The archipelago’s most prestigious industry awards for real estate excellence has revealed this year’s winning and highly commended companies
It was a memorable evening honouring the finest in Philippine real estate at the fifth annual PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards 2017, presented by Kohler, held on Thursday (4 May) at the Fairmont Makati ballroom.
Megaworld Corporation picked up its second consecutive Best Developer trophy, plus eight other gongs and special awards, and a mantle of 17 Highly Commended honours, out of 25 nominations – the most for any developer this year.
“The blueprint for Megaworld’s success is not only apparent in its pioneering integrated urban township concept that’s been perfected for many years, but also in its dedication to nation building by introducing the world-class developments in provincial areas,” said the 10-member judging panel led by JLL Philippines chairman Lindsay J. Orr.
Citing that Megaworld projects are aesthetically pleasing, sustainable and environment friendly, the panel said that “the company in the past year has excelled in producing some of the industry’s best designs and commercial development, earning once again the distinction of being the year’s Best Developer.”
One of the recognitions for the Dr Andrew L. 
Tan-led conglomerate is Best Universal Design Development, a new category this year that was awarded to its low-rise project St. Moritz Private Estates, which has been noted for promoting cosmopolitan features underlined by Filipino ethnic accents, as well as top-of-the-line amenities and recreational facilities that cater to all age groups and families.
From Cebu, AppleOne Properties Inc collected the award for Best Condo Development (Cebu) for AppleOne Banawa Heights, which received a Highly Commended honour last year. Further development has allowed the project to compete again this year. According to the judges, the project also introduces many firsts for Cebu, including its nature-centric approach to development, 70 percent open space, keyless entry, and a total of five swimming pools and three gymnasiums at the development.
Further down south, Damosa Land took home the gong for Best Residential Development (Davao) for the “functional and innovative” Damosa Fairlane, beating another Damosa project in the same category. Damosa Fairlane’s outstanding feature is the various “pocket parks” throughout the property and open, green spaces that evoke residential communities in the 1950s.
“Although Manila remains the heart of the real estate industry, quality developments can now be found everywhere in the country,” said Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, in his opening remarks.
“As well as residential development giving more and more 
Filipinos the chance to own their own home for the first time, economic growth continues to be supported by world class retail and office developments,” he added.
With an abundance of BPO office buildings in the country, Best BPO Office Development awardee Scape by Prince Allumer Development Corp stood out against the competition for incorporating many green elements and resource efficient amenities.
Implementing a well-planned “garden mall” concept, Robinsons Galleria Cebu by Robinsons Land Corporation, winner in the Best Retail Development category, was rewarded for highlighting Cebu’s memorable sceneries through its glass façade and green spaces throughout the project.
Robinsons Land Corporation collected several other special awards, including a Special Recognition in Sustainable Development that it shared with green boutique developer ArthaLand, and an honour for its company president Frederick D. Go, who has been chosen by the editors of Property Report magazine as the 2017 Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year for “leading the company that transforms people's dreams into reality through real estate projects that last generations.”
“We want to leave a legacy 
of having improved the quality of life of everyone we have touched in our businesses, whether they are a mall customer or partner, an occupant in our office buildings, a hotel guest or a homeowner,” Go said on behalf of his firm. “We are building the business of building dreams and making life better.”
A total of 29 Winners and 35 Highly Commended recipients were announced during the exclusive black-tie ceremony that recognised established and up-and-coming developers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that are increasingly paying more attention to green features and sustainability.
The main category winners in the Philippines are now advancing to the seventh annual PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards grand final in Singapore this November at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, where they will compete with 15 other markets in the region and be crowned the “best in Asia.”
Hari V. Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru Group, commented: “I would like to congratulate the Winners and Highly Commended companies and projects at this year’s PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards. Continued commitment to the property sector’s growth definitely fuels progress and the Philippine real estate market has shown a lot of promise on this front.
“At the same time, there are lots of opportunities for growth and improvement, specifically on transparency and sustainability. As developers across the archipelago become more focused on their goals, I can see a fantastic future for the industry and it will be great to witness its ongoing transformation into a regional real estate player with outstanding and innovative commercial and residential offerings.”
Presented by title sponsor Kohler,
PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards 2017 gala dinner was attended by around 250 key industry figures and government VIPs, including Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo, who acknowledged the contribution of the real estate sector to the growing tourism industry and importance of sustainable development in her keynote address. Other officials in attendance were Tourism Undersecretary Alma Jimenez, and Atty. Amado Valdez, chairman of the Philippine Social Security System. Television personality Issa Litton was the master of ceremonies.
The event was supported by co-sponsors JLL Philippines and Regus Philippines, official broadcaster The ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), official newspaper The Philippine STAR, official property portal Zipmatch.com, official charity CARE Philippines, official supplier Titania Wine Cellar Inc, media partners Inquirer.net, Oxford Business Group, HGTV Asia and PropertyGuru Property Report magazine, supporting associations British Chamber of Commerce Philippines and European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and official judging supervisor BDO, the world’s fifth largest auditing and accountancy firm led by co-managing partner Paul Ashburn.
For more information about the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, email info@asiapropertyawards.com or visit the official website: AsiaPropertyAwards.com/philippines-property-awards/
List of Winners and Highly Commended at the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards 2017:
DEVELOPER
Best Developer
WINNER: Megaworld Corporation
Best Boutique Developer
WINNER: Keyland Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: AppleOne Properties Inc
BEST OF THE BEST
Best Green Development
WINNER: ArthaLand Century Pacific Tower by ArthaLand
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Philam Life Center Cebu by The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philam Life)
Best Universal Design Development
WINNER: St. Moritz Private Estates by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Vista Taft by Vista Residences, Inc. (Vista Land Group)
Best Condo Development (Philippines)
WINNER: 27 Annapolis by Bayswater Realty
SPECIAL AWARDS
Special Recognition in CSR
WINNER: ArthaLand
WINNER: Century Properties Group Inc
WINNER: Megaworld Corporation
WINNER: Robinsons Land Corporation
Special Recognition in Sustainable Development
WINNER: ArthaLand
WINNER: Robinsons Land Corporation
DEVELOPMENT CATEGORIES (RESIDENTIAL)
Best Luxury Condo Development (Metro Manila)
WINNER: The Royalton at Capital Commons by Ortigas & Company
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Acqua Livingstone interior design by MissoniHome by Century Properties Group Inc
HIGHLY COMMENDED: St. Moritz Private Estates by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Florence by Megaworld Corporation
Best High End Condo Development (Metro Manila)
WINNER: 27 Annapolis by Bayswater Realty
HIGHLY COMMENDED: 8 Forbes Town Road by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: One Eastwood Avenue by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Solstice by Alveo Land Corporation
Best Affordable Condo Development (Metro Manila)
WINNER: Casa de Sequioa by Keyland
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Vista Taft by Vista Residences, Inc. (Vista Land Group)
Best Urban Condo Development
WINNER: Urban Deca Tower Edsa by 8990 Holdings, Inc.
Best Condo Development (Cebu)
WINNER: AppleOne Banawa Heights by AppleOne Properties Inc
HIGHLY COMMENDED: One Pacific Residence by Megaworld Corporation
Best Residential Development (Davao)
WINNER: Damosa Fairlane by Damosa Land
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Seawind by Damosa Land
Best Residential Development (Resort)
WINNER: Tagaytay Highlands (Woodridge Place) by Highlands Prime, Inc. (SM Group)
DEVELOPMENT CATEGORIES (COMMERCIAL)
Best Office Development
WINNER: Alliance Global Tower by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: ArthaLand Century Pacific Tower by ArthaLand
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Philam Life Center Cebu by The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philam Life)
Best BPO Office Development
WINNER: Scape by Prince Allumer Development Corp.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Philam Life Center Cebu by The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philam Life)
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Southkey Hub by Keyland
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tower One Plaza Magellan by Megaworld Corporation
Best Retail Development
WINNER: Robinsons Galleria Cebu by Robinsons Land Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Uptown Mall by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Venice Grand Canal Mall by Megaworld Corporation
Best Mixed Use Development
WINNER: 8 Forbes Town Road by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Base Line Center by Cebu Landmasters, Inc.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Grand Tower Cebu by Grand Land Inc.
DESIGN CATEGORIES
Best Residential Architectural Design
WINNER: One Uptown Residence by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: One Eastwood Avenue by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: One Pacific Residence by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Radiance Manila Bay by Robinsons Land Corporation
Best Residential Interior Design
WINNER: The Sapphire Bloc by Robinsons Land Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: St. Moritz Private Estates by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Three Central by Megaworld Corporation
Best Retail Architectural Design
WINNER: Uptown Mall by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Venice Grand Canal Mall by Megaworld Corporation
Best Office Architectural Design
WINNER: ArthaLand Century Pacific Tower by ArthaLand
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Alliance Global Tower by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Philam Life Center Cebu by The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philam Life)
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Scape by Prince Allumer Development Corp.
Best Residential Landscape Architectural Design
WINNER: The Florence by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Damosa Fairlane by Damosa Land
HIGHLY COMMENDED: One Pacific Residence by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: One Uptown Residence by Megaworld Corporation
Best Office Landscape Architectural Design
WINNER: Philam Life Center Cebu by The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philam Life)
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Alliance Global Tower by Megaworld Corporation
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Scape by Prince Allumer Development Corp.
Best Retail Landscape Architectural Design
WINNER: Uptown Mall by Megaworld Corporation
PUBLISHER’S CHOICE
Real Estate Personality of the Year
WINNER: Frederick D. Go, President, Robinsons Land Corporation
About PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards:
Returning for a landmark fifth year on 4 May 2017 at the Fairmont Makati, the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards is part of the regional Asia Property Awards programme established in 2005. With a professionally run awards system supervised by BDO, the world’s fifth largest auditing and accountancy firm, the Philippines Property Awards is the biggest and most credible industry awards in the archipelago, with the top and emerging names in real estate celebrating the best developers, projects and design in Mega Manila, Cebu, Davao and emerging resort destinations.
About PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards:
The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards are the largest real estate events in Asia, playing host to annual gala dinners for up to 600 C-level executives and leading industry figures from Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia. The Awards programme has an unparalleled reputation for being credible, fair and transparent, with an independent panel of judges and trusted awards supervisor. Originally launched in Thailand in 2005 at the height of Asia’s property boom, the Asia Property Awards in 2016 became part of PropertyGuru, Asia’s leading online property group. In 2017, the awards scheme was expanded to include categories for Mongolia, Laos, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives.
About PropertyGuru Group:
PropertyGuru Group is Asia’s foremost online property company. Voted by consumers in 2016 as ‘Asia’s Most Influential Brand for Online Property Search’, PropertyGuru helps over 16 million people find their dream home – every month.
Headquartered in Singapore, PropertyGuru.com.sg was launched in 2007 by two entrepreneurs. They had a vision to simplify the property search process and help renters, buyers, sellers and investors make confident property decisions – faster.
Today, it has grown from being a media company to a high-growth technology company. Beyond operating a suite of No.1 property portals and award-winning mobile apps, the Group also manages a host of industry-leading property offerings such as publications, events, awards and a project marketing technology platform – across eight countries in Asia.
For more information, please visit www.propertyguru.com
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