I will always be grateful to the Philippines for giving me the opportunity to pursue and implement my vision of passive green architecture.
I have also been blessed with the success of my company Italpinas Development Corp. (IDC) as our projects in Cagayan de Oro City, one of the emerging cities in the country, are doing well.
It would be interesting to tell you that my partner in IDC Jojo Leviste and I were met with skepticism when we launched our projects in Cagayan de Oro city. During those times, emerging cities like Cagayan de Oro City were stereotyped as laid back and slow in development.
Moreover, the skeptics told us our projects will not succeed because the market is not yet mature. But we remained unfazed and continued to focus on our projects. We started, by building the Primavera Residences, a seven-tower mixed-use development composed of four phases. After the success of Primavera Residences, IDC developed Primavera City. As advocates of sustainability, both Primavera Residences and Primavera City showcase green architecture. Moreover, Primavera City has an Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) certification.
I am also proud to tell you that mixed-use Primavera Residences also achieved a milestone when it was cited as Best Mixed-use Development in the Philippines by Property Awards. One of the highlights of Primavera Residences is that IDC was able to integrate its renewable energy features – passive for saving and active for generating power – with architecture.
We were able to prove the cynics wrong as both Primavera Residences and Primavera City have gained wide market acceptance in Cagayan de Oro. Furthermore, IDC has proven that there’s room for eco-friendly projects as more and more Filipinos are becoming more aware of the importance of eco-friendly residences. Nevertheless, IDC did not rest on its laurels as we recently made a major move by entering the economic housing market through the launching of the Verona Green Apartments.
I am optimistic that Verona Green Apartments will also be supported by the Cagayan de Oro market as it has developed a good level of sophistication and awareness of IDC projects that offer the elegant Italian design complemented by environment-friendly features.
Since the Philippines is a dynamic growth market, I believe there are lots of opportunities to promote sustainability and green architecture especially now that there’s a lot of talk on environment, sustainability, and governance (ESG).
Although IDC is a boutique developer, we are one of the companies that walk the talk and were recognized as one of the major names in this niche market.
I am glad that IDC is contributing to the promotion of a worthy objective that will benefit the country and the next generation.
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