From exporting mangoes to multibillion-peso Cebu property dev’t

CEBU City—He built his wealth on exporting Cebu mangoes worldwide. Now, Justin Uy is venturing in a multibillion-peso mixed-use development that will feature a mall, hotel, call center office and apartelles.

His real-estate firm, Everjust Realty Development Corp. (Everjust), will embark on a five-year project called the J Centre on A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue City. Its first feature called the J Mall will open in September.

Uy refuses to divulge the exact amount of his company’s investment in the project but says it would involve “billions of pesos and will cater to all sectors of society.”

Uy owns Profood International Corp., a top exporter of dried mangoes.

‘Follow your idol’

Asked why he decided to venture into real-estate business, he says: “In business, if there is something good to follow, you follow. SM is our idol. In 1972, they were just leasing from Ayala and yet they made a bold move in 1980 which led them where they are now.”

Uy says the mall would host 300 shops with SM Hypermarket as anchor store.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. is leasing the five-hectare property owned by Everjust in building SM Consolacion. This is SM’s second mall in Cebu.

Its third mall will be located within the South Road Properties.

“Even when the crisis was hitting (exporters), we already realized that real estate, retail is the way to go,” Uy says.

Right timing

“The mall was designed four years ago but the time for investing was not good. Skyrocketing prices of goods—cement, steel, everything … was the main reason. We started construction in 2009 when everything settled down and prices were reasonable,” Uy says.

The J Centre will also host a hotel, apartelle, business process outsourcing office and convention center.

Jerry Uy, Everjust corporate secretary, says negotiations with an international chain were underway to operate the hotel.

The number of rooms will be between 350 and 550, depending on the result of the company’s market study.

“The decision on the number of floors will depend on the number of rooms we will open for the hotel. If we will have 550 rooms, that will be equivalent to 22 floors,” Jerry Uy says.

Floor plans

The mall will cover the first three floors. The fourth and fifth floors will serve as the parking area while the hotel will start on the sixth floor.

The convention center, on the other hand, has a seating capacity of 1,620 and can serve as venue for car shows, mid-size conventions and trade fairs.

Harry Pow, chief executive officer of H.S. Pow Construction and Development Corp., says the building would emphasize natural ventilation and lighting, and would employ a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant.

In the long term, Uy says the company will venture into resorts and hospitals (for medical tourism) on their existing property in Cebu and other areas in the country.

“We cannot be just malls because we cannot compete with SM. They are 30 years ahead. Hospital is good because of (Cebu’s big potential to develop) medical tourism and especially we have overflowing supply of good, inexpensive labor,” Uy says.