By James A.Loyola
Dr. Andrew L. Tan (third from left), Megaworld Chairman and CEO shakes hands with Raoul R. Teh, JPMorgan Chase Bank CEO of Philippine Global Service Center after signing the agreement to build the new headquarters of JPMoran Chase in the Philippines Bank in Uptown BGC. Also in photo (from left) are: Jericho P. Go, senior vice president, Megaworld; Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, chief operating officer, Megaworld; Alfonso L. Nepomuceno, Asia-Pacific Head of Global Real Estate, JPMorgan Chase Bank; and Sandeep A. Mulajkar, chief administrative officer, Philippine Global Service Center, JPMorgan Chase Bank.
Megaworld Corporation, the Philippines’ largest developer of office spaces, is constructing a 25-story, build-to-suit office building for lease by the Philippine Global Service Center of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., the leading global banking and financial services provider.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Megaworld said the building in Fort Bonifacio will offer an estimated 70,000 square meters of gross leasable area.
This will be the country’s biggest single office lease transaction in terms of total space leased to a single company and transaction value. It will be a 10-year lease agreement with multiple renewal options.
“This multibillion peso deal with a single company is the biggest in the country’s office leasing industry,” said Megaworld Senior Vice President Jericho P. Go.
He added that, “Megaworld is proud to build the new home of JPMorgan Chase in Fort Bonifacio as it consolidates its existing Metro Manila operations under one roof – all in a state-of-the-art, prime and green office tower right at the heart of the booming Uptown Bonifacio.”
“Manila continues to be a major strategic hub for JPMorgan Chase,” said JPMorgan Chase’s Philippine Global Service Center Chief Executive Officer for Raoul R. Teh.
He said that, “through this landmark development, we are able to consolidate our presence to one location, so enabling us to bring our Manila-based employees together, facilitating increased collaboration while also demonstrating our commitment to providing them with various career opportunities within the firm.”
The new development, strategically located along 38th Street corner 9th Avenue in Uptown Bonifacio, is a few meters away from the future Uptown Transport Hub beside Kalayaan Avenue.
This is the proposed Skytrain monorail system that connects Taguig’s Fort Bonifacio to Makati, as well as the future Kalayaan Station of the Mega Manila Subway and the Fort Bonifacio Bus Rapid Transit System.
Featuring highly efficient office floors, innovative technology in building design, and having applied for LEED Gold certification, the facility is designed by UK-based award-winning architectural firm Broadway Malyan.
To be completed in 2021, the iconic tower will be ready for full operations by 2022.