With Po siblings at the helm: ArthaLand taking off to greater heights

MANILA, Philippines - The Po brothers, all four of them, grew up tightly knit, typical of boys born just a year or two apart.

They know how to have fun, but they also know the value of hard work and a good education. They are all brilliant, with all four of them graduating either summa cum laude or magna cum laude from universities abroad. 

“When we do things together, we’re really good,” said Leonardo Arthur, the youngest.

Indeed, they’re so close that the brothers got used to doing things together. And when they do, they could take on the world.

And that is actually what they’ve been doing now, as hands-on businessmen, leading the family’s different businesses such as the family-led listed boutique property developer ArthaLand Corp. to greater heights.

They are the sons of Ricardo Po, among the 50 richest men in the Philippines according to Forbes magazine, whose flagship firm, Century Group, is the largest canned tuna company in the country.

While growing up, their father stirred their interest in the real estate business, showing them the value of hard work. 

“Our dad would drive us around the city or residential villages and point out things like: ‘look at this building, observe how it’s on the corner so there’s commercial value on more than just one side’, or ‘look at that house, see how it’s facing east so it is facing the sun in the morning and not in the afternoon’ or ‘notice how that building is designed, the design is such that years from now it won’t look dated and old,’ said Christopher, the third among the Po brothers. 

“In other words we were trained while growing up to think about what makes real estate interesting and valuable,” he added.

The elder Po would explain to them the different structures and architectural designs, his children, Ricardo Gabriel, Teodoro Alexander, Christopher and Leonardo, easily became very familiar with real estate and property.

Now such memories from childhood would prove to be useful for the Po brothers who are now at the helm of ArthaLand. 

With them steering the company, ArthaLand continues to expand in the tradition of luxurious yet environment friendly developments.

Indeed, ArthaLand is known for its green, world-class and sustainable projects in the residential, office and leisure segments.

From its first project, Arya Residences, another sustainable development is now rising in full swing in Bonifacio Global City.

This is ArthaLand’s Century Pacific Tower, a triple A- grade office building at the corner of 5th Ave. and 30th St., a prime block just across the luxurious Shangri-La at the Fort and near the future Philippine Stock Exchange building. 

During a recent site visit, company officials said the premium grade building is designed by SOM New York, the group behind the One World Trade Center and Burj Khalifa in Dubai. 

True to the company’s environment friendly design, the 30-story Century Pacific Tower has been recognized as the Best Green Building in the country. 

“In all aspects, this project that is designed to hold the headquarters of multinational companies, is fully green. It is on target to achieve dual green building certification from both the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and the Philippine Green Building Council’s Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence  programs,” ArthaLand said in a project profile. 

 During the site visit, ArthaLand assistant vice president for technical service Edgar Sabidong said making their development sustainable and environment friendly is really a step in the right direction. 

 “We know that by doing so, we can make a difference,” he told reporters.

 For example, the tower’s façade system uses an outer glass that would allow tenants to use their air-conditioning system more efficiently, Sabidong said.

 There are also incentives for tenants who will be using compact vehicles or those that consume less energy. Bicycle racks are also available. 

 At present, construction is already 53 percent complete. Sabidong said the company is on track to completing the project by May 2017. 

 Another project which the company just launched is the 38-story Cebu Exchange office building, ArthaLand’s first project outside Metro Manila. 

It is also a grade A office development which will rise across the well-known Cebu IT Park. 

In all, ArthaLand now has three projects: Arya Residences, Century Pacific Tower and the Cebu Exchange. 

With the Po brothers at the helm, the company will make sure that every development carries the DNA imbibing its corporate philosophy rooted on being world class, boutique and more importantly, sustainable.