Durawood, Duraville in joint townhouse

Sister companies Durawood Construction and Lumber Inc. and Duraville Realty and Development Corporation go full blast in their joint effort to develop five middle-scale townhouse projects in and around Metro Manila.

Three of these projects are located in Antipolo City in Rizal: Antipolo Brittany Executive Homes Phases 1 and 2 in Barangay San Isidro, and the Meadowood Royale Townhomes along Sumulong Highway in Barangay Mayamot. The two other projects are the Pasig Millennium Gardens in Maybunga, Pasig City and Mary Cris Complex (Phase 5) Executive Homes in Imus, Cavite.

Since its inception in 1991, Duraville, in its capacity as Durawood’s real estate arm, has produced several thousands of housing units for all economic sectors in strategic areas in Marikina, San Mateo, Angono, and Antipolo in Rizal; Novaliches, Quezon City, Kalookan City, Imus and General Trias in Cavite; Plaridel, Bulacan; and Pasig City.

Durawood was formed in 1983 to serve the market for building materials in Antipolo and other towns in Rizal province. The real estate boom in the 1980’s saw the private sector heeding the government’s call to embark on efficient production of housing units especially for the Filipino households in the lower and middle income brackets.

Durawood’s management decided to spin off Duraville in 1990 to produce quality housing units at lower costs.

"This was possible because as a construction supply company, we could count on a steady supply of construction materials, " said Benson L. Perelonia, Duraville president. " Further, buying by bulk generates savings that we in turn pass on to our homebuyers in terms of affordable prices."

Bolstering Duraville’s track record in housing development are three awards from the government: the Outstanding Socialized Development Award and a Certificate of Recognition for Socialized Housing Development from the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation and a citation for producing the highest volume of socialized housing projects from the Home Guaranty Corporation.

Perelonia, a civil engineer and a director of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations (CREBA ), attributes the company’s competence in real estate development to the management team’s experience in construction entrepreneurship, technological background, and active participation in the advocacy programs of private developers. On the other hand, Orlando Bongat, Duraville’s chairman of the board, had served CREBA as vice president and the Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines as president.

Bongat believes the big challenge facing real estate companies today is to take more responsibility for the quality, efficiency and value of their projects. Antipolo Brittany 1 and 2, Mary Cris Complex Phase 5, Pasig Millennium Gardens and Meadowood Royale Townhomes have two major components in common: One, appropriate construction technology, design, and materials and two, the developer’s keen understanding of user requirements and environmental factors.

Buyers and brokers who want to see the projects may visit or call up Duraville at Durawood Building, No. 177 Sumulong Highway, Mayamot, Antipolo City. telephone ( 645-3977/ 3958 ) and email: [email protected].