Portrait of a Businessman As an Optimist Barack Obam Calls Hope As a “Belief That There Are Better Days Ahead”

Portrait of a businessman as an optimist Barack Obam calls hope as a “belief that there are better days ahead”. Ambassador Jose Antonio, chairman of Century Properties, believes in the great potential of the Philippines by creating Century City, a resounding statement of excellence to the world. Carlomar Arcangel Daoana sits down in a one-on-one with the man whose aspiration for the country is as large as the “city” he is creating Photography by Francis Abraham Jose Antonio looks like any typical businessman. Wearing a suit and glasses and with his hair combed slick to the side, he readily cuts an intimidating figure, talks with the assurance of someone who knows an industry inside out and effortlessly recites the numbers that can make Jor break a project. But despite his formal demeanor, Mr. Antonio is a maverick, with tricks up his sleeves. The result of his non-conventional approach to business has resulted to starting developments that ease the Philippines to the company of architecturally-savvy countries. How can you explain the determination of Mr. Antonio who, during the height of Asian crisis, managed to pull off a luxurious condominium development whose unit cost $1M a piece? The Essensa East Forbes, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei, remains to be the most-awarded residential structure in the country. Ever the challenger, Mr. Antonio is at it again, this time creating a self-contained community called the Century City. The brand that is Makati Though Mr. Antonio could have easily set-up Century City in the sprawling vicinity of Bonifacio Global City, he was still attracted to the brand that is Makati. When the opportunity came to develop a sizeable parcel of land located at Kalayaan Ave. cor. Makati Ave., he wasted no time in securing the said property. “I believe that a brand is a powerful tool to position any project or any product,” Mr. Antonio explains. “If you have the brand, it goes a long way. Makati is the highest branded city in the Philippines. We thought it was a stellar opportunity for us to win a bid and be able to develop Century City… where people can have their place of work place or residence a place to shop.” Located in what is now considered the Modern Makati (MoMa), Century City is a P40-billion missed-use development that will feature exclusive residential towers, corporate office buildings, a recreational club and an organic lifestyle and entertainment complex. Just like in their other projects, Century City is headlines by an international designer, Jon Adams Jerde, founder of The Jerde Partnership International, whose design philosophy , dubbed as “placemaking,” restores the “authentic urban experience that is often lost in the process of modern planning.” Embodying this philosophy is a string of well- known projects that includes the Universal City Walk in Hollywood, the Cybercentre in Hong Kong and the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The collaboration with “starchitects” is pivotal for Century Properties. “Modesty aside,” says Mr. Antonio, “we’re trying to do this at Century City because we believe in the gentrification of that area, gentrification meaning, it’s the upliftment, the improvement in the expansion of the Central Business District.” When they announced that they would develop the area and revealed the masterplan, prices of neighboring properties exceeded a hundred thousand pesos per square meter, Mr. Antonio remarks. “People are waiting and hinging on our development so that their properties also improve in value. And understandably so, because once you have all the conveniences there, then if you are a house block away, you actually become energized too.” Bringing sexy back to the city The First project to break the ground at Century City is the Gramercy Residences, a New York-inspired high-rise residence which boasts of a unique structural complexion. “Hyper- amenitized,” Gramercy boasts of a Sky Park with three-storey waterfalls, three types of pools (multi-level infinity pools, lagoon pools, a children’s pool), a designer café and restaurant, a health club and a garden within a reflecting pool. The second condominium to emerge is the Knightsbridge Residences whose bespoke interiors evoke “the spirit of cool Britannia and the global flair of Modern Makati.” Just like Gramercy, Knightsbridge offers fully-fitted and fully-furnished units, a trend started by Century Properties. Why is Century Properties bringing Western influences to our shores? “Well, it goes bacj to the very notion of Century City,” Mr. Antonio says. “We’d like to be an international place and focus the attention to the public to other great cities in the world and put them altogether inside Century City.” For Mr. Antonio, it is important that the “city has to capture the imagination” not just of visitors but also of its residents, just like how he was smitten by New York the first time he set foot on it. The city that never sleeps has actually inspired him to make Century City a vibrant community 24/7 and proclaim to the whole world that Manila, just like the other great capitals of the world, can be sexy too. His love for the Big Apple has been immortalized when Century Properties set up its first off-shore condominium development, the Centurion. “Its location is actually the most expensive in New York,” he says. “We’re near the corner of 5th Ave. and 56th St. That area is called the Theater District because you have Broadway there and Central Park. We also got a very celebrated and legendary architect I.M. Pei to design that project.” Still a good time to invest With the global economic meltdown, it’s just understandable that people will hold back their hard-earned money and wait for better times to invest. But Mr. Antonio clarifies that the Philippines is in a better position to deal with the crisis. “The industry itself is not levered, is not borrowed,” he says. “Most of our buyers pay cash. Very few people go on financing. And because of this people can hold on. They’re not forced to liquidate their holdings which spells a crash in other markets.” The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, adds Mr. Antonio, has instituted reforms that include building up the capital base and the equity to cushion the country from such economic downturn. Because of this, “our banking system is just the nucleus of the financial industry. It’s quite strong as opposed to the other parts of the world where investment banks are levered 30:1, which actually breaks a new rule in finance where the healthy company should have 2:1 ratio.” Despite the political noise, says Mr. Antonio “the year 2007 was the highest in the history of our goal: 7 ½ percent. We must remember, a growing country with 90 million people and 2.3 percent growth rate and we add roughly 2 million people a year. So that becomes an opportunity and a challenge. An opportunity because you have a bigger market, a challenge because a country must be able to give opportunities to its citizens.” The sons also rise Mr. Antonio is married to Hilda Antonio. The couple is blessed with four sons–John Victor, Jose Marco, Jose Roberto and Jose Carlo–all of whom are helping in the family business. Mr. and Mrs. Antonio must have done something right. All of their sons graduated with top honors from the prestigious universities of either Wharton or Stanford. Before working for their father, they had to battle it our in the corporate arena of New York in order to imbibe real-life situations and hone their business acumen in the busiest financial district in the world. More than knowledge, Mr. Antonio emphasizes the importance of wisdom, which is something that “you’ll learn through experience by listening to the right people and following what they’re doing.” Needless to say, the father is proud of their manifold accomplishments in their relatively young careers. “I’m inspired by their hardwork, their ability to absorb business situations, they’re adaptability and the fact that they contribute their own ideas.” Born to succeed Though no doubt it’s the combination of determination and hardwork, with a dash of luck, that has brought Mr. Antonio to where he is now, he credits the people who have believed and patronized the projects of Century Properties for his success. “You might have the best ideas in the world but if it’s not absorbed by the public then it won’t give you justice to go to the next,” he muses. He is happy that they have shared in his vision to create landmarks that can compare to other developments in the world. For him, the Philippines is well-equiped to become world-class and “there’s no reason why we cannot be competitive, at least be equal, of not better with other cities in the world.” Finding a silver lining in every dark cloud that looms over his life and profession is what has made him soldier on through the years. “You cannot excel in anything if you’re not an optimist. How can you sell a product when you say ‘Hey this will not sell.’ You have to have faith in the market, in your customers, in yourself.” Mr. Antonio, with complete faith on himself and the world, says that he is subservient to the logic of the future but not without the audacious hope that continues to rage his heart. When it comes to condos, the best units are usually sold out before they even break ground and chances are, you are simply buying Wa concept (read: imaginary building) before they turn into tangible objects many years later.

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