‘WE SET THE TREND, PROVIDING A COMMUNITY AND A LIFESTYLE'
In addition to soaring skyscrapers
and vast retail and entertainment venues,
low golf courses, country clubs and beach resorts are also in full swing
Starting as a family enterprise in 1972, Sta. Lucia Realty and Development has gained national prominence in the field of horizontal development. It has expanded its core subdivisions business while embracing new market segments to reach its present portfolio of more than 150 development projects.
Although residential projects continue to account for the largest share of the company's activities, Sta. Lucia has become the national standard for golf and country club developments. Consistently introducing innovations such as fully lit golf courses for nighttime play, it now operates 12 golf courses and six country clubs, as well as diversifying into beach clubs.
Exequiel D. Robles, Sta.Lucia's President and CEO, joined the company as vice president at the age of 19. He is in great part responsible for Sta. Lucia' s depth of vision, which embraces environmental and social concerns, and for its continued commercial success.
Since it was first established, Sta. Lucia has become the Philippines' leading golf and country club developer. How has this come about?
It started about ten years ago with our first residential and golf course development project, known as The Orchard because of its many mango trees. At the time, there were plenty of other golf courses around, but all had been built years before. Ours was one of the first to be developed in recent times, and one of the first fully integrated golf and residential communities. The Orchard became quite a success and we found ourselves making other golf communities in many more locations. Now we have 12 all over the country, and counting.
Sta. Lucia also successfully manages and develops beach clubs, such as the Vistamar Resort in Cebu. How do you see the potential of leisure residential communities?
Actually, those resorts are among the best attractions for real estate clients. If you have a big tract of land outside Metro Manila, you have to do your best to attract the market by providing a lot of facilities. For example, in a golf course development where you have a country club, you need attractions with access to the beach and beach facilities.
How do your residential developments differ from those of other companies?
Most of our products are residential subdivisions. We offer lots, which are the bulk of our projects, as well as house and lot packages. We have some condominiums, but we are not so big in this area. Right now, our condominium projects are only in Cebu, although we are planning to start some in Manila too.
Sta. Lucia aims to provide our lot owners not only with land on which to build a home, but a community in which to nurture a family, and a lifestyle of their own. That is why in most of our developments we provide community and sports facilities such as a clubhouse, swimming pool, basketball court, landscaped gardens and a children's playground. In this, I believe we set the trend. It used to be that these facilities were a special add-on to other developers' projects, but we included them in most of our developments where possible. In later years, many more developers have followed suit, and today it is normal for such amenities to be part of the basic offering, together with concrete roads, adequate water and electrical power.
In bigger communities, we may add tennis courts, water slides, bowling, or even a theater such as the one at Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club. All of our projects also have a distinct entrance gate and guardhouse, and community members know that they live in a world that is secure, yet near important establishments.
What has been your greatest pride working for Sta. Lucia?
Seeing my company grow is my greatest satisfaction. A lot has changed since the early days. When I started, we were just one of those companies who buy real estate properties and sell them on without really developing the land. I was the one who started the development segment in this company.