Super Stroller Friendly Bonifacio High Street Central

Ascending terraces facing the water fountain (view from our table at Elias)

The Ayalas inspire me. When they develop something they do it well, then they top themselves, and do it even better.  My first paycheck ever was from Ayala Corp. I applied for a job at the tender age of 19 and started working a month before I marched down the aisle for my graduation. I worked there ever so briefly, it was clear I had a different calling because I received an invitation to attend a summer school program in Germany and my stomach flipped in excitement.  I left in a heartbeat, resigned from Ayala,  and headed off to Europe. That brief stint, however, gave me a precious insider's view of this awesome Filipino company, their commitment to excellence, their love for this country, and their high standards and meticulous care in crafting and executing plans. Whenever I see anything new developed by Ayala, I expect to be impressed, and they never fail to inspire!  I just felt it again a few days ago - my "happy to be in a new Ayala project feeling".

The sunken garden at BHS Central on 7th Avenue. (See ROX right behind).

Last weekend, I was just thrilled to have dinner, al fresco, at the newest section of Bonifacio High Street (BHS), all the way to the end, on 7th Avenue, just beyond R.O.X.  Like the rest of BHS, the place is a delightful cross between a mall and a park.  It offers a different atmosphere however, because of its incline.  The twin boulevards of the BHS felt rather flat while this new section feels like a sunken garden -  even a grand amphitheater in the way ascending terraces are angled facing a stage-like expanse of water-fountains.  From a distance, it seemed to me like kids were really getting wet, as though they were in a water park. 

A kid bathed in green light and drenched in water!

Upon closer inspection, I was right!!! Kids (and a few adults too) were frolicking in neon juice - an illusion created with changing colored lights.  The fountains are just so inviting, the public couldn't resist.  Now, it isn't one of those space-saving, compact fountains.  The wet area is a sizable expanse.  There's plenty of room  to run around.

A girl "stops" a water column with her hand.

There's so much space between each of the fountains, that one feels safe weaving through the streams of water shooting up to the sky, without getting wet.  I even saw a stroller being steered and parked between water columns as mother and baby posed  for pictures. 

A mother steers her kid's stroller onto the fountain floor.

The entire complex is really very user-friendly for anyone on wheels, I wouldn't think twice about bringing Narra here, on her new bike!, or Guijo on his stroller.  I imagine this place would be a great destination for skateboarders too, and rollerbladers, kids on scooters, and people on wheelchairs.  The Ayalas made accessibility a central feature of the open-air mall.  In other wheelchair-accessible places, ramps seem like an after thought.  Here, they dominate the design.  They are not tiny things squeezed into corners, but grand, wide spaces in the heart of all the action. 

Low incline and ample space for strollers, bikes, scooters and skates.

To get to the second floor from street level, for instance, they opted to build not one, but two spacious ramps.  Thank you, dear designers for doing this! You have this mom's gratitude!  My stroller experiences aren't always pleasant. I have had to negotiate my  way through steps and crowds in ramp-less malls - or, in places where they do exist, I've had to work my way precariously up steep and tight, single-lane ramps.  Here, it seems to me, that the space is big enough for 4 lanes - like a stroller super expressway.  I could get to walk leisurely here, without worrying about stalling people in a rush - there's plenty of room to accommodate different speeds. I love it!

On the second floor. Behind me are double ramps with a gentle slope.

We came here to BHS Central for some good old adult conversation over dinner with Oliver's cousins and their wives. It was supposed to be a nice little break from the kids... which it was.  But the kids were always on my mind though.  And I can't wait to wheel them over.  Ayala's done it again. They've given back to the community by offering us a new playground to visit. I grew up visiting Ayala Malls, from the Park Square and Greenbelt of old - the open-air  shopping plazas of the 1980's! - and my kids will grow up doing the same as we frequent the evolved shopping promenades, also open-air, of stroller-friendly Bonifacio High Street. 

Our dinner party: (l-r) Rakel & Thunder; Balbir & Henry; Me & Oliver.

\