Metro Clark offers many opportunities
AS an alternative to overcrowded Metro Manila, Metro Clark offers appealing prospects to local and foreign investors and occupiers, according to real estate services and consultancy firm JLL Philippines.
Formerly an American military base until its closure in 1991, Metro Clark is envisioned to be the premier business district in Northern Luzon. This would cover New Clark City, Clark International Airport, Clark Freeport Zone, and Clark Global City.
“All roads lead to Clark,” said Ian Perez, JLL Philippines’ director for Capital Markets during a recent event where a real estate market overview of Metro Clark was given.
“Improved infrastructure is being put in place to make it more accessible now — major highways such as the North Luzon Expressway and Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, the Clark International Airport, and soon, the North–South Commuter Railway,” said Perez.
“Living in Metro Clark and working in Metro Manila central business district, and vice versa, has now become more viable,” he said, emphasizing that infrastructures are being built to make traveling between Metro Manila and Metro Clark take 45 minutes (one way).
The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has stepped up decentralization among businesses. As a result, they have adopted a “hub-and-club model” where they will maintain a head office (club) in Metro Manila for interactions such as client meetings and town halls, and expand through satellite offices (hubs) in the provinces, which may be closer to where employees live. Metro Clark will serve as one of these hubs.
Amid this decentralization trend, Perez said Metro Clark has the necessary amenities and facilities to support businesses for their expansion, adding that it has a diverse availability of supply for office, retail, residential, and logistics and industrial offerings.
JLL sees an additional office supply of at least 280,000 square meters starting first quarter of 2022, and there are 700 hectares of land across Metro Clark that can be allocated for industrial purposes.
“Offshoring and outsourcing firms, on top of traditional offices, remain to be one of the key drivers for the demand in office spaces in Metro Clark. We expect rents to remain steady until the end of the year and slightly dip as new supply becomes available in the market starting in 2021,” said Perez.
“Depending on the quality, size and site of a building, locating offices in Metro Clark has cost-saving benefits such as lower rent, labor, utilities, and other operational costs,” he added.
The logistics and industrial sector is also driving demand for office space, particularly on the last-mile delivery, due to the booming e-commerce.
“The more we shop online, the need for additional warehouse space increases, particularly from e-commerce companies. And with the Skyway 3 already in place, logistics hubs in Clark area are strategically located to support distribution operations in all of Metro Manila’s 16 cities and one municipality,” said P. Ryan Isip, JLL Philippines’ head of Capital Markets.
“As the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program continues, Clark will become even more accessible. Soon enough, with the private sector investing and businesses locating their offices in the area, it will become an economic growth pillar of Luzon, complementing that of Metro Manila’s CBDs,” concluded Isip.