Ayala taps architects for Quezon Institute dev't

WHILE talks are ongoing between Ayala Land Inc. and the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. (PTSI) for a possible deal on the latter’s Quezon Institute (QI) property in Quezon City, the real-estate developer is losing no time in consulting with premier architects and urban planners for the project.

BusinessMirror sources indicated that Planning Resources and Operations Systems Inc. Architects & Engineers (PROS A&E) will likely handle the design of the QI project if ever Ayala Land snags an agreement with PTSI.

An official of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) said the architectural firm is identified with the real-estate development arm of the Ayala Corp., and had consulted with the agency regarding the possible development of the QI lot.

“PROS A&E, [Architect] Manuel Mañosa’s firm, coordinated with us a few years ago regarding building on the property,” the official revealed. Architect Geronimo Manahan was the one who particularly talked with the NHCP. “We told him that we needed to see the master plan for the planned development first,” considering the historical significance of the property, the NHCP official who requested anonymity said. The architect, however, did not return with any design plan.

(PROS A&E's Manahan designed a master plan for the land use of the CCP complex. Photo from the PIA web site.)

Manahan, former dean of the UP College of Architecture, is one of the country’s foremost environmental and urban planners. In 2003 he led PROS A&E in designing a master plan for the land use of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, aimed at turning into the premier arts and cultural center in the metropolis.

In a brief interview with Manahan via telephone, he confirmed that he did consult with the NHCP on “land use” of the QI property.

He said ALI was “planning condominiums” on the lot. The condos, he said, would be built “only around” the main building designed by Architect Juan F. Nakpil, a National Artist. The building currently houses the offices of the PTSI.

Asked about the structural integrity of the main building, Manahan said there was a way to preserve it, but declined to reveal any further details of the plans. Instead, he referred this reporter to ALI’s officials. It would be recalled that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, which used to occupy another old building on the QI property, moved out hastily as its present management said their building was no longer structurally sound.

Jorge Marco, head of ALI’s corporate communications, said they could not reveal any design plans for the property, “since talks are still ongoing [with PTSI].”

Ongoing negotiations between the PTSI and Ayala Land are believed to be for a possible coventure on the 6.5-hectare QI property as PTSI officials said the land was not for sale. (See “Money woes may spur QI property devt” in the BusinessMirror, January 14, 2011.)

Now 72, Manahan was dean of UP’s College of Architecture, from 1984 to 1990. According to the UP web site, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Town and Country Planning from the University of Sydney in 1968, and obtained a Doctorate of Philosophy in Urban Planning from UP in 1992. A cofounder of the Philippine Institute of Environment Planners, he retired from academe in 1992 to focus on his private practice.

Manahan also authored the book, Philippine Architecture in the 20th Century, where he shows the culmination of various architectural influences in the country from the Chinese, Indo-Malayans, Muslims and Spaniards.

(Architect Geronimo Manahan of PROS A&E which he co-founded w/ 9 other architects including Architect Manuel Mañosa Jr. Photo from UPCA web site.)

In 2006 he received the Likha and Gold Medal award from the United Architects of the Philippines, the highest distinction accorded by the 34-year-old organization to a fellow. Other recipients of that award are National Artists for Architecture Leandro V. Locsin and Gabriel Formoso, Cesar Cachela, Manuel Mañosa, Angel Lazaro, Bobby Mañosa and Felipe Mendoza.

PROS A&E was cofounded by Manahan, Mañosa Jr., architects William Godinez and Fiorello Estuar, and six other principals. Its expertise is in urban planning and design, housing, tourism and industrial developments, according to industry sources.

PROS A&E has had a long relationship with Ayala Land, having designed several of its real-estate development projects. At present, the architectural firm is working on ALI’s Avida Towers in Sucat, Parañaque.

NHCP officials have said they need to see plans for any sale or development of the QI property first before these are implemented, due to the historical significance of the property.

Earlier, Ayala Land said it had some experience in preserving historical buildings as in the case of Nielson Tower in Makati City, which was built in 1937, and used to be airport passenger terminal and control tower of the old Nielson airport. The airport was part of the Hacienda San Pedro Makati of the Zobel de Ayala family. The airport was also site of the United States Far East Air Force headquarters in World War II.

The old airport tower now houses the Filipinas Heritage Library. (UPDATE: The Nielson Tower renovation was undertaking by Architect Francisco Mañosa & Partners. Bobby Mañosa is brother to Architect Manuel Mañosa Jr.)

(This story was originally published in the BusinessMirror on Jan. 20, 2011.)

Money woes may spur QI property dev't

(The old pulmonary hospital on the QI property, circa 1938, according to its facade. Photo copyright held by Stella Arnaldo.)
THE Quezon Institute (QI) property is not for sale.

That’s according to some officials of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. (PTSI), which operates and manages QI. PTSI has been at the forefront of the anti-TB campaign in the country since 1910.

But sources in the PTSI said the organization is looking at a possible “co-development” of the property with a real-estate firm.

Talk has been rife among the tight-knit community of Filipino heritage conservationists that PTSI had already sealed a deal in December 2010 to sell the property to Ayala Land Inc. (ALI).

This has been denied by some ALI and PTSI officials, however.

Jorge Marco, ALI head for corporate communications, told the BusinessMirror that no sale has been finalized. “I’m sure, when appropriate, we’ll make the proper disclosures,” he said. But he confirmed ongoing “talks or discussions” between ALI and PTSI about the QI property.

For her part, PTSI executive director Elizabeth Cadena said, “[the deal with Ayala Land] is not true.” Asked if there were any negotiations ongoing with ALI, she expressed her displeasure at the question by hastily showing this reporter out of her office at the QI. She refused to further answer inquiries, and merely wrinkled her mouth and shrugged her shoulders when asked who exactly this reporter could direct her questions to with regard to the issue.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has said the sale of the QI property or improvements to be made therein have to be approved by the government agency, as per the new Heritage Law. National Artist Juan F. Nakpil designed its main building, which houses the PTSI offices. (See story “QI deal needs historical body’s OK” in the BusinessMirror, January 12, 2011.)

(PTSI executive director Elizabeth Cadena - the dragon lady who shooed me out of her office. Photo from PTSI web site.)

The 6.5-hectare property along E. Rodriguez Avenue, barangay Tatalon, Quezon City, is worth anywhere from P2.3 billion to P5 billion, based on Bureau of Internal Revenue zonal values, and the market price of commercial real-estate developments in said area.

In a separate interview, a member of the PTSI board affirmed that Ayala Land was keen on the property but so are “other organizations and real- estate developers. There are certain arrangements we’re looking at, but we’re not selling the whole thing. We will use the real property the best way we can.”

The board member added that there has also been another proposal from another real-estate firm for “co-development” of the QI property which the board is considering, “but nothing has been finalized.” The board member declined to reveal the identity of the other developer.

The board member added that PTSI is “keeping our options open [regarding the property], but we’re not going to sell. It’s our mission to help treat TB….We don’t want to lose our primary resource for TB control.” The TB problem in the Philippines has yet to be totally licked as cases now involve resistant strains “that are very difficult to control,” the board member said.

An official of the PTSI who requested anonymity, likewise, told the BusinessMirror: “There are many who are interested in the QI property but we’re not selling. We only sold [a portion] to Puregold because we had to. We had precarious finances then; employees were going on strike because we couldn’t pay their salaries.” There are about 100-plus employees at QI.

Asked whether PTSI’s finances were now back in the black, thus the organization’s decision to hold off on selling, the official said, “we always have negative finances. Funding support for [our anti-TB campaign and treatments], such as the subsidy from the PCSO [Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office] have been reduced.”

While there are foreign funds that support PTSI’s anti-TB projects, as well as government support, the official said these were still not enough to address the TB problem in the country. Keeping the property and raising funds through it could help PTSI continue its anti-TB projects, the official indicated.

(National Artist Architect Juan F. Nakpil also designed the UP admininstration building in Diliman, QC. Photo from http://www.mediabd.com)

Meanwhile, a source in ALI said that instead of purchasing the QI property, the real-estate firm can also go into a “joint development” with the PTSI. This means ALI can lease the property from PTSI and use the rest of the lot to build condominiums, a mall, offices and other commercial establishments.

Ayala Land has a similar venture with the University of the Philippines for the UP-Ayala Land Technohub along Commonwealth Avenue in Diliman, Quezon City. The technohub—home to business-process outsourcing offices as well as restaurants—occupies 20 hectares, but the entire UP North Science Technology Park is 37.5 hectares. Another codevelopment project between ALI and UP is for the university’s property along Katipunan Road, also in Quezon City.

ALI has been eyeing the QI property for a mixed-use development project. The main building of QI was designed by National Artist architect Juan F. Nakpil in the 1930s. The other buildings such as the adjacent pulmonary hospital was built in 1938, according to a marker on its façade. The building which housed the PCSO was also built around the same time, as per the NHCP.

As such, the buildings and their environs are automatically protected from any unauthorized sale or renovations as per Republic Act 10066. If found guilty, violators will be fined not less than P200,000, or jailed not less than 10 years.

On its web site, the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) said QI “followed a stately and symmetrical design concept. A grand avenue leads to the two-story main building accentuated by strong Art Deco influences and geometric details.”

The UAP web site added that Nakpil was born in Quiapo, Manila, in 1899, the only son of composer Julio Nakpil and Gregoria de Jesus, the widow of Andres Bonifacio. He studied architecture at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in Paris, and received a master’s degree in Architecture from Harvard University. Considered the “Dean of Filipino Architects,” he also designed the “1937 International Eucharistic Congress altar and rebuilt and enlarged the Quiapo Church in 1930, adding a dome and a second belfry to the original design.”

Nakpil’s other major works include the Geronimo de los Reyes Building, Magsaysay Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino Building, Philippine Village Hotel, University of the Philippines Administration and University Library, and the reconstructed Rizal house in Calamba, Laguna.

(My story was originally published in the BusinessMirror on Jan. 12, 2011.)