MANILA, Philippines – LEADING REAL estate developer Century Properties Group has no doubt taken on challenging goals to up the ante for the local real estate sector. And it has done this through a strategic approach to product differentiation. The company, with 29 years of expertise and experience on the field, has since created milestones, collaborated with world-renowned brands, pioneered master planned developments, and introduced innovative concepts that havehelped enhance the overall quality of life not only of Filipinos, but also those of foreign nationals currently residing in the country.
“As the company grows, we intend to continue to strengthen our reputation as one of the Philippines’ most innovative developers in the luxury and middle-income segments, and to maintain our position as a key developer in the central business districts of Metro Manila,” Century shared.
The company believes that as the Filipino market continues to evolve, a greater level of significance will be placed on the lifestyle and branding elements of residential, commercial and even leisure developments. As such Century focuses on quality, service excellence and overall experience for its projects.
Product differentiation
Century Properties has since stirred the already cutthroat competition in the local real estate scene when it started to collaborate with some globally renowned brands, introduced the concept of fully-fitted, fully furnished condominiums as well as an enhanced version of condo amenities or what it calls “hyper amenities.”
Its collaboration with Paris Hilton for the Azure Urban Resort Residences in Parañaque City has brought about one of the most talked about residential concepts—residential resort living, complete with a man-made beach and the Paris Beach Club designed no less than by the international icon herself.
Century engaged Versace Home for the interior design of the amenities of The Milano Residences; and the Trump Organization for Trump Tower at Century City, which is being developed in accordance with the brand’s high standards for a luxury development through a licensing agreement with the Trump Organization.
The company tapped the revered Italian design house Missoni Home for the interior design of the common areas and amenities of the Acqua Livingstone tower, the fourth residential tower within Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong City; yoo inspired by Starck for Acqua Iguazu, wherein the collaboration will greatly reflect the great French designer Philippe Starck’s aesthetics; and Studio Daniel Libeskind as well as Armani Casa, the interior design studio of Giorgio Armani for the prime, mixed use tower Century Spire’s architecture and the amenity interiors respectively.
Even its Quezon City project is designed to offer not your usual living experiences on a daily basis. The Residences at Commonwealth brings the uncommon condominium experience—its playground, for example, is made up of apple-inspired structures called The Orchard and offer educational and fun experiences to kids. Its clubhouse has a kitchen and a music studio, all aimed at nurturing its residents’ many and diverse passions.
One can also experience the full scale of the company’s concept of “hyper amenities” in the Gramercy Residences and Knightsbridge Residences, the first two residential condominiums it completed in Century City. Residents today enjoy the Gramercy’s Skypark through its fantastic views of the Makati skyline and its infinity pool as Knightsbridge residents luxuriate in its Bisazza-tiled pool and dine in its roofdeckamenity called The Observatory. Century Properties also tapped the world leading brand G.E. Healthcare, which has global experience on large-scale hospital and medical center projects, for the infrastructure design and layout of the amenities and facilities of Centuria Medical Makati—its outpatient medical- IT center which was recently completed and is scheduled to open this year.
The success of these projects is proven by their sales. In January, the company reported that it has substantially pre-sold six residential buildings within Azure (Positano and Miami towers), Acqua (Niagara and Sutherland towers), Commonwealth (Osmeña West tower) and Milano. All these towers are scheduled for completion in 2015.
The six projects have a total of 3,000 units, of which approximately 95 percent are sold. The projected sales value of these projects is over P15 billion.
Meanwhile, its Trump Tower at Century City project in Makati has pre-sold 94 percent of its units two years ahead of the project’s completion. The project has over 250 units with a total sales value of P6.13 billion, making this one of the most expensive and successful projects in the history of the country.
Century Properties also continues to expand its commercial property portfolio with the launch of Grade A office spaces this month at the Century Spire tower in Century City, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati. The tower is adding a minimum of 23,000 sqm of office space to the market with approximately P2.5 billion in sales value.
“We are aggressively pursuing our business expansion plans this year, which includes strengthening our commercial portfolio on top of our current concept residential projects. Diversifying to other product offerings, such as for sale strata office space, is instrumental in sustaining the growth for the company,” said Century Properties Chief Operating Officer Marco Antonio.
Outside of Metro Manila, the company is similarly expanding its footprint through the Resort Residences at Azure North, which is located in San Fernando, Pampanga. This project, which is Century’s first integrated mixed-use development outside of Metro Manila, is enjoying a strong reception from the local market.
Monaco and Bali, the first and second residential towers of Azure North, have a combined pre-sales of P1.6 billion. This amount of pre-sales has been brisk, generated in only approximately three months. “We are bringing the world-class residential resort lifestyle to one of Luzon’s most dynamic cities. San Fernando is the perfect home for Azure North as it is the regional center of Central Luzon, with direct access to northern Luzon and the Subic Bay economic zone. Truly, we are excited about the prospects of Azure North and our sales take-up figures are proof of the strength of the city’s economy and the strength of the Century brand,” shared Kristina Garcia, Century’s director for investor relations.
The tradition continues
Down south of Luzon, Century Properties is also looking at transforming 142 hectares of its land bank in Batulao, Batangas into a fully-integrated leisure, recreational, retail and residential destination.
The Batulao project will be completed in phases with the first phase requiring a capital infusion of P200 million to cover 36 hectares. This phase of the project will include an open to-the-public section that covers a retail village, a market square and a commercial center with shop houses, or structures with merchandise on the ground level and residential spaces on the upper floors.
The exclusive areas within the property include a premiere country club with crystal lagoons, a man-made beach cove and a lake that traverses the entire private residential section of the property. The club will make available for its members the use of its indoor and outdoor facilities, including a spa, a specialty restaurant, a chapel, banquet hall and pavilion, swimming pools, sports courts and water sports amenities.
And so far, Century Properties is enjoying a strong uptake on its projects, whether for residential, commercial or even medical sectors, demonstrating the market’s keen interest in its various projects. For instance, Century City Mall, the company’s first foray in retail development, continues to enjoy strong patronage from shoppers with its mix of local and global retailers, as well as original dining and outlet concepts like the Hole in the Wall food hall, the Leica Club Manila gallery, ArroZeria House of Rice, and many others.
Bullish outlook
With an experienced management team at the helm of its residential, commercial retail and commercial office developments, Century Properties waxed optimistic that it will continue its successful property run over the next decades. It runs Century Properties Management Inc., the largest and one of the longest-running property management firms in the country with more than 50 managed facilities and buildings.
“With close to 30 years of operational and management experience in real estate, particularly in the condominium segment, we have already completed projects in all stages of the business cycle, including the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Century Properties’ management team has extensive experience in and in-depth knowledge of the Philippine real estate market and has also developed positive relationships with key market participants,” the company said.
Moving forward, the company intends to pursue its strategic expansion in key growth regions outside of Metro Manila through masterplanned developments with residential, retail and commercial leasing components, all of which are certain to offer something new and exciting in the entire real estate sector.
This is why the company is highly bent on further expanding its property portfolio with the planned introduction of fresh and exciting innovations, covering the tourism, medical tourism, retail, residential and commercial sectors. ADVT