Fort Bonifacio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fort Bonifacio is an urban development in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Originally known as Fort McKinley, it was a 25.78 square kilometre property acquired by the United States government during the American colonial period. The site was turned over to the Philippine government and renamed Fort Bonifacio on May 14, 1949. It then became the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
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[edit] Bonifacio Global City
In 1992, a portion of Fort Bonifacio was turned over to the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA). In 1995, Bonifacio Land Corporation, a consortium led by Metro Pacific, made a successful bid to become BCDA's partner in the development of Bonifacio Global City. Ayala Land, Inc. and Evergreen Holdings, Inc. of the Campos Group purchased a controlling stake in BLC from Metro Pacific in 2003. BCDA and the two companies now control Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation, which oversees the master planning of Bonifacio Global City.
The Global City is now home to upscale residential condominiums such as Essensa, Pacific Plaza and Regent Parkway and office buildings such as Net One and Bonifacio Technology Center. Three more residential buildings, Bonifacio Ridge, One McKinley Place and Penhurst Parkplace, have been completed, while Serendra, Fairways Tower, Forbes Town, Fifth Avenue Place and The Icon Towers have begun construction.
The prestigious International School Manila, British School Manila and Manila Japanese School constructed and occupied new campuses in the Global City in its incipient stages. Other educational institutions in the area are Summit School, Victory Leadership Institute and excellent MGC-New Life Christian Academy. In addition, many restaurants, bars, clubs, and retail outlets have opened in The Fort Square and Fort Strip, and MTV Philippines has its headquarters there. Meanwhile, Bonifacio Stop-over and the Car Plaza cater to motorists. The Global City is anchored by a major shopping center, Ayala Land's Market! Market!.
Many corporations have acquired properties and some have committed to relocate their regional or national headquaters, among them are Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Fujitsu Corporation, Ericsson and TetraPak.
St. Luke's Medical Center and the Taguig Coliseum and Convention Center are among the Global City's anticipated developments. St. Luke's will be comprised of a 16-storey hospital building with 600 patient beds and an 11-storey medical arts building with 366 doctor's offices. The hospital intends to offer the most advanced medical technology administered by a highly trained staff. Taguig Coliseum and Convention Center, to be built by Northshore Holdings, Inc. and the current Taguig City administration, will be located on a 35,000 square metre site adjacent to Market! Market!. The center will include a hotel, office building, serviced apartments, a shopping center and a food court.
The Embassy of the Republic of Singapore has acquired a property near the Global City's center and will move permanently by 2008.
[edit] McKinley Hill
McKinley Hill is a development project of Megaworld Corporation. McKinley Hill is a 50 hectare mixed-use township catering to an international clientele. The site will be a residential, office, institutional and retail center.
It is located east of Forbes Park and south of the Bonifacio Global City. The first institution to locate their operations at McKinley Hill is the Embassy of the United Kingdom. The embassy has acquired a 1.2 hectare site in McKinley Hill. Construction is ongoing and the embassy will open in 2007. [1]
Educational institutions soon to open are Enderun Colleges - an international hotel school, Korean and Chinese International Schools.
[edit] Heritage Park
Heritage Park was developed by BCDA, is a 76-hectare high-value, multi-use memorial park designed with an ideal environment, aesthetic landmarks and will be equipped with modern interment services, crematory and other facilities. The park opened in the first quarter of 2001.
Heritage Park is located in Bayani Road, Fort Bonifacio. It is between Libingan ng mga Bayani and The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
[edit] Landmarks
The Libingan ng mga Bayani (Tagalog: Cemetery of Heroes) is a memorial ground housing 33,520 Filipino soldiers killed in Bataan, Corregidor and other battlefields in World War II. Presidents of the Philippines, national artists and other honorable Filipinos are also buried here. The Vietnam War Memorial and Korean War Memorial are located in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located on a prominent plateau within the limits of Fort Bonifacio. It contains the largest number of graves (17,206) of American soldiers who fought in World War II. Most of the soldiers buried at the American Cemetery lost their lives in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines and the world.
[edit] Controversies
Makati City and Taguig City have recently fought over the jurisdiction of Fort Bonifacio. A portion of the base, including the Libingan ng mga Bayani and the American Cemetery, lies within Taguig City, while the northern portion where the Global City development is centered was formerly considered part of Makati. A 2003 ruling by a judge in the Pasig Regional Trial Court has upheld the jurisdiction of Taguig over the entirety of Fort Bonifacio, including the Bonfacio Global City.
