Armed with a bold vision, the gumption to take calculated risks, and the foresight to envision the future, McMicking transformed the once-barren swamp that was the 950-hectare Hacienda Makati into a master-planned business district. This development attracted businesses and commerce away from a declining Manila, which was struggling to keep up with the times in terms of infrastructure and modern facilities.
The colonel
Joseph R. McMicking, of Scottish and Spanish-Filipino lineage, married Mercedes Roxas Zobel in 1931. That same year, he joined Ayala y Compañía—the precursor to Ayala Corp.—and served as its managing partner until 1967.
He was among the staff officers of General Douglas MacArthur who fled Corregidor in March 1942. He subsequently served as an intelligence officer on MacArthur’s staff in Brisbane, Australia. He later became an emissary to the Philippine Commonwealth Government-in-exile in Washington, D.C., assisting in planning civilian relief and the reconstruction of the Philippines post-World War II.
McMicking returned to the Philippines with General MacArthur’s forces, participating in the historic Leyte landing that marked the beginning of the country’s liberation.
Rising from the embers of war
As recounted in the book Ayala: The Philippines’ Oldest Business House, “the end of the Pacific war left Ayala in a fairly battered condition like many other Philippine companies.” The responsibility of resuscitating the company then fell on the shoulders of McMicking, a product of De La Salle College and Stanford University, and Afonso Roxas Zobel, son of Enrique Zobel.
In 1948, acting on Col. Joseph McMicking’s vision of “a modern multizone subcity to be built in stages over 25 years, each zone complementing and enhancing the value of the others,” the two intrepid gentlemen set out to develop what is to become the Makati Central Business District. They sold a building in downtown Manila and borrowed funds to get the development going, beginning with the establishment of Forbes Park. On the financial challenges of the time, McMicking said: “We were short of cash as the next fellow in 1947 to 1950.”
From grass to glass
“He did not believe in treating land like salami, where you slice off a part, sell it, and then forget all about it,” Makati circa 1970 states of McMicking’s philosophy on real estate. “He believed, rather, that a piece of land is an integral part of the whole.”
Following “a two-year study of town planning, architecture, engineering, sales, sociological and financial problems”, strict zoning laws were implemented along Ayala Avenue which was completed in 1956.
Among the key stipulations were:
The first buildings to rise in the area, according to Makati circa 1970, were Monterrey Apartments in 1956, the Elizalde Building in 1958, and the Makati Building (The Filipinas Life Bldg.) also in 1958, all designed by Leandro Locsin, who would later be honored as National Artist for Architecture.
These early structures served as the cornerstone of McMicking’s plan to transform the Ayala Avenue-Paseo de Roxas complex (part of the erstwhile Nielson field) into “Greater Manila’s new financial and business center.” This led to the rise of other landmark edifices — Insular Life, Anscor-San Miguel, Manila Bank, Philippine Airlines, and the Makati Stock Exchange.
Following the Ayala Avenue development, the next phase in the master plan was the establishment of the Makati Commercial Center in the early 1960s, with the Rizal Theater as its anchor.
Also applying strict zone requirements, it was declared that for retail shopping areas, two-thirds of the total space be set aside for parking while property buyers or lessees were required to build temporary one or two-story structures as the masterplan called for the demolition of all structures by 1990.
Makati today
“On the day of completion twenty to forty years from now,” wrote McMicking in his memoirs,” we would have built together — you as much as we — the most beautiful, most modern city in all the Far East.”
While his master plan was not without imperfections, it's heartening to imagine that Col. Joseph R. McMicking—who passed away on Oct. 18, 1990—would be both satisfied and amazed at what Makati has become today: ever evolving, dynamic, and thriving.
Features Reporter
