SM Prime Continues Office Expansion Beyond Manila

SM Prime Holdings, one of the major retail developers of the Philippines, is expanding its commercial holdings beyond the country’s capital.

The Pasay City-based firm’s commercial property unit, SM Offices, announced it will build its 15th office development outside Metro Manila, The Core Tower complex in Santa Rosa, Laguna, The Manila Times reported. The three-building office development is expected to cost approximately ₱1.6 billion (US$31.9 million) and add nearly 291,000 square feet of leasable space to the South Luzon market.

The Core Towers will be located within the SM City Santa Rosa mall complex to accompany the firm’s shopping center below and provide access to retail, dining and public transit. SM Offices is seeking to bring in business process outsourcing, technology and professional services firms looking for scalable, high-grade workplaces in the Calabarzon — or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces — region.

“The Core Towers reflects the growing demand for future-ready office spaces in regional growth centers like Santa Rosa,” Alexis Ortiga, vice president at SM Prime, said in a statement, per The Manila Standard. “We are seeing sustained interest from companies looking for scalable locations that combine operational efficiency with strong local talent pools.”

With the Core Tower development, SM Offices’ total office portfolio will grow to approximately 10.8 million square feet across the country. More than 20 percent of those developments are located outside the capital. Calabarzon notably accounted for 14.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product last year.

The ASYA Design Partner-designed towers will give tenants a range of flexible fit-out options as well as essential services like high-speed telecommunications connectivity, 24/7 building management and 100 percent backup power in case of electricity loss.

The towers will also have connections to the South Luzon Expressway, Cavite-Laguna Expressway and the Pan-Philippine Highway, making for an ideal combination of “prime location, seamless mall integration and enterprise-grade infrastructure,” according to SM Offices.

The new development is expected to create more than 6,000 jobs via tenant operations and building services, per the firm. Leasing activity is already underway, though a grand opening date is yet to be revealed.

— Chris Malone Méndez