Clark: The Place To Be In Real Estate

One of the main venues for this year's edition of the 30th Southeast Asian Games or SEA Games was New Clark City in Capas Town, Tarlac. The venue boasts of an athletic stadium with a seating capacity of 20,000 and an aquatics stadium capable of accomodating 2,000 people. It also included an athlete's village and a huge dining hall with buffet-style meals. With all these capacities, it's no wonder that New Clark City has left a lasting impression to many of the athletes and coaches from different participating countries.

Rebranding of Clark from a Red Light District
Clark used to be a military base occupied by the United States Military. Formerly, the area used to  be a bustling red-light district where prostitution was rampant. Today under the Duterte administration and the Build Build Build Program,  the 34,000 hectare expanse is undergoing a transformation and is envisioned to be the next vibrant business district outside of Metro Manila.

Ideal Location Of Clark and Its Accessibility
Spanning across the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga, investments have began pouring in for the region as it holds the promise of a city being able to deliver a high quality of life. The region is also highly accessible because of its closeness to major highways such as the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark Tarlac Express. It also houses its own international airport that caters to around 600 flights per week.

Going in and out of the region is also expected to further improve through the proposed railways under the Build Build Build Program. Both the Manila-Clark Highspeed Rail and Clark-Subic Cargo Rail are expected to reduce the travel time between Clark and cities in the Metro.

Highly-Skilled Talent Pool
Setting up a business district in Clark is further made attractive because it allows companies to tap into the talent pool of the region around Central Luzon. Prospective investors would not have a hard time filling up company vacancies. This setup will also indirectly benefit Metro Manila as there would be less Filipinos moving to the cities in search of better opportunities if jobs are available close to their homes and families.

Office Space and Hotel Demand Boom
With Clark getting more and more attention from investors, demand for office space, residential units as well as hotel rooms are also expected to boom.

Philippine-based real estate service provider firm KMC has noted that the office space and hotel stock of Clark has also been improving. From 2011 to 2016, KMC noted that most office buildings in the area were of Grade B. Since 2016, three more Grade A buildings were constructed. KMC anticipates that in the next three years 18 more Grade A buildings would be completed adding around 330,000 square meters of gross leasable area.

This additional office space is expected to be absorbed by expansion of current office space tenants as well as by increased demand from both Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs).

Aside from office spaces, KMC has likewise seen an increase in hotels in the area. Last April 21, Clark was struck by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake disrupting the operations of Xenia Hotel, Quest Hotel, and Hotel Stosenburg. All these are expected to be fully operational once more come 2020. Two new hotels namely the Mariott Clark and The Mansion In The Villages have also opened adding another 288 hotel rooms. By 2022, another 1,160 hotel rooms would be available because of expected openings of the following hotels - Hilton Hotel, Hyatt Regency Resort, Park Inn Radisson Extension, and Windus Hotel and Casino Extension. These hotels and resorts are expecting to capitalize on the influx of foreign tourists drawn to Clark for its casinos and golf courses.

Development of Clark
Development of the Clark region is underseen by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority. The entire 33,000 hectare expanse is sub-divided into four: (1)  Clark Freeport Zone, (2) Clark Global City, (3) Clark International Airport, and (4) New Clark City.

Clark Freeport Zone
Clark Freeport Zone covers 26,000 hectares and is located within the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat in Pampanga. Investors in this area enjoy preferential tax incentives because of its ecozone status. Priority investment areas include manufacturing, commercial, tourism, leisure, information technology, aviation, and agriculture.

Fiscal incentives that firms benefit from include being taxed at a preferential tax rate of 5% based on gross income earned if it is an export-oriented enterprise. It is also designated as a separate Customs territory meaning that sale of goods to other countries are not subject to VAT.

Today, Clark Freeport Zone boasts of housing not only manufacturing, logistics, and industrial companies but it is also home to a lot of shops, restaurants, and residential units. Just this year, BCDA subsidiary Clark Development Corp. Has reported that total export revenue of the area reached $6.14 billion.

Clark Global City
Covering 177 hectares, Clark Global City is envisioned to be the Bonifacio Global City of the North, housing a vibrant business district with lots of skyscrapers. Clark Global City is cited as one of the most in demand developments in the country no wonder large real estate developers have started looking at developing the region.

Udenna Land's Global Gateway Development Corporation owns the  lease rights for the mixed-used area until 2085. It has tapped Megawide Construction Corporation to develop the metropolis. Currently 47 of the 177 hectares have already been developed and they include buildings capable of withstanding natural disasters, a state of the art sewage and drainage system, 8- lane roads with a bike lane. Megawide looks to complete the development of the rest od the 130 hectares within the coming 2 years.

Clark International Airport
In an effort to decongest Metro Manila and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the government built the Clark International Airport. This 2,300 hectare airport has a 3,200 meter ling runway and caters to more than 600 domestic and international flights on a weekly basis.

Once the passenger terminal of the Clark International Airport is completed by mid-2020, it is estimated that the airport would serve more than 12 million passengers. Influx of passengers mainly include Koreans and Chinese who are drawn to the Philippines because of our casinos and resorts.

New Clark City
New Clark City covers 9,450 hectares and it saw the housing of this year's hosting of the Southeast Asian Games. Aside from boasting of magnificent athletic stadiums, New Clark City os seen to be a smart, green, and disaster-resilient city. Upon completion, the area is seen to contribute around P1.5 trillion per year to our Gross Domestic Product.

Overall, Clark is the next big thing when it comes to real estate due to its high forecasted demand for both office and residential spaces. Improved accessibility through the airport, major highways, and also proposed railways make it more attractive to investors as well.