Plans bared for five-star boutique hotel in place of Manila Army and Navy Club

The architectural consultant to the Manila Army and Navy Club restoration project shared its initial designs for the national historic landmark's transition into a five-star boutique hotel, which were presented to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) on September 11.

In an email to GMA News Online, Palafox Associates chief operations officer Michael de Castro said that the firm's designs are still subject to revision upon final review of the NHCP.

He also said that they need to expedite the permit for the contract to start the restoration work and secure the building for further damage brought by unpredictable weather conditions and calamities.

"Like what Architect Palafox said in the presentations, we need to secure and reinforce the building in case a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Metro Manila," De Castro stated.

In Senator Pia Cayetano's recent ocular inspection of the area, most of the three-storey building's parts were already destroyed and corroded. However, the beams, columns, and stairs are still intact.

During the inspection, architect and NHCP Historic Preservation Division chief Wilkie Delumen said that the developer decided to take out some parts of the building for safety reasons.

The overall structure of the Manila Army and Navy Club is in danger of collapsing, according to Palafox Associates.

However, this action prompted the government agency to issue a Cease and Desist Order for the redevelopment of the building since no written consent has been approved yet.

The firm is still waiting for the final detailed engineering study of AMH Philippines, the structural consultant of the project, to proceed with the final designs.

It is also yet to submit the final building permit drawings to NHCP for review before developer Oceanville Hotel and Spa Corp. will then submit it to the Manila City Building Official's Office.

Designed by William Parsons in the last years of the 19th century, the Manila Army and Navy Club was a neocolonial revival edifice that served as an exclusive club for American military officers. It was turned into a bomb shelter and evacuation center during World War II. — BM, GMA News