Sometimes, no matter how beautiful or well-planned an area is, there will be eyesores that will stick out like sore thumbs thus ruining the landscape. To be fair, these structures were not meant to be built as such, but their continued existence is something that bugs a lot of people not just because of aesthetics but for safety reasons too.
One example is the unfinished JAKA Tower along Ayala Avenue which originally had some grand ambitions to be the tallest building in the country. It was supposed to house the offices of the JAKA group, a company connected to the family of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. Construction began in 1996 and was supposed to be completed by 1999.
But then, the misfortune that was the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis happened. And companies like JAKA were not spared of suffering losses as a result. Thus, construction was halted midway. And over the years, JAKA seems to have lost interest in completing it for some reason. Sp until today as I write this, the building still stands tall along the busy Ayala Avenue, unfinished with its bare concrete and steel poles sticking out.
Last I heard, there were plans to resume construction and there were reports there’s a new owner of the unfinished building already. At the same time, there are concerns as to how sound the structure is after more than 15 years of inactivity though there were some periodic checks made to ensure its integrity.
With the changing skyline in the Makati CBD area, JAKA stands as one of those ugly and sad tales of unrealized potentials stuck in its current quagmire. One can only hope that someone would have the willingness to at least continue what it was envisioned to be, or at least get this urban eyesore taken care of once and for all for the sake of development and the need for space in this congested city.
Acknowledgements as well to Wikipedia
© The Urban Roamer
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