The new year is upon us and along with it come new beginnings. However, for others, it also signals an end. One such story that will be ending on the new year is the Fort Entertainment Complex which announced that it is closing its doors “indefinitely” starting January 1, 2025.
Beginnings as The Fort Strip
It is particularly bittersweet for many who have borne witness to the early days of Bonifacio Global City. (BGC) Along with the retail warehouse chain S&R Membership Shopping (which opened its first branch in the area), the residential towers Pacific Plaza Towers, and events venue NBC Tent (named after the now-defunct Nation Broadcasting Company of BGC’s first developer Metro Pacific) the Fort Entertainment Complex was among the pioneer landmarks of BGC in 2001.
Originally, The Fort Entertainment Complex consisted of one building: the Fort Strip which had a two- or three-storey high tower and antenna that stuck out. Given how vastly empty BGC was at that time, it was hard to miss The Fort and it became the de facto BGC landmark of those early days, helped by the fact that it was home to restaurants and nightclubs that put not only The Fort Strip but also BGC as a whole as a premier nightlife destination in the metropolis.
The Strip becomes a Complex
The Fort Strip’s steadily rising popularity led to the expansion of the Fort Strip to become the Fort Entertainment Complex, with the addition of The Fort Street which is a three-level commercial complex and two four-storey buildings known as The Fort Pointe which housed additional retail establishments.
For more than 20 years, The Fort Entertainment Complex served as the home for different establishments that have not only given life and character to the complex but to BGC itself. While many of these establishments did not stay as long as the complex itself, their presence is still remembered fondly by the people who have been to BGC over the years. From nightclubs and bars such as Fat Willy’s, Prince of Jaipur, Embassy, Prive, and Nectar to restaurants such as DaRaeJung, K-Pub, Cable Car, and Gonuts Donuts.
Gonuts Donuts deserve to be highlighted more in this list as it pioneered the concept of premium doughnuts that existing players at that time were not offering. The Fort Strip was the epicenter of this doughnut revolution that Gonuts Donuts started, which led to its rapid expansion. Unfortunately, years later, the American doughnut chain Krispy Kreme entered the Philippine market with its first branch opening just a few meters away from the Fort Strip at that then newly-opened Bonifacio High Street. This marked the beginning of the end of Gonuts Donuts as it could not keep up with the tightening competition in the doughnut space, especially when the original players began to fight back in response to Gonuts Donuts and Krispy Kreme. Gonuts Donuts would cease operations in 2020.
Giving way to “redevelopment”
By the mid-2010s, BGC was rapidly developing as new entertainment venues were propping up. With these new venues offering new experiences and improved facilities, The Fort Entertainment Complex underwent a gradual decline as some establishments not only closed down but were not replaced. Case in point, the establishments located in the upper floors of The Fort Street which used to be bustling with activity but is now mostly a “lifeless” area in the last 5 years or so.
Whether it was Ayala Land (BGC’s current developer, succeeding Metro Pacific) sensing this decline or long had other plans for the area where The Fort Entertainment Complex stands, or perhaps a bit of both, Ayala was already drawing up plans for Bonifiacio High Street South, a complex of office and retail spaces which would encompass the current complex and surrounding areas. From what could be gathered, the plans were done as early as the late 2010s but the COVID-19 pandemic put those plans on hold, while also leading to closure of more establishments in the already-struggling complex.
Curiously, while plans have long been showcased in the website of their subsidiary Alveo Land, they were publicized in a low-key manner so when the news of the closure of Nectar, a popular bar for drag queen performances early this year which eventually followed by the official announcement of The Fort’s closure just this month, it was met with shock and sadness from many who have patronized the different establishments located in the complex.
While the announcement did say that the closure of the complex was “indefinite”, which may have been worded as such to provide a semblance of hope for its return, make no mistake that if/when it returns, it is not going to be the same old The Fort that we had come to know and love. Just looking at the renders above seems to indicate as such. And given the preference/demand for more office and retail space in BGC, there is no way Ayala is going to build structures that are less than three storeys high.
Until its return, whatever shape, form, or name it will take, we say farewell to The Fort Entertainment Complex. Thank you for the memories and for helping shape Bonifacio Global City into what it is today.
Acknowledgements as well to Alveo Land, Skyscrapercity, The Fort City, Bilyonaryo, Philippine Star, and Philippine Daily Inquirer
