The Philippine real-estate sector is one aspect of our economy that continues to show promising signs of growth, even in the next couple of years.
Even as we see integrated developments and urban communities sprouting one after another in Metro Manila, property developers are still continuing to find huge investment and development opportunities by venturing out to the Visayas and Mindanao. Down south, Cebu has long enjoyed this continued prominence, but areas like Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao are also fast shaping as emerging development hubs outside of Metro Manila.
At the forefront of this sector’s continued progress is Megaworld. The Andrew Tan-led company recently cemented its status as one of the Philippines’s most successful property builders when it took home its first-ever “Best Developer” award during the 2016 Philippine Property Awards.Apart from bagging the most prestigious citation of the annual event, the Megaworld Group was also bestowed three major awards for Uptown Ritz (Best Residential Architectural Design); 8 Newtown Boulevard (Best Condo Development for Cebu); The Vineyard Residences (Best Condo Development for Resort); as well as 13 other “highly commended” awards for various developments, including Uptown Mall, Venice Grand Canal, Uptown Parksuites, Salcedo Skysuites, Uptown Tower 3, and Suntrust’s Shanata Residences, and One Lakeshore Drive.
Megaworld’s recent win only served to validate the organization’s commitment to bring world-class developments that truly speak volumes about the Philippines’s as a worthy investment destination. To date, the company has at least 20 integrated urban townships across the country and a total land bank spanning more than 4,000 hectares nationwide. It has nine township developments within Metro Manila and 11 others spread in various regions all over the Philippines. Additionally, it is also one of the biggest property developers in the Makati Central Business District, the country’s premier financial center, with a total of 27 residential and office towers built as we speak.
But apart from this extremely impressive portfolio, how does Megaworld really separate itself from the rest of the completion?
Making a mark through pioneering design
Megaworld bested a notable list of other property developers on its way to earning the Best Residential Architectural Design distinction for Uptown Ritz.
The standout 45-story luxury condominium sits as one of the prominent structures within the Uptown Bonifacio, Megaworld’s live-work-play master-planned township in Fort Bonifacio. The iconic property, which is set to welcome its future residents by June 2017, exudes a distinct mark of elegance and exclusivity, boasting a low-density community (as few as only six units per floor) with all-suite units that offer large, luxurious spaces for the modern urban Filipino. The property offers its future residents instant access to the British, American, and Japanese international schools in Bonifacio Global City, as well as St. Luke’s Medical Center, some of the country’s leading corporate offices, and a wealth of other lifestyle options in Burgos Circle and other neighboring stops.
A foresight for continued growth
Earlier this year the Megaworld Group kicked off its bid to aggressively grow further all over the Philippines when it funneled P55-billion in capital expenditures to boost its rental portfolio. At least 75 percent of this total amount will be spent for the development of new projects, including commercial centers, malls, and office and residential buildings within its township projects.
With long-term growth and continued industry leadership on its priority lists, Megaworld has also set its sights beyond Metro Manila by boosting its land bank and working on its existing assets. In fact, the group is set to launch 14 residential projects this year, all in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Iloilo, Tagaytay, Cavite, Davao, Baguio and Batangas. Fourteen office buildings, malls and commercial complexes are also set to rise among its already existing and future development hubs, such as McKinley West and Uptown Bonifacio, The Mactan Newtown, Iloilo Business Park, Arcovia City, Southwoods City and Alabang.
“Several townships are already mature, which means we have already built in them the substantial components of a complete “live-work-play” community, such as Eastwood City and McKinley Hill. We are moving toward making our other townships mature, as well, especially those outside of Metro Manila,” Megaworld Senior Vice President Jericho Go said.
Aside from this, Megaworld also recently made a move to tap into the promising millennial market by banking on technology and forging a partnership with Lamudi Philippines. This partnership was merely aimed to boost the former’s promotion initiatives for San Antonio Residence in Makati City.
These notable efforts, milestones and achievements only signal the start of bigger things to come from the Megaworld Group, which I expect will only take the competition among the biggest industry players to a whole new level.
