06 October 2009
Harry Triguboff, Managing Director of Meriton, has been named Property Person of the Year 2009 by the Urban Taskforce.
While property development generally has been struggling, Harry Triguboff has relentlessly continued investing, building and creating jobs, Mr Gadiel said.
Meriton is now the nations largest multi-unit home builder with work starting on 1,800 new Meriton homes in the last financial year.
In fact, Mr Triguboff has been responsible for the construction of 50,000 new homes over the past 47 years.
Recent business highlights include Meriton’s purchase from Babcock and Brown/Payce of the largest remaining parcel of the Victoria Park site in Zetland, for $109 million. Meriton estimates that this site, together with other recent acquisitions from companies such as Mirvac, Stockland and weLive, will provide the foundation for at least another decade of construction and development opportunity.
Meriton has also completed the final stages of its Crown Square redevelopment on the former ACI glassworks site in Waterloo in Sydneys eastern suburbs, which now boasts some 2,650 apartments, integrated communal parkland, numerous meticulously restored heritage components and a brand new shopping centre.
While Mr Triguboffs business was traditionally focused on Sydney, he has now expanded into the Brisbane property market, Mr Gadiel said.
In fact, in the midst of the global financial crisis he is the only developer to commence construction on not one, but two high-rise residential apartment towers.
The first, ˜Soleil in Adelaide Street, will be Brisbane’s tallest building standing 234 metres, containing some 464 apartments. However it won’t be the tallest for long, because Meriton has just received approval to construct a second 236 metre tower, containing 568 apartments. Meriton has also continued to develop the highly successful “Brighton on Broadwater” precinct on the site of the former Sundale shopping centre in Southport on the Gold Coast.
Also on the Gold Coast, Meriton has launched the latest of its successful serviced apartment properties, containing nearly 200 apartments at Broadbeach. This increases Meriton’s portfolio of serviced apartments’ to 1,400 dwellings.
Meriton is continuing to provide long term rental accommodation across a portfolio of some 2,500 apartments – the vast majority of which are owned by Meriton – making it, Australia’s largest private provider of housing, Mr Gadiel said.
Mr Triguboff is also known for his strong of support of charitable causes.
Mr Triguboff supports the Colorectal Cancer Fund Research Fellowship and the Sydney National Cancer Foundation. He has funded extensive medical research including St Vincents Hospital for research into arthritis, the Heart Research Institute for research into anti-inflammatory drugs, the Murdoch Institute for research into the early diagnosis of childhood diseases and also research into breast cancer. He is also a major benefactor of many schools and other charities in Sydney.
Mr Triguboff is the first person to win the Property Person of the Year award twice he first won the award in 2003.
The Property Person of the Year Award, now in its 7th year, will be presented to Mr Triguboff at a gala charity dinner on Wednesday November 4, 2009. Proceeds will be donated to Warrah Disability Services and St Vincents Prostate Cancer Clinic. In the past this award and event has raised $1.4 million for charitable causes.
Past winners include
- Mr Wal King AO, Chief Executive Officer, Leighton Holdings
- Mr Greg Goodman, Group Chief Executive Officer of Goodman
- Mr Bill Moss AM, Group Head and Chief Executive Officer of the Banking and Property Group, Macquarie Bank
- Mr Lang Walker, Chairman of Walker Corporation
- Mr Liam Forde, Chief Executive of Baulderstone Hornibrook.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
The construction activity made possible by property developers contributes $69 billion to the national economy each year and creates 709,000 direct jobs. The construction industry is Australias third largest source of employment.
