--- title: Ortigas Center or BGC for a 500-Workstation Team description: "Ortigas Center or BGC for a 500-workstation team: vacancy, rent gap, PEZA, supply and commute compared, with a cost model you can rerun. Get a shortlist." image: https://blog.flyspaces.com/hubfs/flyspaces-landing-images/FlySpaces%20Philippines%20(42).png --- [![spacesasia-logo](https://blog.flyspaces.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SpacesAsia%20-%20June%202019/spacesasia-logo.png?width=260&name=spacesasia-logo.png "spacesasia-logo")](https://blog.flyspaces.com/) - [Home](https://flyspaces.com/) - Navigate - [Flexible Workspaces](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/flexible-workspaces#blog-nav) - [News and Events](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/news-and-events#blog-nav) - [Industry Insights](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/industry-insights#blog-nav) - [City Guide](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/city-guide#blog-nav) - [Case Studies](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/case-studies#blog-nav) - Connect - [Contact Us](https://flyspaces.com/contact-us) - [Subscribe](https://flyspaces.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=0b15b0bb7a66ae626f3388eb9&id=f72d186210) - Share : 27 August 2026 [Listerlynn Joy Garingo - De La Serna](https://blog.flyspaces.com/author/joy-garingo-delaserna) # Ortigas Center or BGC for a 500-Workstation Team For a 500-workstation team, the published averages favor Ortigas Center on rent and BGC on tightness of supply. Ortigas has the higher vacancy and the lower average rent, which usually means more room to negotiate. BGC has the lower vacancy and a thin supply of large contiguous blocks, which can limit where 500 seats fit. The choice comes down to four checks: base rent and what the quote leaves out, whether the building and floors are PEZA-accredited, whether the seats fit on one floor or several, and where your staff live. This guide sets out the verified data, a cost model with its inputs visible, and a way to compare the two on your own numbers. A workstation is one seat with a desk, chair and computer setup. PEZA is the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, which registers many IT-BPM firms and requires them to operate from accredited buildings. CUSA means common use service area charges, which a landlord bills on top of rent. ### How much space 500 seats need | Density | Formula | Floor area | | --- | --- | --- | | 3.0 to 3.6 sqm per seat | 500 x 3.0 to 3.6 | 1,500 to 1,800 sqm | | 5 to 7 sqm per seat | 500 x 5 to 7 | 2,500 to 3,500 sqm | The first range comes from operator sites on the FlySpaces Cebu list. The second is a planning assumption for layouts with meeting rooms, lockers and amenities, not a sourced standard. A 24/7 operation with shared desks may need fewer seats than headcount, as we explain in our guide to shift-work layouts. ### What the market data says | Measure | Ortigas and Mandaluyong | BGC | Source and date | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Office vacancy | 18% | 9% | Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), end-2025, via BusinessWorld, 20 Jan 2026 | | Average rent, PHP per sqm per month | 738 | 1,167 | LPC, end-2025, via BusinessWorld, 20 Jan 2026 | | Vacancy and contiguous supply, H1 2026 | not reported in our sources | 8% vacancy; only five buildings with 5,000 sqm or more of contiguous space, totaling 43,000 sqm | LPC, via Outsource Accelerator, 2026 | BGC's average rent is higher than Ortigas's by PHP 429 per sqm (1,167 − 738), which is 37% of BGC's rent (429 / 1,167). Averages are not quotes, and they cover more buildings than you would view. Ask each landlord and operator for a current written offer. ### A base rent model Rent gap over 36 months = (BGC rent − Ortigas rent) x area x 36 = 429 x area x 36. | Area | Monthly gap | Gap over 36 months | | --- | --- | --- | | 1,500 sqm | 429 x 1,500 = PHP 643,500 | PHP 23,166,000 | | 1,800 sqm | 429 x 1,800 = PHP 772,200 | PHP 27,799,200 | | 2,500 sqm | 429 x 2,500 = PHP 1,072,500 | PHP 38,610,000 | | 3,500 sqm | 429 x 3,500 = PHP 1,501,500 | PHP 54,054,000 | This is a gap in base rent between district averages only. It leaves out CUSA, cooling and utilities, fit-out, VAT and restoration at exit, which depend on the building. Our guides on comparing BGC quotes and on what Makati quotes leave out show how to turn a per-sqm quote into a monthly cost per seat. ### PEZA If you are IT-BPM or shared services and registering with PEZA, the building and your specific floors must be PEZA-accredited. Check each building, because listings differ. In Ortigas, One Corporate Centre is described as PEZA-accredited (OfficePro) and UnionBank Plaza as a PEZA-accredited tower (Offices.co), while Savills and OfficePro list Jollibee Tower as not PEZA-accredited and one broker page says accreditation is "under process." In BGC, BGC Corporate Center is a PEZA-registered Information Technology Center under Proclamation No. 1136 of October 2015 (Coworking Hub listing), and KMC describes its Uptown Place Tower 2 floors as PEZA-accredited. Colliers reported in Q1 2026 that available PEZA-accredited inventory across Makati CBD, Fort Bonifacio and Ortigas Center had fallen to a combined 478,000 sqm (Outsource Accelerator). Confirm with PEZA, not only with the landlord, and check the current remote work limit before you fix your seat count. FIRB Resolution No. 005-2026 approved up to 90% for registered enterprises during the 2026 energy emergency (Cebu Daily News, 2026). ### One floor or several Published Ortigas floor plates include about 2,030 sqm at One Corporate Centre (OfficePro), about 1,770 to 1,890 sqm at Jollibee Tower (Colliers, Savills and OfficePro differ), and 1,480.66 sqm at Robinsons Cyberscape Beta (Wikipedia). Floors needed = area / floor plate, rounded up. | Area | At 2,030 sqm | At 1,869 sqm | At 1,480.66 sqm | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1,500 sqm | 0.74, so 1 | 0.80, so 1 | 1.01, so 2 | | 1,800 sqm | 0.89, so 1 | 0.96, so 1 | 1.22, so 2 | | 2,500 sqm | 1.23, so 2 | 1.34, so 2 | 1.69, so 2 | | 3,500 sqm | 1.72, so 2 | 1.87, so 2 | 2.36, so 3 | A floor plate is gross, and leasable or usable area is lower, so ask each landlord for the contiguous usable area. In BGC, the thin supply of large blocks makes availability the first filter, so ask early. A split across floors adds security, IT and supervision work. ### Commute and hiring pool We do not publish claims about talent or attrition for either district, because we have no sourced data. Measure it: 1. List the home locations of your current staff or last year's applicants, by city or barangay. 2. Estimate the door-to-door commute to each shortlisted building at your shift start and end times, by the modes your staff use. 3. Share within limit = staff within your commute limit / total staff. Compare the two districts on that share. 4. Check night-shift transport at your shift start and end, using the method in our guide on 24/7 teams near NAIA and the Mall of Asia. If staff would travel between the two districts, note that the BGC–Ortigas Link Road opened in 2021 and DPWH expected trips of about 12 minutes (SPOT.ph, 30 Sep 2021). Wikipedia notes that the Santa Monica–Lawton Bridge section is passable to light vehicles, so ask about shuttles before you rely on it. ### Local business tax Local business tax is set by each city, and Ortigas Center sits across Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, while BGC is in Taguig. We do not publish rates, because we have no sourced figures. Ask a tax adviser to compute your exposure for the city of each building you are considering. ### How to decide | If this is your priority | Lean toward | | --- | --- | | Lower base rent and room to negotiate | Ortigas, then confirm with quotes | | Available contiguous space at your size | Check both. BGC's large blocks are limited | | PEZA-accredited floors | Check building and floor in either | | Staff living in particular areas | Test both with your staff's home locations | | A ready-built managed floor | Ask FlySpaces for current options. KMC lists 1,395 workstations at Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma in Ortigas | ### Get a shortlist Tell FlySpaces your headcount, whether you need PEZA, and where your staff live, and the team replies with a shortlist that fits. [Inquire here](https://explore.flyspaces.com/office-space-in-the-philippines-for-100-workstations-flyspaces?hsLang=en-us#:~:text=Contact%20us-,GET%20YOUR%20SHORTLIST,FlySpaces%20team%20replies%20with%20a%20shortlist%20for%20your%20headcount%20and%20areas.,-A%20shortlist%20that) Tags: [Flexible Office Space](https://blog.flyspaces.com/tag/flexible-office-space) ![](https://blog.flyspaces.com/hubfs/SpacesAsia%20-%20June%202019/author-img.png) ##### [Listerlynn Joy Garingo - De La Serna](https://blog.flyspaces.com/author/joy-garingo-delaserna) Joy Garingo - De La Serna is a Filipino business executive specializing in the real estate, flexible workspace, and Employer of Record (EOR) sectors within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. She is involved in creative ventures and community-centric workspace environments that support local startups, founders, and generational shifts in hybrid work styles. 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