space and a boutique hotel for business travelers.

”The hotel, along with a centerpiece promenade accessible to residents and open to the public, is envisioned to help establish a Binondo Chinatown as an important tourist destination,” Megaworld, which developed Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City, said... (shortened)

^^ So CityPlace itself won't even be affected regardless of what happens to that school, eh? I guess no worries then... :)

So CityPlace itself won't even be affected regardless of what happens to that school, eh? I guess no worries then...

On the contrary, if the educational complex is indeed discontinued (Remember that the plan to relocate the school prompted a public outcry in the beginning and I think Lim may have made a campaign promise to these people to stop the relocation. :ohno:) it will not only cut down the size of the whole complex but could possibly turn away potential locators in the retail portion. This is why for his sake and investors as well, Tan's knees must not buckle on this one.

Gawd Lim is back as mayor. I being a long time resident of manila remembers well during Lims time before. Nothing much has changed in manila during his time. Madumi, matraffic, crimes abound and sobrang dilim at sobrang lungkot. no progress watsover. It was also during his time when he shut down the red light district in malate without a plan on how on how to convert the place to something useful. Kaya right now the district is so seedy. Daming protitutes, drugs and holduppers and it is within the tourist belt areas. The only thing i remembered him accomplishing was the opening of the divisoria mall. But even that was tainted with corruption. Rumor has it Lim was paid by the chinese mainlanders a huge sum to tear down the old city's wet market and convert it into a mall with Lim getting a big cut. I guess with Lim as mayor again. it back to the dark days ng manila. Im pretty sure one by one all those lights and parks will dimmed, though hoping against hope it wont. Lim isnt known to be an admirer of aesthetics. Kahit yung cityhall dati sobra dumi at ang dilim dilim daming fixers walang disiplina mga tao. Ang confusing. Oh well kawawa na naman mga manilenos.

I just came back from the Cityplace showroom in Binondo. Unfortunately, Megaworld is being an ASS when it comes to taking photos (they are like this in their Eastwood showroom too) so I will simply have to draw and describe what I saw. There should also be ads coming out next month, hopefully with the new updated design.

There is a MAJOR change with the non-residential portion of the project. It seems that instead of two skinny residential (or office towers as per my agent) and a separate skinny Richmond Hotel tower in this portion of the project, it is now one large 22 storey building containing the office space at the lower floors and hotel rooms at the higher floors. Below is a quick rendering that I made on the site map. The floor area is not to scale of course (and I can't draw) but it would give you an idea.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/queetz9/Miscellaneous/CityPlace1.jpg

If I (and my agent) interpreted the new building correctly, from the top of the mall will be 15 levels of BPO office space and the next seven levels will be the Richmond Hotel. My realtor said that the design was influenced by the needs of the BPO tenant requirement, hence why its such a large building. I for one like this current form better instead of too many towers squished in one place (like Eastwood). Although its primarily my mom's investment, I too am getting a bit excited, as long as they build that BPO office/hotel tower

All other aspects of this project remains the same. Ground breaking is set for next month and she indicated that they will invite Mayor Alfredo Lim to the event. Although the Lim situation is a concern, given that the project has already been approved and some national agency hasn't really considered the site as "historical", I doubt it won't be stopped (otherwise, hello Eastwood LeGrande for me). The mall should be finished in two to three years while all the high rise towers will be completed by 2011.

Let's hope so @queetz... that BPO Bldg/Richmond Hotel you drew on the map stands exactly on the area where the Jose Abad Santos High School is currently located at. If Lim lets the school relocate as planned then the project is good to go... if not then you have to look for another tower or choose another site altogether.

Consider this info with a grain of salt because I got it from the stock market forum....and I happen to be a Megaworld shareholder again... :eek:

http://www.financemanila.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=381&start=375

post by tiger-run

watch out for its controversial cityplace proj. in binondo. someone tried to burn down the school last friday. luckily it was prevented by allied divisoria fire volunteers. amazingly, no govt firemen came to investigate it. today newly elected mayor lim sent his people to guard the place coz he is against the said project.

If anyone has an article confirming this statement, please post it.

what could his reason be for opposing this project? (merely political?) and that couldn't be right (i must be reading it wrongly!): the mayor sending his people to guard the place coz he is against the said project? if the place is privately owned, the owners surely has the right to investigate..!?!
^^ maybe we should invite the new mayor to SSC. so he can also see the light and begin to (ahem) appreciate the value (aesthetic especially?) of our beloved skyscrapers (rfo, u/c etc.). LOL!!

^^ Unfortunately, the new mayor only knows how to be a cop. He even quit his job as a senator simply because he found it too boring since all they do is debate. It wasn't a surprise when he jumped into the opportunity to get involved in the Jun Ducat hostage crisis since he seems to be at home with such situations than being a lawmaker. It would be nice if Alfredo Lim simply appreciates what Atienza and Megaworld is trying to do to our original downtown Philippines. Well, we shall find out next month. If Alfredo Lim does attend the groundbreaking ceremony of this very large and high profile real estate development, then its a sign that perhaps there is hope for old Manila...

sana nga. fingers crossed he would jump at this opportunity for publicity/picture-taking with the same enthusiasm. LOL! :lol:

on a serious note, fingers crossed the mayor will cooperate with the business sector's initiative to upgrade this part of the city. after all, he is also of chinese heritage. and this looks like a very good project for this part of manila.

@queetz... I know you said that the scale of your "sketch" is not exact so may I just ask you what the footprint of the BPO/Richmond tower is? Looks huge.

^^ The footprint is slightly smaller but not that much. If I recall correctly, the width of the building seen from Reina Regente Street is a little wider as the width of the Olympian building seen from that same street. The building occupies roughly a quarter of the mall where it will stand and floorplan itself isn't a perfect rectangular box (the floor plan will have some setbacks on the Reina Regente street side). There are two large swimming pools, one directly to the left of the building and another at the back, if viewing from Reina Regente Street. There are setbacks on the 16th floor so the top seven floors do have a smaller floor plate. This is why we think it is the Richmond Hotel portion. Note that the BPO/Richmond Hotel Tower is slightly shorter than the Olympian building.

Lim lost his fight in Court last December but now that Lim is the mayor-elect... he is determined to stop this project at all costs... grrhhh :rant:

See news headline today in the Inquirer:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view_article.php?article_id=69534

Students show up, but where to go?
By Allison Lopez
Inquirer
Last updated 06:28am (Mla time) 06/05/2007

MANILA, Philippines – Classes at the Jose Abad Santos High School in Binondo, Manila were suspended yesterday after there was confusion among school officials and students on where classes should be held.
Some students went to the school’s new building at Numancia and Urbiztondo Streets, San Nicolas, also in Binondo, while others went to the school’s old campus on La Chambre St., which is about a kilometer away.

Almost 80 percent of the school’s equipment and supplies, however, have already been moved to the newly built school.

Teachers, students and their parents have opposed the transfer of the school to its new location.

Evelyn, the parent of a student, said the area has an unfriendly environment.

“The new school is surrounded mostly by deserted buildings and commercial establishments. Moreover, our children also have to pass through the Pasig River just to get to school, which is too dangerous for them,” she told the Inquirer.

Mayor-elect Alfredo Lim went to the school’s new site earlier in the day to talk to students and their parents. Lim and Sen. Jamby Madrigal filed in December a petition asking a Manila court to stop the city government’s plan to convert the school’s old site into a housing and commercial area.

The court, however, denied their petition.

Pedro Arao, administrative officer of the Department of Education in Manila, said classes would most likely remain suspended at JASHS until the issue is resolved by Lim and Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

See last December's news in the Inquirer for a backgrounder on Lim's (and Jamby's) opposition to this project:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view_article.php?article_id=36001
Judge junks TRO plea to tear down Binondo schools
By Tina Santos
Inquirer
Last updated 04:37am (Mla time) 12/02/2006
Published on Page A20 of the December 2, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

A MANILA judge has denied the petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) sought by Senators Alfredo Lim and Jamby Madrigal in connection with the city government’s plan to convert two Binondo schools into a housing and commercial area.

“The court finds no compelling reason to grant the TRO,” Judge Manuel Barrios of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 54, said in his one-page order.

The judge noted that more than 70 percent of the construction work on the school buildings and other edifices in the area where the affected students of Jose Abad Santos High School (JASHS) and Rajah Soliman High School (RSHS) will be transferred had been finished.

Barrios added that the actual transfer of the schools and the eventual demolition of the old structures would take place when the school year ends.

Last week, Lim and Madrigal had filed a declaratory relief with prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Mayor Lito Atienza, the city council and Megaworld Corporation.

The two senators asked the court to declare null and void a city council resolution authorizing Atienza to enter into an agreement evicting JASHS and RSHS from their present site in Binondo.

Another resolution, they added, would give way to Megaworld Corporation to convert the site to be vacated by the students “into a commercial complex, under the (guise) of a housing project condominium structure, (complete) with several business establishments.”

The city government had proposed the transfer of the affected students to a smaller property at the corner of Numancia and Urbiztondo Streets, in San Nicolas, also in Binondo, one kilometer away from the schools’ present site on La Chambre Street.

Lim said the transfer and conversion of the two schools would destroy the historical and cultural significance of the area, which used to be known as Cuartel Meisic.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! :eek:

From Mark T Market of the Finance Manila website..

http://www.financemanila.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=381&start=405

From Deutche research:

When business and politics mix...

Megaworld's "Cityplace" project could be in peril, collateral damage in the battle that was the recently concluded mid-term elections. A joint venture with the City of Manila, Cityplace is meant to redevelop a portion of Binondo in Manila's Chinatown district. The 2.5-ha site is currently occupied by two very old public high schools. As part of the deal, Megaworld has constructed brand new school buildings in a nearby location. The JV was approved in April 2006 by Manila's City Council, headed by outgoing Mayor Lito Atienza.

Senator Alfredo Lim, together with Senator Jamby Madrigal, opposed the transaction in 2006, arguing that the schools were historic sites protected by a 1954 presidential proclamation declaring that the property was "excluded from sale or settlement". In 2005 by Pres Arroyo added that any redevelopment must be co-ordinated with the Departments of Education and of Environment. Despite the proclamations, a Manila court threw out the Senators' petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in November 2006.

However, Senator Lim ran for Mayor of Manila and won in last month's election, besting the incumbent Atienza's son for the post. Even before formally taking office, Lim has already ordered students to move back to the old schools, and reportedly offered to reimburse Megaworld for costs already incurred.

Some political colour. Mr Lim is publicly allied with ousted President Estrada. Mr Atienza is a staunch supporters of President Arroyo, and was instrumental in saving Arroyo from impeachment in 2005. With Congress fully in Arroyo's control, expect the opposition to find other ways to discredit her or her allies.

A cancellation of the project could be particularly thorny for Megaworld. Cityplace is the smallest of the company's five "townships". And the capex already spent is likely minimal, and will likely be recovered. However, the company has already begun pre-selling condo units. A setback here could hurt one of MEG's key strengths: its marketing machine's ability to sell its projects well ahead of construction.

Other recent private sector deals with government that have soured include the
800-ha Amari reclamation project and the Termal 3 of Manila International
Aiport which has yet to open nearly three years after completion.

^^ i guess it's goodbye for cityplace., :(

how about the people who bought units? would they be given a refund? or relocated to another project?

^^ Both. I did tell my agent that I would be interested in relocating to another project, most likely Eastwood LeGrande. But its a bit heart breaking cuz I think the project has mega potential to buyers, Megaworld, and the city of Manila. Plus its really growing on me, especially after seeing the updated model. Alfredo Lim is an ASS!!!! :mad2:

Hay nako lagi na lang ganyan nangyayari sa mga kontrata na pinapasok ng gobyerno, lagi na lang madaming technicality issue. Pano kaso ung iba sa mabilisang paraan nila dinadaan tuloy lalong tumatagal at di na natutuloy ang mga projects. Madami kasong under the table eh.:lol:

I live in Binondo and I pass by the school relocation site everyday. It is very nice actually much like a mini-subdivision with the name Jose Abad Santos High School already inscribed on the wall of the building near the gate. We all hope this will still have a happy ending but with news like this?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view_article.php?article_id=69769

It’s back to old campuses for Manila students
By Allison Lopez
Inquirer
Last updated 08:36am (Mla time) 06/06/2007

MANILA, Philippines – Students of Jose Abad Santos High School and Rajah Solaiman High School in Binondo, Manila, will hold classes on their old campuses, at least for now.

Pedro Arao, administrative officer of the Division of City Schools in Manila, said Mayor-elect Alfredo Lim has given the go-signal for students of the two schools to remain in their old buildings on La Chambre Street.

“Mayor Lim ordered them to stay. He even offered to help transfer the chairs and other equipment back to the old site,” he said.

Classes in the two schools were suspended yesterday, the first day of school for public elementary and high school students, after there was confusion among students who either went to the old site or to the new campus.

About 80 percent of the two schools’ facilities and equipment have already been moved to the new campus on Numancia and Urbiztondo Streets, also in Binondo, to pave the way for the construction of a condominium at the old site.

Arao, however, said the situation has yet to be resolved as Lim was set to discuss the issue with Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

The majority of the schools’ teachers, students and their parents have opposed the transfer, saying they would have to spend more money on transport fare. The site of the new school campus is about a kilometer away from the old one.

Last year, Lim and Sen. Jamby Madrigal filed a petition asking a Manila court to stop the city government’s plan to convert the schools’ old site into a housing and commercial area.

Their petition, however, was denied by the court although Lim and Madrigal filed a motion for reconsideration.

Asked why the issue was not resolved before classes opened the other day, Arao said the transfer was sidetracked by the May 14 elections.

He pointed out, however, that the new and more spacious campus would better accommodate the two schools’ around 8,000 students.

It's not yet June 30... he is not yet the mayor! :rant: :rant: :rant:

Mahirap kasi case ng Cityplace, kahit ako siguro kung dati kong school gigibain ayoko, syempre mga memories mo andun tapos mawawala na lang bigla, d mo mababayaran un. My historical value at sentimental value un sa mga nag aral dun. Pero dahil hindi naman ako nag aral dun sa my school na un sa Chinatown ok lang sa akin matuloy ung Cityplace..:lol:

abnoy talaga yang si lim., bigla nalang niya papaalisin ang isang malaking investor sa city niya ng ganon-ganon nalang., pano kung mainis na sa kaniya ang megaworld? at hindi na mag-invest sa manila ever? it could seriously hurt the image of manila as an investment place,.

pano pa ung pinaplano ni Lim na CBD? lalong walang pupuntang investor dun kung ganito lang ang mangyayari sa investment nila.

@nayki, ok sana sentimental value., kaso hindi rin naman na kasya ang mga studyante dun? mas maganda pa yung bagong ginawa ng megaworld., :)

as if naman gagawan ni lim ng bagong classrooms ang mga bata sa public schools jan. :lol:

abnoy talaga yang si lim., bigla nalang niya papaalisin ang isang malaking investor sa city niya ng ganon-ganon nalang., pano kung mainis na sa kaniya ang megaworld? at hindi na mag-invest sa manila ever? it sould seriously hurt the image of manial as an investment place,.

pano pa ung pinaplano ni Lim na CBD? lalong walang pupuntang investor dun kung ganito lang ang mangyayari sa investment nila.

I think those 2 projects may be inter-related don't you think? Something's not right.

^^ Dang! I wonder if this will have an adverse effect on Mega stock. The source is Deutsche, which is a major brokerage firm with lots of foreign clients. Remember, even if the analysis turns out to be nothing, it may still be enough to make the shareholders jittery. I know I am... :eek:

Syempre, Ang sisi nang mga Mangmang na Manilenyo ay kay PGMA na naman. tsk. Ang utak din ni Lim.

^^ Dang! I wonder if this will have an adverse effect on Mega stock. The source is Deutsche, which is a major brokerage firm with lots of foreign clients. Remember, even if the analysis turns out to be nothing, it may still be enough to make the shareholders jittery. I know I am... :eek:

But a news article you posted in mid-May already mentioned about Lim's opposition to the relocation of the school. The share price should have already discounted any collateral damage from what will happen by now.

^^ What are you talking about? That analysis from Deutsche only came out tonight. And although we knew Lim was opposed, we never expect that he would stop the students from occupying the new school. Remember, groundbreaking is suppose to happen this month.

Note the article about the development and Alfredo Lim...

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0518&192007/companies05.html

MegaWorld Corp. chairman Andrew Tan will be getting an offer he can’t refuse once Alfredo Lim is officially proclaimed mayor of Manila.

You see, Lim intends to reimburse Tan for whatever he spent putting up a school in Numancia, Binondo, and then convert the school building into a free hospital.

MegaWorld constructed the school on public land in exchange for a 2.7 hectare publicly owned Meisic property valued at about P130,000 per square meter near the 168 Mall. Under the joint venture deal worked out with outgoing Mayor Lito Atienza, the Jose Abad Santos public school would be transferred to Numancia and MegaWorld would construct a 40-story mixed-used condominium on the Meisic property. As part of the deal, City Hall will be given a couple of floors to earn money from while MegaWorld sells the rest of the units.

After this column which you quoted came out in mid-May, our community had been abuzz that Lim would stop the transfer of the school in time for class opening. This was even before that Deutsche report and recent news headlines (about students not knowing where to go and being asked by Lim to remain in the old campus) in the Inquirer came out. These latest reports and articles only proved what was only a rumor before.

^^ We were talking about just the Meisic Mall, not the entire project. I even brought that up with the realtor, saw the building, and didn't think much about it. Even you said that the development will only affect that small parcel, not the entire development. The incident with the schools themselves didn't come up until now because the students, teachers, parents and Lim are being defiant by not occupying the new school, hence affecting the WHOLE development.

I went back to an old news article titled "Megaworld Plans Chinatown Project" and I just realized that this Lim-Tan issue will only affect one of the adjacent parcels intended for a new educational complex. If this is true then this project will only be scaled down and not totally cancelled.

Yup that article about the offer of Lim to Megaworld came first. And yes I said this will only affect the educational complex component but the project will have to be scaled down. Then the news on the students came out this week and I've posted only articles about the students and the school. All this time I never referred to the whole project. Not even now.

Dang! I wonder if this will have an adverse effect on Mega stock. The source is Deutsche, which is a major brokerage firm with lots of foreign clients. Remember, even if the analysis turns out to be nothing, it may still be enough to make the shareholders jittery. I know I am... :eek:

You asked how this will negatively affect MEG price di ba so I said prices should have already discounted this since rumors about problems of Lim and the school came out in mid-May pa. Maybe Lim stopping the students from transfering could be considered a new development but alam na ng Fil-Chi community this was bound to happen eh considering this is Lim we are talking about. Kaya hindi na dapat grabe ang effect sa MEG price if ever.


P.S. if you would allow me to correct you... Meisic Mall is not part of this property. :)

^^ So what exactly is the small "First Parcel of Land" that your old article was referring too? I know its not part of "Cityplace" since there is no educational complex in the residential, commercial or hotel areas as far as I know so where is it suppose to be?

This school thing is affecting THE WHOLE project. Its all or none according to Deutsche. It has always been the assumption (of Megaworld) that there wouldn't be any students in Jose Abad school in the site. Now there are. Note that the office portion already have tenants (according to realtors anyway), which consist of Citibank, HSBC and IBM. It was actually them that are said to influence the final design of the BPO/Richmond Hotel Tower. Hence any deviation to the master plan will severely affect the project.

As far as Mega being discounted, the stock already exceeded expectations by broker analysts and they have recently raised the TP. Hence I don't believe it has ever been discounted to take Lim into account. It did go down today although it could either be because of the correction or their recently announced partnership on a Batangas project with Fil Estate (which alone should be enough to bring ANY stock down given their lousy LOUSY track record). But the full impact has not been felt and I did not notice any huge selling from Deutsche...yet.

^^ Then there's also this another rumored partnership with Fil-Estate for Fil-Estate's Shell Maya lot to be developed my Megaworld. Good luck to MEG's price and reputation.

May project nga daw in Batangas ang Fil-Estate/Megaworld.
Here's the link if interested:

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=69947

Fil-Estate, Megaworld to tie up in Batangas project
By Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines -- Property developers Fil-Estate Land Inc. and Megaworld Corp. have agreed in principle on a co-development deal for Twin Lakes Project, a 730-hectare leisure and tourism project at the Taal Ridge in Laurel town in the province of Batangas, a couple of hours from Manila.

^^ So what exactly is the small "First Parcel of Land" that your old article was referring too? I know its not part of "Cityplace" since there is no educational complex in the residential, commercial or hotel areas as far as I know so where is it suppose to be?

@queetz what are those 3 towers on the right side of the map (with your sketch of the BPO/hotel) you posted earlier? Those towers that resemble TRAG in its orientation? I'll try to check my old ads for Cityplace in the papers. I think these were originally intended as dormitories for the teachers.

^^ Then there's also this another rumored partnership with Fil-Estate for Fil-Estate's Shell Maya lot to be developed my Megaworld. Good luck to MEG's price and reputation.

OT but yes the Shell Maya is confirmed to be a Megaworld development... there are now signs on the blue fence that says so.

@queetz what are those 3 towers on the right side of the map (with your sketch of the BPO/hotel) you posted earlier? Those towers that resemble TRAG in its orientation? I'll try to check my old ads for Cityplace in the papers. I think these were originally intended as dormitories for the teachers.


Those three towers are residential buildings called Olympian. I also posted a pic of them earlier in the thread but here they are again...

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/queetz9/Miscellaneous/DSCF0007.jpg

If they were originally dormitories, they aren't now...

It seems that Alfredo Lim is stirring things up again.

How can he authorized such thing? It's not July 1 yet. Technically, he's not the Mayor.



===================

Lim uses force, returns chairs to old JASHS campus

The Philippine Star

Manila Mayor-elect Alfredo Lim on Friday reportedly forcibly took three truckloads of chairs from the new school building of the Jose Abad Santos High School (JASHS) and returned them to the school’s former campus in Binondo.

JASHS principal Henry Panela said Lim, who will assume the mayoral post on July 1, led a team in loading some school equipment on board three trucks at around 11 a.m.

This action reportedly caused a commotion in the area because the security guards, hired by Megaworld, tried to stop them. But by the time they were able to close the gate, Lim’s group was able to cart away some 80 to 100 chairs.

The JASHS needs its chairs back since its teachers were already holding classes in the old school’s site along Calle Reina Regente and General La Lambre Street in Binondo, Manila.

“About 80 percent of our school equipment have already been transferred to the new buildings,” located along Numancia Street and Urbiztondo Street, San Nicholas, Binondo, Panela said, adding that they “were just following Mayor Lim. We are merely getting back our property.”

Many of their chairs, tables, and pieces of laboratory equipment were already stored in the new buildings.

It can be recalled that classes were suspended during the opening of classes in public schools last June 4 because education officials needed time to resolve whether JASHS’ 5,000 students would attend classes in the old campus or the controversial new site.

It can be recalled that the Manila City Council passed a resolution allowing the construction of the new school buildings of the JASHS and Rajah Soliman High School (RSHS) at new sites.

The local government sold JASHS’ old campus to Megaworld, which was supposed to erect a shopping mall and condominium units at the old site, despite being contested by Lim and members of the community.

Megaworld’s representative said they were still deliberating their next move. Evelyn Macairan

===========

“The new school is surrounded mostly by deserted buildings and commercial establishments. Moreover, our children also have to pass through the Pasig River just to get to school, which is too dangerous for them,” she told the Inquirer.



Too dangerous? Night classes ba sila?


Mayor-elect Alfredo Lim went to the school’s new site earlier in the day to talk to students and their parents. Lim and Sen. Jamby Madrigal filed in December a petition asking a Manila court to stop the city government’s plan to convert the school’s old site into a housing and commercial area.

The court, however, denied their petition.


This matter is moot na. As far as the sale is concerned, it's legal. The only way for Lim to stop the project is find evidences of plunder/fraud/corruption against Atienza and the city councilors...ala, NAIA 3. This may take a long long time.

We have to realize that "oppressed" mentality is very popular here. Where the oppressed or poor are always right, because they are the "disadvantaged" kuno. Read at how the teachers and parents react, as if they are the oppressed, and Lim is their knight in shining armor. :bash:
Nakakasuka.

I don't think Megaworld will take this without a fight. Sigurado, may collateral damage yan - ang mga estudyante, mga Megaworld investors (like me...btw, I got Phase I).

From the way I see it, Megaworld has 2 weeks to prepare their case. Pag umupo na si Lim, he can make things real difficult for Megaworld.

Too dangerous? Night classes ba sila?

Kaya nga, ako nga eh, nakapaglakad na sa lugar na iyon, hanggang dun pa malapit sa bridge papuntang port area kung saan mas maraming esqua, may nakausap pa nga akong mga rugby guys, they seem mabait naman :D , medyo nakaka-ilang nga lang kasi kahit habang nagkukwentuhan kayo, singhot pa rin sila ng singhot ng rugby sa harap mo, kulang na lang alukin ka nila, kamusta naman yun, but I assure you they're safe, even at close proximity to them, buhay pa naman ako, diba? Dun din kasi ang office ni mama so nakakapamasyal pa ako sa vicinity ng San Nicolas and I'd say it's generally safe, they even got a riverside park nearby.

Too dangerous? Night classes ba sila?

Kaya nga, ako nga eh, nakapaglakad na sa lugar na iyon, hanggang dun pa malapit sa bridge papuntang port area kung saan mas maraming esqua, may nakausap pa nga akong mga rugby guys, they seem mabait naman :D , medyo nakaka-ilang nga lang kasi kahit habang nagkukwentuhan kayo, singhot pa rin sila ng singhot ng rugby sa harap mo, kulang na lang alukin ka nila, kamusta naman yun, but I assure you they're safe, even at close proximity to them, buhay pa naman ako, diba? Dun din kasi ang office ni mama so nakakapamasyal pa ako sa vicinity ng San Nicolas and I'd say it's generally safe, they even got a riverside park nearby.

This new school campus along Numancia that Megaworld put up is near my current home. Just to let our mayor (sa July 1 ha!) know... if he doesn't yet or is just too blind by to see... there are already 2 existing public schools along San Fernando Street that is only a few blocks away: Pedro Guevarra Elementary School and Marcela Agoncillo Elementary School. Mind you mayor, these are elementary schools with small kids! Aside from the garbage these kids leave behind in our place after school there has not been any problems or complaints in our barangay concerning the kids.

So natatakot mga high schoolers from Jose Abad Santos High School? Oh come on! Who are you kidding (pun intended)? High school na kayo!

P.S. @thomasian... kuwentuhan kayo ng mga rugby boys (just a few of them who Atienza hauled away but have now come back)? Tsk tsk tsk. What are you thinking?

^^ So what exactly is the small "First Parcel of Land" that your old article was referring too? I know its not part of "Cityplace" since there is no educational complex in the residential, commercial or hotel areas as far as I know so where is it suppose to be?

Just looking at their older press releases... it seems like the first parcel is the huge Numancia property which was supposed to be the educational complex Megaworld was referring to. The second parcel is the 2.7 hectare property along R. Regente Street which was supposed to be Cityplace. Megaworld planned to donate some of the condo units in Cityplace to the city government as teachers' dormitories... not whole towers in Cityplace.

So natatakot mga high schoolers from Jose Abad Santos High School? Oh come on! Who are you kidding (pun intended)? High school na kayo!


If crime fighting is Alfredo Lim's only platform, then I would assume he would ensure that every nook and cranny of Manila will be crime free, hence safe for anyone to walk at in all corners of the night. So clearly fear by the Jose Abad Santos High Schoolers is a poor excuse to kill Cityplace. Honestly, I said it before and I'll say it again regarding Alfredo Lim's state of mind...I think he's crazy! :ohno:

P.S. @thomasian... kuwentuhan kayo ng mga rugby boys (just a few of them who Atienza hauled away but have now come back)? Tsk tsk tsk. What are you thinking?

Safe kausap yung mga bagong-rugby, sobrang tino pa ng utak nila. Hindi naman sila dapat kinakatakutan, saka iba rin yung effect nung may nakakausap sila, conversation can also be some sort of a therapy for those guys, kailangan din namang may makausap silang matino minsan, tulong na rin natin yun kahit papaano sa kanila.

Personally, from what I've seen around the site, the place is safe.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/100_1367x.jpg

You missed taking pictures of the other side of the compound (via another gate on Numancia) where Jose Abad Santos High School is. Anyway, what Megaworld has constructed as the educational complex is really very nice. Sayang lang talaga lahat na ito. Millions of pesos down the drain all because of a mayor.

His reason for killing Cityplace? The mayor quoted the students and their parents as complaining that the new area is unsafe. Really? What about the other 2 public schools already here in our barangay? Has any student been harmed or killed here? He also said that the students are complaining that they won't be able to afford the additional jeepney or tricycle fare to reach the area. Hey, mahiya kaya sila that students elsewhere in the Philippines have to walk several kilometers to get to their school!

Personally, from what I've seen around the site, the place is safe.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/100_1367x.jpg

shame on mayor lim.....an irrational megalomaniac moron who's so insecure about himself that he just have to reverse all the projects of atienza to feel special

So this went pfffft na?! So here goes another would-have-been milestone for inner Manila's redevelopment! Thanks Mayor fLIMsy.

^^ So is it official? City Place is really dead now? My agent hasn't called yet although she is aware of this thread and our concerns.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b358/thomasian/100_1369x.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b358/thomasian/100_1368x.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b358/thomasian/100_1371x.jpg

My agent just called me with this info. I hope tuloy na this time. :banana:

The pics of the new school...When were these taken?

Any Updates?

Word in the Finance Manila forum in the MEG thread (about the Megaworld stock) that Megaworld has started tearing down the schools with Mayor Lim's blessing. I cannot find an article but one should come up soon. If you have it already, please post it.

Err theyre tearing down the old school? I passed by the place everyday and i see classes being held there. Maybe theyre tearing down some walls inside tge school compunds. Il snoop around tomorrow. Il trying asking the guards and janitors hehehe

Word in the Finance Manila forum in the MEG thread (about the Megaworld stock) that Megaworld has started tearing down the schools with Mayor Lim's blessing. I cannot find an article but one should come up soon. If you have it already, please post it.

so, tuloy na? :banana: kungsabagay schoolmate sa UE si Mayor Lim at CEO nang Megaworld:lol:

Kilala b ninyo ung Anchor Land Holdings? Maganda nmn ang mga projects nila, tapos I heard daw the Megaworld is spreading rumors about Anchor kc ntatakot sila. Sana nmn di un totoo, masisira ang Megaworld nyan. Ung Cityplace b s old skool itatayo? I thought Mayor "Freddish" Lim denied it, something about hospital.

Baka magkaroon ng traffic congestion ngaun s binondo with Cityplace up, I mean imagine mo, traffic n nga ngaun ang Bindondo, dadagdagin ng Megaworld. Binondo is gonna be filled with cars if natuloy ang Cityplace.

ginigiba na ngyon yung rajah soliman school sa sta.elena st beside the 168 shopping mall..so 2loy na nga yung project ..

Hey guys, do you know the company Anchor Land Holdings?

ginigiba na ngyon yung rajah soliman school sa sta.elena st beside the 168 shopping mall..so 2loy na nga yung project ..

yehey!!! that's good to know! akala ko mananalo si lim dito nakaka-asar pag nagkataon.

ginigiba na ngyon yung rajah soliman school sa sta.elena st beside the 168 shopping mall..so 2loy na nga yung project ..

Pics naman, kahit sa cellphone camera lang. :)

Wala bang new updates?

Wala na talagang nangyari dito!

cguro d n tutuloy... wla pang updates... wtf is happening

The showroom is still in operation. Location is at Burke plaza nr cor sto cristo st and mulle de binondo in binondo area. And they also put up a giant canvasss billboard over at plaza lorenzo. I also noticed their half page advertisements in newspapers so i guess the projs' still on.

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/384/43225037mh9.jpg
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/3406/65431586oi8.jpg
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/1552/78201958co6.jpg
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2017/60228051ye1.jpg

Just happened to pass by the site this afternoon and lo and behold, they broke ground na pala. From the looks of it siguro few weeks na. I saw heavy equiptments and boring machines on the site. They were already digging. Mukhang full blast na ang construction. I was just surprised coz a few mons ago i still saw the public school in the area and now wala na, just big holes on the ground.
Pag natapos tong project na ito naku super ganda na ng area. Imagine cityplace is connected to 168 mall, meisic mall. Yung 168 condo that is goin to be build is just in front of cityplace. I can imagine the entire area to have the look and feel of little HK or singapore or even shanghai. Cant wait

i agree! gaganda ang DV! at imagine ang lalaki ng cuts ng mga units sa mga condos dyan! pinakamaliit na yata ang 138sqm!

http://stephenpdavid.multiply.com <<< My architectural & interior design visualization projects. :)

any news in abad santos high school? do you know any sources where i could get news clippings regarding the megaworld project. i know someone kasi na gusto mag invest sa cityplace kaso when we dropped by at the construction site nandun pa yung abad santos hs. any news regarding what megaworld is going to do about this?

From news i heard, cityplace projects is scaled down. Only the two residential towers will be built at the moment. Megaworld and Mayor Lim has come to an agreement that the other public school along reina regente stays. The other school was already torned down and construction of the towers have started. Meanwhile the school children have transferred to the new;y built school along neumancia street. That school located along pasig river opposite intramuros and right beside the 1st phil stock exchange centers boasts of its own waste water treatment plant. Public school lang yan and yet so very hitech and environmentally consious, thanks to megaworld. And the school environment is really stuitable for learning lots of open spaces, unlike the crowded place in their old spot. Marami ring distraction dun kasi its right beside 168 mall.

wow.. this is really good news for binondo.. megaworld is building in binondo.. while ayala is building in san lazaro.. go manila!

So wala na phase 2, too bad, Lim strikes again. Never mind redevelopment let the kids stay in lousy old schools. I saw the new school Mega built for the elementary and it was very nice. Too bad this mayor is only interested in making sure any deal made with Atienza is something he will make sure will not prosper, ay nako.

Im not saying wala na actually pero who knows baka on hold lang

guys do you have pics of the new school building and where it is located? i want to visit as well so i can check whether its better than the former rajah soliman.

by the way according to megaworld the building of phase 2 will commence as planned. although they are still waiting for the court order.

does anybody have a copy of any article relating to the acquisition of the lot for construction of cityscape?

also, anyone who knows when did the ground breaking of phase 1 happened?

^^ I posted a few pics of it here, not sure if on this thread but please do try looking a few pages back.

^^ I posted a few pics of it here, not sure if on this thread but please do try looking a few pages back.

Pic is on page 2 >> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14139235&postcount=173

Personally, from what I've seen around the site, the place is safe.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/aaron_ofngol/100_1367x.jpg

Any updates on this, I hope the whole plan will be pushed through... This is a bg boost to Manila, next to Manila Ocean Park. Any news sa Phase 2, sana masimulan na din.

I dropped by the old Jose Abad Santos High School this morning. The school admin has posted an announcement at the main gate along Meisic St. saying that they are transferring to the new Numancia school site.

Ang bagal nang progress :(

di ba pina stop to ni lim?

Yung sa foundation malapit nang matapos. Almost 80% complete when I asked one personnel from the site. Then the other school is now transferring to the new site at numancia.

di ba pina stop to ni lim?

Hindi na. Taga-UE din daw kasi si Andrew Tan gaya niya. :lol:

hahaha grabe talaga sa pilipinas dumadaan lang sa palakasan....LOL

I dropped by the old Jose Abad Santos High School this morning. The school admin has posted an announcement at the main gate along Meisic St. saying that they are transferring to the new Numancia school site.

At last...gigibain na and then phase 2!

Pera lang talaga ang katapat ng mga reklamador.

I hope somebody will be so kind to take a snap shot of the signboard, and post it here.

Hahahahaha as i expected. Nung una sobra tutol ng mayor ng maynila about the project. Gumawa pa ng gimik na ibinalik ang mga school equipments from the new school back to the old school. Nag rason pa na donated ng private people yung lupa at talgang nakalaan for public school only. Yun pala eh papayag din in the end. Hay sa magkano kaya bago pumayag. Pare-pareho lang mga pulitiko, mula barangay kagawad hanggand clerk sa opisina ng gobyerno hanggang presidente puro corruption. Wala talgang pag asang umulad ang bayan natin. Puro pansarili lang ang iniisip.

is this project still in the pipeline, other MW projects are full speed ahead, or is this project another victim of politics

may movement naman ata sa site, i was there just last week.

ang natira ng lang sa school ay yung fence tapos yung gate... ano kaya gagawin nila sa mga puno dun sa loob

sinisimulan na yung cityplace project ^_^

Good for them. Kumpleto pa rin ba o downscaled na?

imagine divisoria to be at par with bgc

Hindi ko maimagine! :lol:

Good for them. Kumpleto pa rin ba o downscaled na?

Some changes daw sa master plan.

All of those who previously bought Residencial units in Phase 2 were moved to the lower portions of Phase 1.

So MW is now starting Phase 2 with a clean slate. Tuloy pa raw ang Hotel, resturant and stores.

Rumors has it, the Phase 2 is on a "lease" agreement only with the Manila gov't.

Okay, I see. So there'll still be Richmonde Cityplace and the City Walk.

why? hinde ka conducive for lovemaking? =D =P

back to topic

merun bang plan ang pinuno ng mla na ayusin yung divi? ang dami kasing basura, hinde kasi ayala may ari ng divi eh. tsk tsk,

Okay, I see. So there'll still be Richmonde Cityplace and the City Walk.

The hotel...eh 5-star daw.

This will mean na kailangan nila ayusin talaga ang surroundings. Expected din na tataas ang value doon.

Tataas ang value?? Wow sobrang taas na ng value as of now. Rentals ng mga shops sa divi area is very expensive. A 70sq meter rents out at an ave of 35k a month already. Residential apartments sa mga lumang bldgs for 2 bedrooms at 20k plus as of now

^^ 70k ave nga sa 168 mall... really, rent in binondo and those near divi is considerably high...

This is near/in Binondo right? I hope kept the Chinatown vibe with their design

With the inflation (all prices going up, including cost of materials)....surely, real estate will going up as well.

The good ole days are gone :-(

^^ so you should buy now.. :)

^^ so you should buy now.. :)

hindi pa ba nagtatas now? i thought developers started increasing their unit prices.

construction in full blast now
Const crews busy laying the foundation with several foundation laying machineries on site

i hope everyone opposing the project has been taken cared of , it seems like coz construction is now going fast, perhaps making up for the lost time?

i am glad for this thread, i stumbled on this and i am now an avid reader ( my first time to post ).

i was also fretting for some time when the controversy aobut the school -historical area- private land came out. especially since im based in the province.being an investor in one of the residential towers of cityplace. i was very much concerned. siempre trabaho na ako ng trabaho para makabayad no.

i hope wala ng setback till 2011.

hindi pa ba nagtatas now? i thought developers started increasing their unit prices.

^^ most developers will increase price on august first week.. i suggest you ask your agents/brokers now..

confirmed from a mw agent nagtaas na nga sdila ng price

hello any updates on the construction of cityplace ?

im scared that the current global financial crunch will affect megaworld?s project

hopfully im wrong,

These pictures of Cityplace (phase-one which is the "One Cityplace") are dated October 21, 2008.

From their website cityplace.com.ph

First three pictures show 168 Mall in the background.

http://cityplace.com.ph/img/construction_img/1conspic102108.jpg
http://cityplace.com.ph/img/construction_img/2conspic102108.jpg
http://cityplace.com.ph/img/construction_img/3conspic102108.jpg
http://cityplace.com.ph/img/construction_img/4conspic102108.jpg
http://cityplace.com.ph/img/construction_img/5conspic102108.jpg
http://cityplace.com.ph/img/construction_img/6conspic102108.jpg

^good updates

he he he bakit binondo pa

^^ It's a Chinoy enclave. It makes perfect sense if you grew up in the area and have a business there. Andrew Tan himself is of Sta. Cruz, Manila and this could be his tribute to the place where it began for him. If developed properly, it can be the focus of urban renewal for that district of Manila. Heard that the price of land there is more expensive than that of Makati.

^^ very true... binondo area is very expensive piece of land. the chinese community want their place to look like singapore's chinatown. i just hope that their culture will be retained.

Lumaki si Andrew Tan sa Binondo at naglalakad lamang papuntang skul niya sa recto based sa article niya sa bizasia.

Mas Gaganda ang Binondo at baka tanaw sa mga condo dito ang Pagcor Tower.

^^ very true... binondo area is very expensive piece of land. the chinese community want their place to look like singapore's chinatown. i just hope that their culture will be retained.

^^ yes. i love binondo..

but i hope traffic will be reorganized there.. like placing more one-way streets or if possible, widening some roads.. beautiful place except for the congestion. they must also rehabilitate the riverfront properties in their area.. megaworld and anchorland must buy some properties in those areas for rehabilitation..

^ speaking of riverfront properties... hindi na kailangan pang gumawa ng mga bagong builidings for that place. they could just rehabilitate those buildings like the old prudential building and other abandoned structures there.

^^ And resurrect the waterways. The stench coming from the canals can really be a turn-off.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h141/oboi_1/cityplace.jpg

November 11, 2008

wala na yung mga century old trees... sacrifice nature for development huh, btw walng balita sa 168?

^Ongoing naman yung sa 168 Residence. may malaki silang stall sa Meisic mall para project nila.

kumusta na thread, whats the latest news about cityplace?

"but i hope traffic will be reorganized there.. like placing more one-way streets or if possible, widening some roads.. beautiful place except for the congestion. they must also rehabilitate the riverfront properties in their area.. megaworld and anchorland must buy some properties in those areas for rehabilitation.."

Is there a way to spruce up Binondo so it will be presentable? Maybe start up a committee composed of the local people as well as the Mayor's office. People, businessmen and tourists will surely troop to Binondo when it's more organized and clean looking.