THE Philippines’s finest developers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao have been accorded the real-estate industry’s highest honors at the Seventh Annual PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, presented by global brand Kohler at an exclusive gala dinner and ceremony on July 5, at the Fairmont Makati hotel.

Cebu Landmasters Inc. earned the highest honor for Best Developer, besting established industry names. The company chaired by Jose R. Soberano III earlier this year reported increased earnings of 23 percent as it continues to focus on quality mid- to high-end properties.

“Cebu Landmasters projects capture the imagination magnificently, winning Best High End Condo Development [Cebu] for New York-inspired 38 Park Avenue, while the well-being of residents’ lifestyles extends out to the community, attracting a Special Recognition in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award for an emerging, world-class developer,” said the independent panel of judges.

Manila-based Torre Lorenzo Development Corp., the team behind two new Dusit-branded properties in Davao, won a grand slam of four trophies, including the award for Best Boutique Developer, further boosting its regional profile among real-estate investors. Torre Lorenzo’s Dusit Thani Residence Davao is the first Best Housing Development (Philippines) winner to be located in Mindanao.

The main highlight of the black-tie ceremony was the presentation of the 2019 Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year award to the biggest name in Philippine real estate and business sectors: the late Henry Sy Sr. and the entire Sy Family of SM Investments Corp., who are celebrating the 25th anniversary as a publicly listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Three-time Best Developer titleholder Megaworld Corp. and its subsidiaries Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and Global-Estate Resorts Inc. collected a total of 12 golden trophies, including the Best Housing Development (Philippines) award for Newcoast Village by Geri.

Other big winners and highly commended awardees include green developer ArthaLand Corp. (five wins), Ayala-owned Alveo Land (four wins) and Grand Land (two wins).

A total of 39 competitive awards and special honors were presented at the annual ceremony and gala dinner, after a rigorous and independent selection process, supervised site visits and deliberations overseen by BDO Roxas, Cruz, Tagle & Co.

Special awards in 2019 include accolades for CSR, Sustainable Development, and Design and Construction, as well as the Special Recognition for Public Facility to the already-operational Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) by the consortium MWM Terminals Inc.

Highly regarded as the gold standard for excellence in Philippine real estate, recognizing development, design and innovation, the annual PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards program has been held since 2013. Main category winners are now eligible to compete for more international accolades at the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final ceremony to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in November 2019 with representation from more than a dozen property markets around Asia-Pacific region.

Published in Business Mirror