By Business World
Colliers Philippines said it expects an increase in retailers occupying transit-oriented retail spaces due to the rise in public transport infrastructure projects.
“A lot of retailers (will) occupy mall spaces within the transit-oriented retail spaces,” Colliers Philippines Associate Director Joey Roi H. Bondoc said during a press briefing last week.
“You have all these infrastructure projects that will be completed between 2024 to 2029,” he added.
Mr. Bondoc cited One Ayala, launched in 2022, which is directly linked to the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT)-3.
Similarly, the Araneta City Terminal is situated near residential and office towers as well as the MRT-3, Light-Rail Transit 2, and the Araneta City Bus Terminal.
The viability of transit-oriented development provides a lot of optimism for developers as infrastructure projects ensure high consumer traffic and spending from commuters, he said.
Under the revamped Build Better More program, Mr. Bondoc noted that it is fitting for retailers to lease out brick-and-mortar spaces within the infrastructure projects expected to be completed between 2024 and 2029.
“Looking at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which will be expanded, modernized, capacity of 32 million, New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, 35 million, MRT 7, MRT 3, capacities of 350,000, 800,000 for the North-South Commuter Railway,” he said.
Among these is the 36-kilometer Metro Manila Subway which is seen to provide 520,000 capacity that spans from Quezon City to NAIA in Pasay.
Colliers also reported developers renovating their retail spaces, such as Uniqlo in SM Mall of Asia, Timezone in Trinoma, Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Puma, Bayo in Glorietta and more.
Additionally, food and beverage (F&B) and fast fashion retailers continue to lead retail space uptake as they occupy a significant portion of the available physical retail space in the market.
About 43% of upcoming retailers in the first quarter are attributed to F&B, followed by 35% for fashion, beauty, and health, with technology accounting for 6%.
Mr. Bondoc said that Ayala Land has earmarked P13 billion for the redevelopment of its malls, with most projects expected to be completed by 2026, including Glorietta, Ayala Center Cebu, Trinoma, and Greenbelt 2.
Colliers forecasts the vacancy rate to decline to 17% by the end of 2024, driven by the annual completion of retail space totaling 162,300 square meters over the three years from 2024 to 2026.
Selected upcoming projects between 2024 and 2027 include Bridgetowne Opus Mall in Quezon City, the expansion of SM Mall of Asia in the Bay Area, and Ayala Mall Arca South.
Makati has Greenbelt 1 and 2 redevelopments.
Meanwhile, the vacancy rate rose to 15.5% for the first quarter of 2024, which is the industry average for the Metro Manila sector. This is higher than the 14.4% recorded quarter on quarter, attributed to new mall openings.
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