Sale option out, BCDA tasked to handle Mile Long redevelopment

The government is shelving a plan to sell the Mile Long property as the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) may handle the redevelopment program for the commercial real-estate asset in Makati City.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the Duterte administration is “contemplating” whether it would be more prudent that the redevelopment for the 2.9-hectare Mile Long property be under a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCCs).

For this reason, Dominguez said that he suggested to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to transfer the ownership of Mile Long to BCDA.

“This is what I told the President, it will be easier for us to do it through a GOCC to go into a JV [joint venture],” Dominguez told reporters in a recent interview at the Department of Finance (DOF) headquarters.

“Essentially the plan is to take the piece of property and redevelop it to a high rise mixed development and it is large enough to have three elements—commercial, office and residential,” he added.

To further increase the property size and valuation, Dominguez said he also asked the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) if the agency would be willing to give its “condemned” building located across Mile Long to BCDA.

“We have also gone to Makati and said we would like to change the floor area ratio, we want it to be as high as possible and Abby Binay, the mayor said that it should be no problem,” the finance chief said.

Dominguez, meanwhile, is confident that Mile Long would attract substantial interest from the private sector once the joint redevelopment plan is put on the auction block.

“We will have a special approval committee for the design of the JV, maybe will ask the PMO [Privatization Management Office because] we want to make sure the funds from this will be allocated as the president requires 100 percent for the retirement of the military,” he added.

Dominguez also said that the government received from architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. a conceptual design for the redevelopment of Mile Long.

“It [joint venture] has to go to bidding but there is already a conceptual design, it’s quite nice it looks like a boat,” Dominguez described. “Jun Palafox says that’s going to be the front door of Makati.”

Earlier, Dominguez said the government will unload its Mile Long property this year.

In June last year, the Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the government on the case involving the controversial “Mile Long” property in Makati City.

The Mile Long property was the asset cited by Duterte cited when he lambasted the Rufinos and Prietos for getting the property, to the disadvantage of the government and for which the President accused them of tax evasion and nonpayment of rentals.