Abreeza will be a multi-use commercial center that will house a mall, entertainment areas (including natural open spaces, comprising about 20% of the total project area), and locations reserved specifically for business-process outsourcing (BPO) operations. In fact, there are two buildings planned solely for BPO companies, according to the representatives of Ayala Land.

The first building is scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2009 and will have a total gross leasable area of 10,000 sqm. While ALI has not yet signed any particular BPO firm for Abreeza, they do have existing locators in their IT parks and buildings in Metro Manila and Cebu.

At the press conference following the groundbreaking rites Tuesday last week, ALI President Jaime I. Ayala explained that they do maintain a loyal group of BPO locators who may very well be expected to follow them to Davao once the facilities are in place. He further expounded that this was the case in the Ayala IT Park in Cebu City.

The groundbreaking of this much-awaited development, which is a joint venture between ALI and Anflocor, is a very clear and resounding signal of strong investor confidence in Davao City. The ALI executives expressed their approval of the region’s peace-and-order situation, as well as of the overall favorable business climate in the Philippine South. Hence their preparedness to sink in up to Php5 billion in the Abreeza project.

During the press conference, which was held at the Pearl Farm Marina in Lanang, ALI and Anflocor decision-makers made themselves available for interview by local media, as well as by a couple of bloggers – Ria Jose and yours truly. Sidebar: I am glad that more and more business entities are now recognizing the usefulness of blogs as an effective communications medium.

Being an active member of the city’s IT industry as well, I was particularly interested in the ICT component of Abreeza. Upon introducing the existence of organized ICT groups in Davao, both presidents of ALI and Anflocor immediately expressed an interest in interfacing with the Association of Solution Integrators in Davao (ASID) and ICT Davao Inc.

ASID is the organization of software development houses and companies offering software-based solutions. ICT Davao is the umbrella group of all ICT-related non-profit organizations in the city (of which ASID is a founding member). I act as the executive director of ASID.

It is indeed beneficial for Davao to be the investment destination of more foreign BPO companies that will locate in Abreeza. On the other hand, it is my hope that this Ayala development will also spell success for the local ICT industry of Davao.

Judging by the keen interest and enthusiasm of the ALI executives when they inquired into ASID and ICT Davao, I’m convinced that Abreeza will be able to contribute directly to the progress of Davao’s IT sector.

Already, Ayala Businesscapes representatives, as well as Anflocor President Alexander Valoria, have communicated their intent to participate in Davao’s IT associations. Their contributions are certainly very welcome!

The much-awaited Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and Anflocor project took a significant stride with a groundbreaking ceremony held on site last 23 September 2008 for their joint venture dubbed as Abreeza.

The ceremony was attended by ALI & Anflocor executives and guests, who witnessed Anflocor Chairman of the Board Antonio O. Floirendo Sr., Ayala Corp. Chairman of the Board Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, Ayala Land Chairman of the Board Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Land President Jaime I. Ayala, Ayala Malls and Ayala Businesscapes Group Head Ma. Victoria E. Añonuevo, Head of Ayala Land Vis-Min Emilio J. Tumbocon, Anflocor Vice Chairman Antonio R. Floirendo Jr., Anflocor President Alexander Valoria, Anflocor Senior Vice President Ricardo R. Floirendo, Anflocor Directors Ma. Cristina R. Brias and Vicente R. Floirendo, with Davao City Administrator Wendell Avisado, break the ground at the Abreeza site along J. P. Laurel Avenue to formally signal the start of building work for the joint venture.

Abreeza is the first major entry project of Ayala Land, Inc. in Davao City. When completed, Abreeza is envisioned to be an integrated mixed-used development that will innovate the city’s urban landscape. It will include a three-storey shopping mall, two Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) buildings and, in the future, a hotel and residential and commercial lots. The first BPO building will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009 while the first phase of the mall will open in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Abreeza is not the Ayalas’ first development in Davao City, however. We mustn’t forget that the venerable Insular Hotel (now owned and operated by the Waterfront chain) was built by the Ayala family. The high-end Insular villages were also theirs, as well as the Insular Life and BPI buildings.

During the press conference on the same day, this time held at the Pearl Farm Marina, ALI President Jim Ayala, Anflocor Senior VP Ricky Floirendo and the other executives of these two corporations related how Abreeza will become a business-cum-leisure center that Dabawenyos will be proud of. If we are to base our expectations on Makati’s Greenbelt, Abreeza is certainly something to look forward to — in two short years!

The representatives who were at the presscon were the decision-makers of the joint venture, and so the media — as well as the bloggers — were able to glean juicier details than what was printed on the press releases. For example, Jim Ayala revealed that the total project cost up to 2011 will be Php 4 to 5 billion (but the question regarding ROI was predictably left unanswered).

Also, and this is something that I’m sure we will all appreciate, Abreeza will reportedly have around 20% of the 10-hectare property dedicated to open spaces. Think of those beautiful gardens and parks that dot the five Greenbelts in Makati.

Davao City has long been identified as a favorable investment destination for BPO companies, as well as a viable source of skilled manpower. Thus, Abreeza’s first finished product will be the 10,000-sqm building reserved for BPO and IT firms. The executives said that there have already been inquiries from such operators who have existing deployments in other ALI properties.

Prompted by questions from the press and from yours truly, the executives of ALI and Anflocor also talked about their dealings with the city government. Jim Ayala, who reiterated his company’s confidence in the city’s peace & order stability, also discussed plans to address the flooding situation along J. P. Laurel Avenue, as well as other plans to ensure the success of Abreeza’s development.

The entry of Ayala Land, in partnership with Anflocor, is a gleaming beacon of investor confidence in Davao City. Progress is inexorably in our midst.

The name Abreeza was coined from "breeze" and the Italian word for embrace, "abbraccio".