THE Bay Area, a massive reclamation west side of Roxas Boulevard situated in the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, has indeed come a long way since its inception in the 1970s.

Over the years, the area has become well known as the site of the Mall of Asia Complex, the Metropolitan Park, Solaire Resort and Casino, the City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila and the recently opened DD Meridian Park of DoubleDragon Properties.

More projects in the Bay Area are expected to be completed soon, including a massive Ayala mall in Aseana City (next to City of Dreams Manila), Megaworld’s Bayshore City and Travellers International Hotel Group’s second Resorts World property—all of which will further cement the Bay Area’s position as one of Metro Manila’s next most important central business district (CBD).

In fact, a report by Colliers International noted that, among Metro Manila’s CBDs, the Bay Area has seen the fastest growth in office rents. Rates from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2017 grew by 3.2 percent, due to strong demand for office properties. In comparison, office rent in the Makati CBD and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) grew 1.8 and 2.4 percent, respectively, over the same period.

According to Jardin Brian B. Wong, COO of new real-estate player Golden Bay Properties, the Bay Area is indeed one of the most highly sought-after locations in Metro Manila at the moment, and one of the reasons is improved transport infrastructure around the area. The opening of the Naia Expressway (Naiax), for instance, made the location highly accessible from the Naias three terminals, the Metro Manila Skyway and other CBDs.

Accessibility of the Bay Area to both the northern and southern sections of Metro Manila will also be improved once the Nlex-Slex Connector is completed. “Imagine not having to ply EDSA if you’re coming from the South Luzon Expressway to go to the North Luzon Expressway and reduce your travel time from two hours to 20 minutes,” Wong said. “The Bay Area will benefit immensely from this project, as it is directly accessible from the Skyway via Naiax, which contributed heavily to the budding CBD’s appeal.”

All roads lead to the bay

One of Philippine real estate’s newest players, Golden Bay Properties, is the name behind a soon-to-open office development along the Bay Area’s Macapagal Avenue, just beside its namesake Golden Bay Restaurant. Named Aspire Corporate Plaza, this 10-story office development is the rookie developer’s first-ever project and coincidentally the first and so far only office development in the Bay Area that offers office units for sale.

“Aspire Corporate Plaza offers what other office developments in the Bay Area do not—a prime office space in a burgeoning location to call one’s own,” Wong said.

According to Wong, Aspire’s target market is composed mostly of small and medium enterprises that have been operating close to the area for a very long time. “These businesses, mostly in the cities of Manila, Pasay and Parañaque, include Binondo traders, shipping and logistics firms, manpower agencies, construction firms, travel and tour operators, and even software companies.”

Most of these firms, Wong added, are seeing the benefit of owning an office property, which affords them the double advantage of cashing in from the Bay Area’s high growth potential and not having to pay monthly rent for their corporate offices.

Mid-priced premium-grade office building

Positioned as a mid-priced but premium-grade office building, Aspire Corporate Plaza is priced between P220,000 and P250,000 per square meter—a bargain considering that prices in BGC and Makati CBD at present run at least P300,000 per sq m.

On a 3,500-sq-m lot, the office building will have about 73 office units, with sizes ranging from 184 to 340 sq m. Buyers and corporate occupiers with bigger requirements can also opt to combine units or even purchase entire floors. Three levels of parking (one basement and two podiums) will also provide approximately 280 parking slots, which is equivalent to about 40 slots per floor. A typical floor has 10 office units.

Hotspot in the making

Given the Bay Area’s massive potential to become Metro Manila’s next “it” address, a lot of major players are venturing to the area for their next big-ticket projects. Office rents are escalating quickly in the Bay Area, which stand between P675 and P875 per sq m per month as of the last quarter of 2017. This is inching closer to Ortigas Center’s P500 to P900 and even BGC’s lower-end market of P900.

“We have no doubt that the [Bay Area] will be Metro Manila’s next hot spot,” Wong said. The area is at the heart of the government’s push for infrastructure spending, which will only make it more attractive in the years to come—not bad for an area that was once under water.

This article first appeared on www.businessmirror.com.ph