REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION

The real estate sector in Ecuador remains strong, with a growing population and increasing urbanization rates, as well as government initiatives to boost dynamism in the sector.

Pablo Campana PRESIDENT, CAMPANA ORGANIZATION

MILLENIUM BELONGS to the Campana Organization, which has investments in different sectors in Ecuador. Millenium takes care of the real estate business of the group. To date, we have USD165 million in market value for ongoing projects, from the marketing to construction and delivery stages, and other 12 projects under study with a value of USD142 million. We have had meetings with investment banks in the US to present projects in Ecuador for financing, both as equity and credit. The result has been great, and investors now see Ecuador in a different light compared to years ago. One of the sectors drawing the most attention is real estate. At present, our main project is Millenium Tower in Guayaquil, which is worth USD65 million, has 45,000sqm of construction, and is located on Francisco Orellana Avenue, one of the most important streets in the city. It has suites, apartments, offices, commercial premises, and independent blocks with offices on one side and apartments on the other. After only two months of selling, almost 25% had already been commercialized, which again indicates the appetite for investment in Ecuador. The most attractive factor of Ecuador is its dollarized economy. Second, the return of each project is much more interesting than in other countries, and third, the initial investment capital to start a project is much lower than in other countries, mainly because of the cost of land and materials.

Juan Albán GENERAL MANAGER, PRONOBIS

PRONOBIS WAS FOUNDED 22 years ago by Isabel Noboa, the country’s most prominent and successful businesswoman, and its first project was Mall del Sol in Guayaquil in 1997, which become the largest mall in the country, both in terms of size and visitors. Pronobis handles the real state branch of the Consorcio Nobis group. One of our most innovative developments is The Point in Guayaquil, a 137-m skyscraper that has become an icon in the city because of its spiral shape. It is located in Puerto Santa Ana, also known as Ciudad del Rio, which was a swamp 10 years ago. Since then, Pronobis has built more than 10 different iconic and unique structures. We are building two more projects: a 16-story residential building, Santana Lofts, with expected completion in 2020; and a 21-story multi-functional skyscraper, SOHO 360, designed by Office of Architecture in Barcelona, with half the building reserved for offices and the other half for housing. It aims to integrate the needs of the city, because people do not want to commute. In addition to that development, we will complete a 54-m tall office building, 100 Business Plaza, in Guayaquil, and the first 17-story building, Arawá, in Karibao Resort Town – Engabao. One more project is being launched, Sotonovo, which is extremely exclusive and targets highend consumers in Guayaquil’s satellite city of Samborondón. Our company is focused on sustainable urban developments; we build cities within cities.

Gonzalo León Serrano PRESIDENT, GLS CONSTRUCTORES

AT PRESENT, GLS is working on two main projects. One is a huge project located in the north of Quito featuring around 560 apartments and 16 retail spaces targeting the middle class. The second project has around 85 class-A housing units with a rooftop garden, and infinity pool facing the Andes, and it targets the upper-middle class. However, the supply for this market segment has been lacking in the last few years. Therefore, we have redefined our products to deliver a high-quality product with numerous social spaces and amenities to target the middle-class segment. Notably, we produce concrete and use the latest technologies for the construction of our projects. Our goal is to give the client an excellent product at an attractive price. We also seek to provide attractive financing alternatives to our clients. Our idea is to take 10% of the cost of the apartment from our customers and help them finance the remaining 90% through bank loans. We are extremely proud to have loyal clients on a regular basis. The best asset of a company is its reliability. We are mostly focused on Quito and the Valles area. One crucial factor for the success of the real estate sector is the government’s policies. The current government is considering providing subsidies for buildings that have more than eight levels. These incentives could be extremely positive in terms of boosting vertical projects in Ecuador.

Dayana Herrera OPERATIONS MANAGER, OBRUM

OBRUM HAS BEEN IN THE MARKET for more than 25 years. My father founded the company to operate in the real estate sector with commercial premises in the northern center of Quito. When the second generation took the lead of the company, we started developing corporate buildings with special care on design and user experience. The best example of this is the Santa Fe Torre Corporativa building. Finalized in 2013, we gave our tenants access to the rooftop area where amenities such as meeting rooms, auditoriums, and a lounge area are located for events and daily use in order to create a more enjoyable experience in the workspace. As we promoted a concierge service, front desk, and facilities management, we realized the importance of great communal areas that can be used by any tenant for training, meetings, or even recreation. It is a successful model that we have been improving since then. Currently, OBRUM is developing a new project to continue its commercial and corporate core business. At the same time, we are venturing into residential projects of boutique apartments and private houses in Cumbayá, one of Quito’s most exclusive and fast-growing neighborhoods. OBRUM has been recognized as a building company that guarantees quality in every step of project development. From the site selection to the architectural design and its building process, we are committed to delivering quality to our customers, users, and visitors.

Rafael Vélez GENERAL MANAGER, RVC ARQUITECTOS

OUR COMPANY STARTED in the 1970s, when the first oil boom took place in Ecuador and major oil companies arrived in the country. That generated great development for the entire country, specifically for Quito. It was also an opportunity to evaluate what was being done in cities in Uruguay, Chile, and Mexico. Some architects had started doing more vertical developments. This trend was replicated in Quito in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Over this period, we worked on iconic building designs for the city. We put considerable effort into evaluating the construction sites to ensure they are suitable for the surroundings and the environment. Other examples of our work that have modernized Quito include the building for Banco de Londres, as well as the corporate offices of Banco Popular and IBM, which was one of the first curved-style buildings in the country. When mixed developments started in other countries in the 1970s, there were few successful projects done in Ecuador, partly due to its location. Large construction companies are starting to focus on this. Mixed developments are a great opportunity to sort out transportation and mobility issues in the city. Additionally, there will be growth in demand for medium-cost housing. RVC Arquiectos has been focusing on designing corporate buildings, and premium developments. However, we still see an opportunity for building large-scale, low-cost housing, as the country has a housing deficit.