Rockwell, Carlos Ott raise the curtain on the Town’s second act
Rockwell Land’s next big bet may be the South’s most anticipated reinvention in years.
The Lopez family-led developer said Tuesday it has begun to review and masterplan for the 17.5-ha Alabang Town Center (ATC), even tapping internationally acclaimed Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott to redevelop this landmark, located in the southern corridor of Metro Manila.
The Town’s transformation
Ott, best known for Paris’ Opéra Bastille and Rockwell’s own Proscenium in Makati City, is working alongside PRSP Architects on the long-term transformation of “the Town,” with plans to significantly improve the overall masterplan, refresh the mall’s tenant mix, enhance the shopping experience, and restore the old charm that made ATC a favorite fixture in the South.
“We actually started the review and masterplanning of the 17.5-ha property two months ago. We engaged Carlos Ott, the world renowned architect and planner that we used for the Proscenium, and he’s working together with our local architect, Jun Rodriguez of PRSP,” Rockwell Land chairman Nestor J. Padilla said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.
“In the first two years, we will address the parking and circulation around the property. While doing this, we will work on improving the tenancy mix, so we can improve the shopping experience. But more importantly, we will bring back the old charm of the Town, as the locals like to call ATC. Over the next five to 10 years, our vision is to transform the town to become a suburban lifestyle center,” Padilla explained.
Rockwell stewardship
Rockwell president and COO Valerie Jane L. Soliven meanwhile said the acquisition of a majority stake in ATC has understandably generated excitement in the South, not merely “because of the scale of the property, but because of what people believe it can become under Rockwell’s stewardship.”
“ATC has long held a special place within the Alabang community, and we are approaching its next chapter with both excitement and respect,” she added. “Further improvements and upgrades are underway, and we see this as the beginning of a much longer story still unfolding.”
For Rockwell, that “longer story” is also a business story seen to anchor the company’s expansion well beyond the near term.
“Together with our horizontal developments, the redevelopment of Alabang Town Center will anchor our exciting next 20 to 30 years,” Padilla said.
Outperforming in a cautious market
This exciting, massive decade-long redevelopment plan comes as Rockwell continues to outperform in a cautious market.
Padilla said 2025 was a record year for the company despite geopolitical tensions, global trade concerns, a local overhang of unsold condominium inventory, and political events that significantly slowed down the government’s infrastructure spending.
He reported that Rockwell posted a 29 percent hike in its consolidated net income after tax to P5.3 billion, while its net income attributable to the parent company reached P4.7 billion. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) grew 16 percent to P2.8 billion, while reservation sales hit a record high of P25.3 billion, up 62 percent year on year.
P30B in new launches
Much of that momentum came from Rockwell’s new launches last year, with a combined value of nearly P30 billion.
These are mainly horizontal and leisure projects including Lauan Ridges in Mataasnakahoy, Lipa; Molinillo in Rockwell Center Lipa; Samanean at Paradise Farms in Bulacan; and Aurelio, its third residential tower in Angeles, Pampanga in partnership with the Nepomuceno family.
The company also expanded its beachfront portfolio, with Aruga Resort and Residences Mactan now on its second residential tower.
But its most ambitious addition in this space is Cabo San Diego, a 350-ha beach and golf resort community in Lian, Batangas, about two and a half hours from Manila.
“In this project, we hope to set a new benchmark for beachfront living, consistent with our vision of delivering beyond ordinary communities,” Padilla said.
For Soliven, 2025 was important not only because of the new launches, but because it validated the foundations Rockwell had built over time.
“In many ways, that has made us reflect differently on what 2025 represented for Rockwell, beyond the launches and the milestones,” Soliven explained. “It was a year where many of the foundations we have worked hard to build over time began to show their strength.”
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
