PropertyGuru hails diversity, sustainability and social responsibility in PH real estate
The real estate industry in the Philippines continues to thrive amid the changing economic landscape in recent months. This was proven by another successful holding of the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, presented by Kohler, held last May 11 at the Fairmont Makati ballroom.
The sixth year of the country’s most prestigious property awards event saw another roster of Winners and Highly Commended real estate companies feted with recognition during the gala dinner celebration.
For the third consecutive year, Megaworld Corporation won the coveted Best Developer Award, becoming the first company in the Philippines to achieve this feat in the prestigious Asia Property Awards series. The company, along with its subsidiaries Suntrust Properties, GlobalEstates Resorts Inc. (GERI) and Empire East, garnered a total of six Gold Awards and three Highly Commended certificates.
Among the Megaworld projects that won awards are Iloilo Business Park, which won Best Township Development, and Uptown Bonifacio, which won Best Township Architectural Design. The company has more than 700 residential, commercial and mixed-use projects, including 22 townships and integrated lifestyle communities nationwide, and will soon launch its pioneer ‘iTownships’ as well.
“Megaworld Corporation continues its winning streak as the country’s best developer for a third consecutive year by launching and developing more quality and smart townships than its peers,” said the independent judging panel.
As with previous wins, receiving the award for Megaworld Corporation is SVP Kevin Tan, who said, “We’re very humbled and honored to have won these awards tonight for three years in succession. We are equally ecstatic that this is the first time our company achieved this recognition. It really reinforces our commitment to nation building by creating jobs, promoting tourism, and building various townships all over the country. We dedicate these awards to the men and women of Megaworld Corporation and its affiliates.”
MANILA DEVELOPMENTS REIGN SUPREME
Among the winning Metro Manila developers is Century Properties Group Inc., whose Trump Tower at Century City won Best Luxury Condo Development (Metro Manila). The company also won Best Mid End Condo Development (Metro Manila) for The Residences at Commonwealth by Century.
“We’re very proud and humbled to have been shortlisted and to have won the category. We share this with all in Century Properties who worked to make this a great development,” said Century Properties VP for corporate communications Maria Theresa Fucanan-Yu about the recognition for Trump Tower at Century City.
She adds that the recognition “embodies the excellence that went into building the tower — from the physical attributes to the overall ambiance, elegance, privacy and exclusivity, and personalization that residents will get living at Trump Tower.”
Another winner from Metro Manila is Ortigas & Co., whose development The Imperium at Capital Commons won Best Luxury Condo Architectural Design and was also Highly Commended in the Best Luxury Condo Development (Metro Manila) category.
“This is a testament to what we have been trying to achieve — to create a unique and innovative design for our residential condos and also to enliven the Ortigas skyline by creating beautiful and architecturally sound structures so, through this award, this actually supports our vision. We’re very honored to received this award,” said Jenna Belardo, business development head at Ortigas & Co.
Meanwhile, one Metro Manila developer swept all eight awards in eight categories it was nominated in. SM Keppel Land Inc.’s The Podium Complex
won eight trophies in eight categories, including Best Retail Development, Best Office Development (Manila) and Best Mixed Use Development, Best Green, and Best Universal Design Development. The complex is an expansion of The Podium shopping mall, which includes a bigger mall and a new BPO office complex, and has a number of environmentally sustainable and pedestrian-friendly features.
Regional development also shine
Regional developers also ended the evening with several awards. ArthaLand Corporation won the second highest award for Best Boutique Developer and the Special Recognition in Sustainable Development. Its subsidiary, Cebu Lavana Land Corporation, also earned the Best Office Development (Cebu) crown for The Cebu Exchange. The development is set to become the largest green building in the country and one of the largest office developments in the Philippines.
“Cebu Exchange is one of the few developments that have been certified by both LEED and BERDE. We’d like to bring a new kind of quality to office developments in Cebu by building this project, aside from making a new landmark for the city. This is truly an honor for us. We thank PropertyGuru, our esteemed judges, and their entire ArthaLand team who worked on this project,” said Leonardo Po, EVP and treasurer at Arthaland.
Other notable provincial winners include three-time awardees AppleOne Mactan and Grand Land, while new entrants such as Grand Taipan and the tandem of Canyon Estates Incorporated/G2 Global Incorporated each won an award.
“It means a lot to our company. Also, it shows that Cebu can do world-class developments. It’s not only limited to players in Metro Manila. We’re quite new in the industry, and yet we won this recognition,” said AppleOne Mactan Inc. chairman Ray Go Manigsaca, whose development, The Residences at the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, won Best Luxury Condo Development (Cebu), Best Condo Interior Design, and Best Condo Development (Philippines).
CelebRating a diveRse, thRiving maRket
An array of special awards was presented as well, such as the Special Recognition for Public Facility for the Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) by GMRMegawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) consortium. The new special award expands the scope of the program to recognise the role of the government and public entities in the built environment.
Meanwhile, Robbie Antonio, founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted — the fastest company to reach first unicorn startup status in Southeast Asia — was honored as the 2018 Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year for changing the concept of prefabricated, luxury homebuilding not only in the Philippines, but also in the biggest markets around the world. Antonio
“The Philippines continues to be a very special market for us. It is a diverse, exciting, fast-growing real estate market that is welcoming to foreign investors, is the same today as they were in 2013 when we started the local awards program. Although driven by local giants, it is the open and welcoming business environment that allows new entrants, large and small, to thrive.” — Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards
aims to “democratize design” by creating design-forward, limitededition precrafted homes, pavilions and other related structures, and making them more accessible to the masses through more competitive costs.
RGV Group of Companies vicechairman Dr. Jaime Cura led the independent judging panel for this year’s awards. Joining him in the panel are Aidea Philippines president and CEO Abelardo Tolentino Jr., Atelier A president and CEO Carlo Cordaro, Jones Lang LaSalle Philippines country head Christophe Vicic, TAJARA Leisure & Hospitality Group Inc. president Cyndy Tan Jarabata, Esca Inc. CEO Jean Jacquelyn Nathania de Castro, Metro Development Managers Inc. CEO Luis Enrique Mangosing, Pronove Tai International Property Consultants CEO Monique Cornelio Pronove, and The Net Group co-president and Urban Land Institute Philippines chairman Ramon Fernando Rufino.
Hari V. Krishnan, CEO, PropertyGuru Group, said: “Congratulations to the Winners and Highly Commended companies in the Philippines. PropertyGuru applauds their contributions that help transform the fast-growing local property sector and increase the profile of underserved regional destinations. We are proud of their achievements and innovations, especially in green, sustainable and township development. We are happy to be able to do our bit in educating more Filipinos about the best real estate projects available that will meet or surpass their needs and expectations.”
Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, said at the gala dinner: “The Philippines continues to be a very special market for us. It is a diverse, exciting, fast-growing real estate market that is welcoming to foreign investors, is the same today as they were in 2013 when we started the local awards program. Although driven by local giants, it is the open and welcoming business environment that allows new entrants, large and small, to thrive.”
He added that business opportunities “must go hand in hand with increased responsibility to the environment, to the community and to your employees” as the Awards continue to celebrate companies with outstanding CSR and sustainable development initiatives.
The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards is the region’s biggest and most prestigious real estate awards series and is recognized as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence in the Asian property sector since it was established in 2005. This year, the Awards has been expanded to cover 17 key markets around the region, featuring 12 gala dinners and associated awards ceremonies in 11 countries, with each one hosting up to 600 senior industry figures to recognize
excellence within each Asian market, culminating in the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final, which takes place alongside the two-day PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit in Bangkok on Nov. 8 to 9, 2018.
The 2018 PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards was supported by platinum sponsor Kohler; official media broadcaster ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel; official newspaper The
Philippine STAR; official supplier TITANIA Wine Cellar Inc.; media partners Hoppler and PropertyGuru
Property Report; supporting association British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines; and official supervisor BDO Roxas Cruz Tagle and Co. led by chairman and managing partner Michael Roxas.