DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 1 March) – “We will not have another ‘Aeon Tower’.”
This was how the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) head Ivan Cortez described the proposal of the City Government to restrict construction of high-rise buildings here.
The towering P3.1-billion 33-storey Aeon Tower, owned by the FTC Group of Companies, is located along J.P. Laurel Avenue here which stands at about 90.8 meters in a 4,574-sq.m. sprawl. It is considered as the tallest in the city if not in Mindanao.
The construction for this mixed-use condominium is still ongoing. It has four levels of basement as its parking space with 300 slots, 473 condo units, commercial space, hotel, and a sky deck on the top floor.
Cortez said Mayor Sara Duterte created a Task Force – with the CPDO, City Engineers’ Office, and City Legal Office as members – to work on a draft ordinance but they have yet to convene to decide on the height requirement of the new buildings.
He added it would be no higher than the 33-storey Aeon Tower.
Cortez said this is part of the mayor’s long-term plan for the city.
He said they are planning to set a certain height requirement based on the conditions of the roads, fault lines, solidity of the ground, traffic impact and population of one area.
Cortez said the height requirement would be shorter for areas where infrastructure do exist already and where roads cannot be expanded, most especially two-way lanes, as future development would only worsen traffic congestion.
“The only office now that sets a limitation of the building height requirement is CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) but in areas that can directly affect the flight path,” he said.
He said that they are also planning to propose a measure to the City Council to require the property developers to construct a parking building.
Cortez added that the Davao City Incentives and Investment Board has been directed by the mayor to come up with incentives to encourage investors to construct parking buildings. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)