Status Complete Opening January 1, 2000 Construction started 1998 Lifts/elevators 6 | Architectural style Modern Owner ABS-CBN Renovated 2010 Architect Carlos Arguelles | |
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Type PEZA special economic zone, offices, soundstage Location Eugenio Lopez Drive, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines Cost ₱6 billion
(US$148.5 million) | ||
The Eugenio Lopez Junior Communications Center (also called 9501, ELJ Communications Center, or simply ELJ Center) is the corporate headquarters of ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries. The center occupies ten thousand (10,000) square meters of land area adjacent to the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center and it includes two high-end office buildings, a state-of-the-art soundstage, three-level basement parking areas, a roof deck helipad, a film archives, a studio gallery, an exclusive executive dining restaurant, a garden, and the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation building. The center has a gross floor area of 101,608.32 square meters; almost seventy thousand (70,000) square meters of office space and over thirty thousand (30,000) square meters of parking space. The construction of the center began in 1998 and was opened in 2000 for a cost of 6 billion pesos. It is an accredited PEZA Special Economic Zone and designated as an IT center, this means PEZA economic zone accredited companies located in the center are eligible for temporary tax holidays and other incentives. It is named in honor of the late Eugenio Lopez, Jr., the chairman emeritus of ABS-CBN. The dedication of the building was held on November 4, 2010 in a ceremony that was attended by the then-Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.
Contents
Offices
The offices of ELJ Communications Center are composed of two interconnecting building structures. These are the four thousand square meter (4,000), fifteen-storey and the two thousand square meter (2,000), twelve-storey buildings joint together by steel and glass structures.
The ground floor level is a mixed-use commercial area, second to third floors are studios and technical rooms, eighth to twelfth floors are corporate offices while thirteenth to fifteenth floors are the executive offices. The fourth to seventh floors of the building are leased to other companies. Restaurant 9501, the executive dining restaurant of ABS-CBN is located on the fourteenth floor of the building. ABS-CBN Film Archives, the state-of-the-art film archives of ABS-CBN which holds the biggest film collection in the country is located in the basement of the building. An area in the building called "The Loop" is home to several retail shops, dining outlets, and a studio called "The Loop Studio" which is being used by the morning news and talk show Umagang Kay Ganda. In 2013, the whole center became one of the first 4G LTE zone in the country after Globe and Sun Cellular upgraded their respective transmitters inside the complex.
ABS-CBN's subsidiary, The Big Dipper Digital Content & Design, Inc. (Big Dipper) is an approved economic zone enterprise of PEZA, making the company eligible for tax holiday and other incentives. In 2010, the company has availed an income tax holiday incentives of 472 million pesos. In 2011 and 2012, the company has availed 188 million and 204 million pesos respectively. In 2014, PEZA approved the application of Big Dipper for the entitlement of the Pioneer Status.
Studio Annex
The Studio Annex is a four storey high, 4,000 square meter ultra-modern soundstage. It is an extension of ELJ office buildings. It is further divided into three studios. Studio 10, the largest studio of ABS-CBN, is used by the musical variety show ASAP, the comedy talk show Gandang Gabi, Vice!, the drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya and the magazine/lifestyle documentary program Rated K. Studios 11 and 12 are temporary studio set-ups, where the props and set decorations are dismantled after the show, this studio is currently being used by the gag show Goin' Bulilit and the shows of the music channel Myx. This studio is also home for the program The Score of S+A. An elephant door is located in the Studio Annex that leads to the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center.