Ayala Shows A Transformed Gateway To The Makati CBD

Following the news of the closure of the iconic Intercontinental Hotel which has been a landmark of the Makati Commercial Center, Ayala Land in its website and Facebook properties showed some visuals which provide the public of what is to come in lieu of the Intercon.

As word got out late last week about the closure of the Intercon Hotel, social media especially the Facebook groups where heritage advocates and conservatives converge, displayed their sadness in knowing that a well loved icon would be going away.

A heritage advocate who requested to be unnamed at this time said, "It saddens me to think that in the span of two years, that with the recent closure of the Mandarin Oriental Manila and now, the Intercon, two iconic works of the late National Artist for Architecture, Leandro V. Locsin, will be obliterated." 

While there is a National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 states that works of National Artists such as Locsin are considered as important cultural property, a site could only be declared a heritage site if it is at least 50 years old. The Mandarin Hotel building was about 38 years old on its full closure in 2014 and the Intercon will only be 46 years old this year.

Amidst all the mixed reactions to the news that the Intercon will go the way of the Mandarin, the news outlets failed to mention the historical significance of the building.  That the Intercon opened on April 11, 1969 and historically holds the distinction of being the first 5-star hotel in Makati, and the second InterContinental hotel to open in Asia.

After the hotel ceases operation by December 31, 2015, when the hotel management contract between the subsidiary of AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp and InterContinental Hotels Group ends, Ayala Land will convert it as a site of a new mixed-used development which includes a intermodal transport facility, two new hotels including Ayala's Seda Hotel, two office towers, and a convention tower.