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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Iloilo Business Park

Iloilo Business Park (IBP), also known just as Megaworld among the locals (after the developer's name), is a 72-hectare (180-acre) mixed-use master-planned central business district in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, Philippines by Megaworld Corporation. It is an integrated township project featuring a financial district, a lifestyle mall, office buildings catering to business process outsourcing firms, boutique and deluxe hotels, a convention center, and medical services facilities.

History

The terminal building of Mandurriao Airport, where the Iloilo Convention Center now stands

It is located on the site of Iloilo's former airport, Mandurriao Airport, which the conglomerate acquired for 1.2 Billion Pesos from the Philippine national government. Megaworld is projected to pour in 25 Billion for the entire development in a span of years. Initial development includes construction of a road network, the 12-storey Richmonde Hotel Iloilo and Richmonde Tower, Festive Walk, Two Business Process Outsourcing office buildings. The IT complex has been certified as an information technology park by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), granting locators perks such as tax holidays and duty-free importation of equipment among others.

Megaworld is setting aside a 9.7-hectare lot for the boutique hotel and commercial district which is being offered to interested business owners.

Iloilo Business Park increased by an additional 18 hectares (Sta. Rosa) and another 20 hectares, bringing the project to roughly 92 hectares from its initial 54.5 hectare-size. This is due to the increasing demand for residential and commercial properties and good reception to Megaworld's first development in the region and biggest township in the Visayas, modeled after the live-work-play approach that it claims to have pioneered in the Philippines.

Developments

Residential

Residential towers in the township featuring One Madison Place, Lafayette Park Square, and The Palladium (from left to right, respectively)

One Madison Place Luxury Residences is Megaworld's first residential development within Iloilo Business Park. It consists of three 10-storey mid-rise towers along Megaworld Boulevard.

Lafayette Park Square is Megaworld's second condominium project within the business park. The 14-storey single tower features French and Spanish architectural designs.

The Palladium, introduced in October 2014, is the tallest modern luxury residential condominium within Iloilo Business Park. Standing 80 meters high at 22 stories, The Palladium is also the region's first residential tower with its own sky gardens in various floors overlooking Iloilo City. At the topmost floor of the tower, there are exclusive loft units ranging from 76 square meters to 115 square meters.

The fourth and fifth residential projects in the township launched in 2017, Saint Honore and Saint Dominique, are inspired by Parisian lifestyle. It has ten levels with 168 and 152 units respectively. Both towers share a common podium and amenity areas. Both condominiums have second towers each.

The sixth condominium in the township, The Pinnacle, is a 20-storey luxury residential project of Megaworld. It will be built adjacent to the International Corporate Plaza.

Megaworld's seventh condominium and ninth residential tower in the township, the 22-storey Firenze, is an Italian City of Florence-inspired condo that will rise beside The Palladium at the northern portion of Megaworld Boulevard.

Office buildings

Torre del Reloj (The Clock Tower) of Festive Walk Parade at Iloilo Business Park

Three Megaworld office towers were initially developed to cater mainly to business process outsourcing companies. They combine a total of 25,000 square meters of leasable space and could accommodate a total of 10,000 employees. These are One Global Center, Two Global Center and the Richmonde Tower which also houses the Richmonde Hotel Iloilo. Construction of two more office buildings, namely One Techno Place and Two Techno Place, commenced last 2015 and are set to occupy a total of 19,000 square meters of leasable space housing an additional 8,000 employees.

Other IT-BPO office towers in the township include the Festive Walk Parade Tower, One Fintech Place, and Two Fintech Place.

In addition to the office edifices housing mostly to IT-BPO companies, there are also planned corporate office towers in the pipeline that will be built in the township. Notable of which is the International Corporate Plaza, a 19-storey tower with leasable spaces for corporate tenants. It will be the first green designed office tower in the Western Visayas region. Banks such as Metrobank and UnionBank of the Philippines has in their plans to build their regional corporate office towers in Iloilo Business Park.

Hotels

Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo

Richmonde Hotel Iloilo occupies the ground floor and 7th to 12th floors of the Iloilo Richmonde Tower. It hosts 90 guest rooms and cater to businessmen and tourists. It is the first Richmonde Hotel outside Manila.

Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo is built under Marriott International through Megaworld Corporation. The 15-storey hotel houses 314 rooms and suites. The hotel opened on May 1, 2018 as the first Courtyard by Marriott development in the Philippines and also the first Marriott-branded hotel in Visayas and Mindanao twenty years after the opening of Marriott Cebu (rebranded as Seda Cebu).

Belmont Hotel Iloilo is the latest hotel near the St. Honore and St. Dominique condominium towers. A 12-storey hotel, it will be the first Belmont Hotel brand in Western Visayas and Mindanao.

Commercial

The Festive Walk Iloilo is the first stand alone lifestyle mall by Megaworld in Visayas and Mindanao and the first upscale mall in Iloilo. It has two buildings (Main with 3 levels + Annex with 3 levels) housing shops, restaurants, facilities including cinemas and "event centers". The Marketplace by Rustan's occupies as the main supermarket chain in the mall. Festive Market by Savemore serves as the anchor supermarket for the mall.

Festive Walk Parade, a 1.1-kilometer outdoor commercial and retail strip, is the longest shopping and dining strip in the Philippines. The first phase had a soft opening on December 20, 2016 with a grand opening happening in January 2017. Succeeding phases was completed in 2018.

Landers Superstore is set to open a branch in Iloilo Business Park, introducing its wholesale club concept to the township.

Museums and art galleries

Casa de Emperador houses the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA), the first museum dedicated to contemporary and modern art in Visayas and Mindanao

Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) is the first contemporary and modern art museum in Visayas and Mindanao (first Megaworld-built museum in the Philippines), it houses artworks of local and international artists like Salvador Dalí.

The Brandy Museum, the first and only brandy museum in the Philippines, offers a virtual tour showcasing the history of brandy and wine manufacturing.

Convention center

The Iloilo Convention Center stands on a 1.7-hectare lot donated by Megaworld Corp, the same site formerly occupied by the apron and terminal of Mandurriao Airport. It was funded by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) and the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of Senator Franklin Drilon.

Medical services

SuperCare Medical Services, Inc. is a 9-storey medical services in the township currently under construction.

Transport

Festive Walk Transport Hub and the Premium Point-to-Point (P2P) Bus

In March 2019, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board announced the opening of a new Premium Point-to-Point Bus Service in Iloilo Business Park Transport Hub with express bus services to the airports in Cabatuan, Kalibo and Boracay (Caticlan).

The transport hub also serves as one of the central terminals with access to different routes within the city.