Property developer focuses on dormitories, invests P700 M     

BigPat Development, a Philippine property developer focusing on rental properties, is investing around P700 million over a two-year period in anticipation of strong demand for affordable high rise dormitories for rent in Metro Manila.

BigPat Founder and CEO Alfonso Bigeriego Pateno told Business Bulletin in an email interview they are investing P200 million this year and P500 million next year with financing coming from private investors and a bank loan.

For this year, BigPat is constructing two buildings, an 88-apartment building to be sold per unit in Makati, and a 250-bed capacity dormitory for rental also in Makati.

The property developer has two existing projects in Pasay, a 44 and 312 units each. One is an 800 square meter lot and the other an 800 meter property.

Pateno said their investment is in anticipation of strong growth of the domestic economy. “I think Covid has been super tough for the whole world. The rebouncing effect in the Philippines should be pretty strong in the upcoming years,” he said.

He believes that the potential of the Philippines is huge given the young population. “Soon we should be growing at 6 percent plus rate,” he added citing many underdeveloped industries that he expects to boom again in the next few years, one of which is the real estate industry.

Pateno admitted that BigPat was not spared from the pandemic because of the exodus of the renters, particularly the yuppies, to the provinces.

According to Pateno, many of the young professionals, who once sought their units as their homes while working in Metro Manila went back to the provinces during the pandemic.

“Our numbers have declined momentarily but are once again gaining traction as we normalize again,” he said admitting that they are not yet back to 100 percent normal. BigPat is still operating as a short stay hotel.

Following the pandemic where most workers were doing work from home set-ups, BigPat also adopted and changed its model back from a house and dwelling space for employees to a quarantine center.

“We turned our units into points for people who needed to quarantine before traveling abroad or when they arrived in Manila. We had to follow certain safety protocols and train the staff for this but eventually we’re able to continue business albeit not at full capacity,” he said.

But once classes resume, Pateno also foresees that demand for safe, secure, and well-maintained facilities like their dormitories would be huge.

BigPat’s advantage is that they offer affordable high rise dormitories near the business districts. “Our competitive advantage is our hands-on approach that enables us to develop below average market prices and decrease traditional development timings,” he said.

Their focus on the middle income individuals and families would also provide them enough economic scale, believing this target market would account for a bigger portion of the population in the next years.

Pateno also sees BigPat scaling up its footprint next year and onward after five years of operation in the country.

A licensed real estate broker, Pateno shared that he successfully rented out more than 10 apartments to students within the Boston area in Massachusetts. He was also co-founder and chairman of Taxtrophy Spain, one of the taxidermy companies in Madrid.

When he visited the Philippines in 2015, Pateno saw the potential of the real estate industry all over the Philippines from hotels, dorms, offices, and commercial developments.

He was inspired to invest and establish business locally, including WeClean, a laundromat chain looking at expanding in the country and the Southeast Asia region.