Italpinas Development Corp. (IDC), one of the Philippines’s top corporations with impressive development projects, has congratulated newly crowned Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach and expressed hope her dramatic victory would bring about ripple of benefits to Cagayan de Oro City, where she grew up.
Wurtzbach, whose father is German, was born in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. She moved to Cagayan de Oro, where she attended kindergarten at Kong Hua School and primary school at Corpus Christi. She speaks fluent Cebuano (Visayan), English, German and Tagalog.
Businessmen in Cagayan de Oro have expressed hope it’s not only their homegrown beauty queen who will catch the attention of the world, but their bustling economy of this city, as well. IDC Chairman and COO Romolo Valentino Nati, an Italian architect, said the spotlight on Wurtzbach has led businessmen to believe rays of opportunities will also shine brighter for this Misamis Oriental capital city. “The crowning of Cagayan de Oro’s pride and favorite daughter Pia as Miss Universe is sure to generate a ripple of benefits for the city, particularly in terms of tourism and investments,” Nati stressed.
IDC, a sustainable and design-driven real-estate development firm, has delivered on its commitment to complete the Tower B of Primavera Residences, its flagship development in Cagayan de Oro City, before year-end and turned over the condominium units to their rightful owners last December 16.
“Italpinas aims to build in alternative locations with real housing demands and where a sustainable green modern design brings innovations that offers quality and Italian lifestyle to the upper-middle class of the Philippines,” Nati said. “The company’s flagship project, Primavera Residences, is the first of its kind in Cagayan de Oro City and is setting the bar for condominium projects in the area with its modern Italian design infused with eco-friendly architecture with its second tower units already turned over,” IDC President Atty. Jose D. Leviste III added.
IDC’s series of milestones and achievements have made the company even more stable. Its achievements include its confirmed reputation as builder of one of the first IFC EDGE-certified condominium projects in East Asia, and its successful listing at the Philippine Stock Exhange, Tower B of its twin tower—Primavera Residences here has recently been turned over; Tower A is now nearly complete and will be ready for turnover shortly. IDC’s sustainable designs have already been widely recognized by prestigious international organizations. The company, in fact, has bagged a number of awards in International Property Development in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Manila in 2014. Its Primavera City development project also in Cagayan de Oro City has been recognized and cited by the Climate Technology Initiative Private Financing Advisory Network as the “Most Promising Clean Energy Investment Opportunities” in 2013.
A mixed-use commercial-residential building, Primavera is sustainably built at the Cagayan de Oro Pueblo de Oro Township, strategically located near SM Cagayan de Oro and major establishments uptown, including a call center. The building is built to maximize natural ventilation and light, and equipped with photovoltaic solar panels on its rooftop.
The complex also has a green inner courtyard that helps mitigate the high temperature year-round. Its cantilevers, likewise, create shadow effects on the condo units from the sun’s direct radiation with a dramatic decrease in temperature. These are just a few of the building’s special features that will help its residents save more than 20 percent in energy costs.
IDC believes nature holds the answer to sustainable design. Taking a cue from Mother Nature herself, the company strives to develop self-sustaining, flood-free and earthquake-resistant structures which are inspired by the beauty and functionality of nature. These green structures fuse human technology with the best that nature has to offer.
In 2008 the National Statistical Coordination Board declared Cagayan de Oro as “The City of Golden Opportunities” with its vast agricultural lands and coastal areas that facilitate easy trade and convenient transit to Luzon and other islands in the Visayas.
Aside from its superior agricultural advantages, CDO is also dubbed as the auto-hub of Mindanao with major automobile showrooms, including Honda, Mitsubishi and Toyota, dotting the Iligan-Cagayan de Oro-Butuan road.
Ayala Land Inc. invested P5-billion pesos in instituting a multi-establishment, “mini-Glorietta” in the heart of the city in 2012. At present, the Centrio mall has over 44,000 square meters of leasable space.
Mindanao contributed 14.32 percent to the country’s GDP in 2013. CDO forms part of region’s economic hub, alongside with fishing industry giant General Santos City and Fruit Basket of the Philippines Davao City.
Tourism is also expected to boom soon in CDO, with its whitewater rafting assets. The city attracted half a million tourists in 2012, but 5.08% of the total were foreign visitors.
Business continues to hum in the city with the growth of its annual business registrations up by 45.22 percent from January 2014 to January 2015. Between January and March 2015, CDO registered 1,415 new businesses.