Properties near subway project to triple prices

PROPERTY prices in areas along the planned Mega Manila Subway project are seen to double or even triple as developments will be more attractive to buyers due to better accessibility, according to a global real estate

In a report e-mailed on Thursday, Colliers International Philippines urged real estate developers to build properties, such as mixed commercial, residential, hotel, and institutional ones, within a kilometer from the subway’s 13 stations.

“We see residential land values around the stations rising by at least two-fold while commercial land values will likely increase by at least three-fold from the start of construction to full operation of the subway,” said Paul Vincent Ramirez, Colliers International Philippines’ director for valuation services.

Colliers said Quezon City will benefit most, given the seven stations out of the 13 would be located in the locality.

“With improving connectivity given the construction of Manila Subway, MRT-7 and the common LRT-MRT station, we see Quezon City becoming more attractive for mixed- use projects that feature

- ects,” it said.

Colliers sees North Avenue most suited for townships due to the interconnection among three rail systems while Quirino and Tandang Sora are seen hot for residential and hotel projects and to capture the demand from Northern Metro Manila and nearby provinces such as Bulacan.

Low- to mid-rise condominium buildings, it said, suit Anonas Street in Project 4 where the East Avenue station will be nearby, while the Katipunan area is seen with the least potential due to limited developable land.

“Other stations may experience higher land value growth especially those connected with other mass transit systems and near

- ties which can be redeveloped into townships or mixed use communities,” Ramirez added.

Ortigas North and South stations are seen as potential spaces

the redevelopment of Ortigas Center from 2019 to 2021.

Kalayaan and Bonifacio Global City stations will remain feasible for smaller township projects as well as dormitories for professionals while government-owned properties along Cayetano Avenue could be transformed into smaller townships offering residential towers and offices with ground

Meanwhile, the FTI/Arca South station should be positioned as the next major central business district (CBD) in southern Metro Manila.

Colliers said property firms should take advantage of the strategic landbank through complementing the subway by building own infrastructures, tying up with other firms for development mix, redeveloping brownfield assets, partnering with the goverment for the developable land parcels, and assessing the project type to pursue in each station.

The Mega Manila Subway is a P350-billion infrastructure project of the Duterte administration. It is scheduled for groundbreaking

three stations operational by 2022