There has been so much talk about the need to revitalize the City of Manila. With so many plans being done or still in that “pipeline hell” to answer that particular need, there is one particular plan that has generated much interest and controversy at the same time. To say the least, it is an interesting development plan to look out for as this one aims to put a different face to the overall makeup not only of downtown Manila, but also the popular shopping district of the Binondo-Divisoria area. Dubbed as “Cityplace,” this is a residential/commercial development project masterminded by Megaworld: the same developers behind Eastwood City, McKinley Hill,…
-
-
The “IT hub” in Gilmore Avenue
The New Manila of the old, as was noted before, was mostly a residential enclave among the upper and middle class families. Whatever commercial activity there was in the area in those days were minimal and did not do much to alter the landscape of the neighborhood. But in recent years, commercial activity in the area began to spike. Partly contributing to the commercial development is the influx of a new industry: the computer retailers that set businesses left and right mostly concentrated along that patch of road called Gilmore Avenue.* *Interestingly, Gilmore Avenue was named after a person who had nothing to do with technology matters. It was named…
-
The residences of New Manila
During the American colonial period in the Philippines, particularly during the 1920’s-1930’s, the country’s capital city Manila was experiencing unprecedented progress and commercial expansion. Along with it came the creeping problems brought about by such progress, though back then, they were as grave as they are today. For Manila’s upper and middle class families, these changes brought out much stress that they consider moving to Manila’s outskirts or suburbs instead. This was not left unnoticed by the property developers of the time as they scrambled to develop what was then a vast wilderness found a few kilometers outside the city limits.
-
Leveriza and the story of Pasay’s “development”
It was one sunny weekend sometime ago that I found myself in Pasay. I was about to go to the Mall of Asia but I figured out to do a quick little stroll around the inner Pasay area, particularly around the area of Leveriza Street. Leveriza is said to be named after one of the princesses who lived in the 16th century, around the time the Spaniards came to Manila, who of a kingdom that encompasses roughly much of today’s Pasay.