‘BONIFACIO CAPITAL DISTRICT’ TO RISE IN FORT BONIFACIO
Property giant Megaworld and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) are teaming up to create a new district in Fort Bonifacio, the Bonifacio Capital District (BCD).
Covering the southern part of Fort Bonifacio towards South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport ( NAIA), the Bonifacio Capital District has a total land area of around 160 hectares.
This covers Megaworld’s existing township developments, the 54.3-ha McKinley Hill and the 34.5-ha McKinley West; and BCDA-owned properties consisting of the 26-ha Philippine Navy Village; the 33.1-ha Bonifacio South Pointe property in partnership with the SM Group; the 10.1-ha Consular property beside McKinley West; and a remaining one-hectare BCDA lot.
Strong partnership
Envisioned to be the ‘country’s administrative capital,’ the Bonifacio Capital District will soon be home to the future buildings of some of the major government institutions.
“This marks the strong partnership of BCDA and Megaworld Corporation in building for progress. As a key locator in Fort Bonifacio, Megaworld has made positive impact in the lives of many Filipinos through its ‘live-work-play’ concept. We saw the realization of this concept in McKinley Hill which is integrated in the Bonifacio Capital District,” said BCDA president and CEO Vince B. Dizon.
“The district will soon house the country’s major institutions such as the Senate of the Philippines, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeals. These government institutions will be complemented with more office spaces, residential units, parks, and commercial establishments—which are all essential to our vision to create vibrant and livable communities for the people,” Dizon explained.
Along with BCDA, Megaworld will create the Policy Review Board ( PRB) which will have the exclusive jurisdiction to set policies and restrictions on the development of the Bonifacio Capital District, and to ensure the proper execution of the district’s master development plan and vision.
Currently, developmentbased gross floor area of existing and operational commercial, residential, office and institutional properties within the district is around 1.26 million sqm.
Projected GFA of proposed mixed-use developments in undeveloped lots within the district, on the other hand, is around 2.1-million square meters. These new developments are expected to be completed in the next 10 years.
Accessibility
The Bonifacio Capital District will have Lawton Avenue as its main road, with direct access points towards Bonifacio Global City via Lawton-Fifth Avenue connection; Makati CBD and EDSA via McKinley Road and Chino Roces Avenue Extension; South Luzon Expressway and NAIA Expressway via southern portion of Lawton Avenue; and C5 Road via Bayani Road and Upper McKinley Road inside McKinley Hill.
Rendering support for Bonifacio Capital District is BCDA’s Bonifacio South Main Boulevard, District. This provide alternate access from NAIA and Bonifacio Global City, to decongest Lawton Avenue.
The road will also have bicycle lanes on opposite sides. A linear park that will traverse the boulevard will further promote a livable green environment within the district benefitting residents and workers.
By 2025, the district will be a location of one of the proposed stations of the ongoing Metro Manila Subway Project, initially named as Lawton East Station.
“In the next five years, after completing the road developments, utilities network and the subway project, we will be focused on traffic management, which includes development of bike lanes and pedes- trian networks as well as deployment of traffic marshals,” explained Kevin L. Tan, chief executive officer of the Alliance Global Group, the mother company of Megaworld.
“We will also improve landscaping along the district’s major roads and designing the entire district with urban art installations. On security management, we will also expand the CCTV monitoring to cover all areas of the district, which will then be incorporated into our Central Command Center inside McKinley Hill,” he added.
Based on the district’s original masterplan by Parsons Brinckerhoff, at least 15 percent of the entire area will be dedicated to recreation, green and open spaces, on top of the mandatory open space easement required to each locator.