17 Cebu developments vie for Property Awards

One of the model units of the Argao Royal Palms in Argao town in southern Cebu. The project was awarded as Best Housing Development during the Philippine Property Awards 2015. (CDN FILE PHOTO)

OUT of 30 property development projects in Cebu that were nominated for different categories of the Philippine Property Awards (PPA), 17 made it to the long list.

The list will be narrowed down after the judges visit the nominated properties, said PPA country coordinator Kenneth del Rosario.

Three judges visited the nominees in Cebu on March 3 and 4, said Cyndy Jarabata, president of Tajara Leisure and Hospitality Group and awards chairman.

Among those that were reviewed by the judges were projects of Cebu Landmasters, Inc., Alveo Land Corp., Sta. Lucia Land, Inc., and Primary Homes, Inc.

A short list of nominees will be announced on March 15. The winners will be revealed on April 7.

Del Rosario noted that Cebuano developers are more bullish and competitive as indicated by the increase in nominations to the 4th Philippine Property Awards.

“Cebu has almost tripled in nominations. There were more entries also long-listed this year, so more developers from Cebu know about the awards and are confident enough in their developments to try and compete,” he said.

“Cebu is the second best-represented city nationally, after Manila,” he added.

Among the nominees from Cebu are housing and condominium projects. There were no nominees from Cebu in the hotel and resort categories.

Jarabata, for her part, suggested that local developers invest in new technology, make their developments environment-friendly and expand to other provinces in the Visayas as well as in Mindanao.

“Now that everyone is eyeing Cebu, their challenge is how to remain competitive,” she said.

The Philippine Property Awards highlight developments across the Philippines that have shown excellence in terms of design, architecture, green technology, hospitality, and the like.

There are 21 national award categories in PPA 2016, divided into three sections: developer, design and development.

Cebuano developers can compete for three awards, namely Best Luxury Condo Development, Best Mid-Range Condo Development, and Best Housing Development.

The winner of Best Developer in the Philippines will move on to the international awards, competing against other Southeast Asian countries during the grand finals later in the year.

The last Philippine developer hailed as Best Developer in Southeast Asia was Ayala Land in 2014.

The awards are organized by Ensign Media, publisher of Property Report, one of Asia’s leading publications for real estate.

Terry Blackburn, CEO of Ensign Media, said that there are nine central judges, all experts in real estate-related fields.