Urban redevelopment

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Ayala Land Premier is finally set to take over and start demolition of the old Somerset Olympia Building in Makati in the second half of this year when the lease of the remaining tenants of the building expires in July.

I accidentally learned about the pending closure of the remaining establishments of the Somerset Olympia Building during the Holy Week break while visiting one of my favorite restaurants – the Old Swiss Inn, which I began patronizing a couple of decades ago at its old branch near Paco Park in Manila.

It was at the Old Swiss Inn that I learned to like Swiss cuisine, from its sausages, pastrami sandwich, fondues, raclette cheese, gnocchi and sauerkraut, and my favorite – fresh corned beef and cabbage.

I was heartbroken when it finally closed its branch in Paco, but acknowledged that its old location was already too decrepit. I was glad, however, that it had already found a new location in the heart of Makati, right across the old Nielsen Tower, and thus it became my “new” regular favorite over the next couple of decades.

I was surprised during my recent visit to see that the Somerset Serviced Apartments had mostly vacated the Olympia Building already and that three of its elevators had been shut down, leaving only one operating elevator.

As the air-conditioning system had mostly been shut down, one could detect the musty and decaying state of the building, which was built in 1993 and is now 33 years old, just about right for redevelopment.

Unfortunately, however, that means that Old Swiss Inn will have to relocate. As I write this column, I am still trying to find out where it will find a new home.

Ayala Land Premier has already started construction work since last year on its Park Villas project on the lot where the other eight-storey building of Somerset Olympia previously stood. The second phase of the Park Villas project will thus likely begin this year once the building is fully vacated and turned over to Ayala Land.

According to Ayala Land Premier’s previous announcement, Park Villas, which is located across Ayala Triangle Gardens, will feature a collection of 45 villas, with each villa occupying an entire floor.

The new building to be built will be a towering 51-storey complex that spans 610 square meters and overlooks Ayala Triangle Gardens and the Makati skyline to the northwest and Urdaneta Village and the Bonifacio Global City skyline to the southeast.

Together with the new Mandarin Hotel and the Park Central Towers, Park Villas, according to Ayala Land Premier, is intended to set a new benchmark in contemporary living and sustainability. The project is LEED-registered. The design of the project is by globally renowned firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for architecture and Yabu Pushelberg for interiors.

Park Villas, Ayala Land Premier’s signature development, promises to be a landmark addition to the Makati skyline. The project is poised to contribute to the narrative of urban sophistication and progress and to mark a new chapter in the city’s vibrant history.

Mideast war crimps Holy Week

While I do not have figures to support my observations, it seems like the continuing Middle East war kept a lot more Filipinos in the city and in the country. Unlike in the past, I was surprised to see a lot more people out and about in Makati and BGC during this Lenten holiday.

Although there was really no traffic, there were a lot more cars on the road than expected, especially in the evenings. Likewise, even as we drove around the airport area, there was not as much traffic or as many cars going to the airport.

As the malls were closed during Holy Thursday and Good Friday, I opted to do my usual exercise walk in BGC, expecting very few people. I was surprised, however, that BGC was teeming with residents and the Fort had become a favorite open-air Way of the Cross destination, with quite a few restaurants open.

In fact, parking became a problem since the normal paid parking areas were closed as management had likewise thought that most would be going out of town or out of the country. Cars were thus going around the area trying to look for an open paid parking place since BGC does not allow on-street parking.

S&R BGC was packed on Holy Thursday, with shoppers and diners patronizing its pizza outlet.

Even on Good Friday, I was surprised that there were quite a number of restaurants open. In the past, if we were staying in the city, we were hard-pressed to find a decent restaurant open and our option would be to patronize fast-food restaurants or go out of town to nearby Tagaytay or Pampanga, where most restaurants were open as there were more out-of-town visitors.

Interesting though that as I get older, I no longer hear the traditional “pabasa” from our neighboring communities that used to hold such events during Holy Week. I guess most of the older generation that used to hold such traditional Lenten rites are no longer around. Sad.

What was most surprising to me was that come Holy Saturday, and with the malls reopened, it seemed most Filipinos and a surprising number of foreigners were in town and eager to get down to shopping and eating. In the past, although there were a lot of Filipinos eager to get out of the house after the two-day shutdown, this time around it really seemed like more people had stayed in the city.

I admit that I spent Holy Thursday and Good Friday glued to the TV, watching news channels Al Jazeera, BBC News and CNN, hoping and praying to hear news that the war is ending. Alas, the news is one of continuing penitence.