The Urban Roamer checked it out a bit during our tour of McKinley Hill but at the time, there was not much to see yet. But years have passed and there are some additional developments there worth checking out, so now is the best time to revisit McKinley West and see what’s up.
As the name implies, McKinley West is the western extension of Megaworld’s quite popular township McKinley Hill. Apparently, even as McKinley Hill was in its development infancy in 2010, Megaworld was already keen on expanding its development in the area. So much so that in that year, it acquired the almost 35-hectare property across McKinley Hill which used to be the property of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group or JUSMAG.
Development of the area did not begin until around 2013 or so when Megaworld began building the first buildings in the area. Apparently, the developer went all out in showcasing the area that it managed to have the traffic of the southbound lane of Lawton Street diverted so vehicles will have to pass through the area itself with a designated stopover where they can load/unload passengers.
At the moment though, there is not much to see in the area as development moved at a slower pace compared to McKinley Hill, something which tghis Urban Roamer knows quite well, having worked in the area during the first half of the 2010s. One can say too that the structures being built mirror that of McKinley Hill too. From the residential projects like Albany and St. Moritz and the office buildings of McKinley West Campus.
There are some things that help make McKinley West stand on its own. One is the fact that it has a standalone McDonald’s branch which also happens to be the first McDonald’s branch to have those electronic ordering kioks installed.
Secondly, McKinley West is the first, I believe, Megaworld township that hosts non-Megaworld properties, with Robinsons Land having constructed the Cyber Sigma towers there.
Another upcoming development is the Park McKinley Place, by Megaworld this time, which at the very least looks a bit more unique compared to the usual architecture employed by Megaworld residential, or even commercial, projects.
Finally, McKinley West will have a mass transit station. In particular, the much anticipated Line 9 or the Mega Manila Subway line will have a station right in the area called Lawton East. Based on reports the approximate site of the station is on the site shown below.
While there is no indication that McKinley West will have a landmark as popular as the Venice Grand Canal replica of its neighbor, there is much space available for future developments. Especially if the mass transit stations pans out nicely, which would be a boost in profile the township would love to have.
Acknowledgements as well to Megaworld, GMA News Online, and Philippine Daily Inquirer
