The second edition of the
prestigious Property Awards 2011, recognizing excellence in Commercial Real
Estate was a grand success with participation from leading developers and other
real estate professionals. The evening at Westin Hotel, Mumbai on December 13,
2011 saw developers and architects of state- of -the -art projects emerge
winners.
UBM Asia’s
Executive Vice President, Michael Duck gave the welcome address which
was followed by a thought provoking panel discussion on the topic, “Commercial
Real Estate: The Harbinger of Economic Growth.”
The discussion emphasized the role and importance of commercial real
estate in boosting the economy and how both impacted each other. The panel was of the opinion that the current
slowdown in the economy could be improved only if the government went ahead and
introduced the second line of reforms and completed infrastructure projects.
While developers had a long term vision and were ready to take the plunge in
making investments in various locations these could be meaningful only with the
necessary interventions and initiatives by the government.
The evening also saw the release
of a coffee table book on the evolving business districts of Mumbai titled
“Evolutionary Workplaces: New Vistas, New Horizons.” The book provides a preview of Mumbai’s
business districts, their USP and future potential which will serve as a guide
for both the domestic and foreign investor looking to invest in India and in
understanding Office Spaces in these business districts.
The highlight of the evening were
the Nomination category awards which saw Oberoi Commerz at Goregaon, Mumbai win
the Luxury Project of the year award; Platina building at BKC from the Wadhwa
Group, Mumbai winning the Commercial Project of the year award; Citibank won
the Occupier of the Year award for its eco friendly initiatives at its Nirlon
Knowledge Park facility,
Eco-project of the year award was
won by Sobha Developers for the Bayer Eco Commercial Building while the Office
Architect of the year award was bagged by Morphogensis from NCR region.
The awards constituted three
sections, the nomination category, the survey category and the management
awards. The winners in the nomination category were through nominations invited
for commercial projects from leading developers, architects and occupiers of
office spaces. These were then evaluated on the criteria of innovation, impact
on the end user and design aesthetics. The winners were evaluated and selected
by a screening panel and collegium of eminent real estate personalities.
The survey category winners were
chosen through a survey of industry stakeholders. Here the three top office
Space developer awards went to Ascendas India, Peninsula Land and TCG Real
Estate while the three top mall developer awards went to Phoenix Mills,
Ambuja Realty and K Raheja Corp. The
Trusted Commercial Property Advisor of the year award was received by CB
Richard Ellis, South Asia while the trusted Retail Property Advisor of the year
award went to Jones Lang LaSalle.
The two management choice awards
for Property Personality of the Year for notable contributions to commercial
spaces in India went to Mr Raj Menda, MD, RMZ Group and the Young Property
Entrepreneur of the year award to Mr Neel Raheja, Group President, K Raheja
Corp for augmenting commercial spaces in India through his contributions and
achievements.
The awards were under the aegis
of UBM India, part of the $2.5 billion
UBM plc, listed on the London Stock Exchange, which worldwide organizes 300
events, publishes 200 magazines and periodicals and hosts 200 websites.
