CONVERTING PRIVATE HERITAGE PROPERTIES

IF our built heritage is to be preserved, private heritage property owners will need support in meeting their many challenges. Our Heritage Homes has positioned itself as a social enterprise geared toward providing related services to these owners.

Right now, Our Heritage Homes is a booking platform catering to travelers craving alternative stays in heritage B&Bs and hotels. Their listing so far includes five properties in Northern Luzon, eight in Batangas, and another eight in the Visayas. It intends to support heritage homeowners in maintaining and operating their heritage properties as small businesses, contributing to cultural preservation and economic development.

Doh Eain, its Myanmar parent company, had to pivot to the Philippine market when the political crisis in Myanmar erupted, coinciding with the pandemic. It describes itself as a "participatory design practice" that considers the neighborhood and community when monetizing heritage properties. Now it is hoping to make built heritage conservation an engine for sustainable and livable cities.

The company brings to the Philippines its learnings from converting heritage properties across Asia. "We learned that heritage homeowners' requirements vary from region to region and that there is no one set of services/solutions that would fit across all markets," says Dennis Hapatinga, Our Heritage Homes' Filipino Global Marketing director.

"Here in the Philippines, most heritage properties are only available for short-term accommodations, unlike in the case of Georgia and Myanmar, where mid- to long-term leases are very common. Because of this, the support and service offerings we extend to our homeowner partners are customized to fit the market needs."

Sustainable heritage requires government support. Hapatinga adds, "The Philippines, to a certain extent, has a structured process, but the implementation varies from region to region depending on how active the local government unit (LGU) is and where the value of heritage preservation sits in their order of priorities."

Filipinos may consult with Our Heritage Homes on planning and advisory in their property's adaptive reuse and restoration. The company specializes in preserving the architectural elements of historic houses and the aesthetics and emotional value that have accrued through time in the neighborhood.

Most private heritage homeowners are also daunted by the cost of restoration as well as maintenance. They leave their properties to caretakers and opt to build new houses. "For this reason, we have started testing crowdfunding to see how best we can support our homeowner partners. In addition, Our Heritage Homes is looking to bring its restoration finance offer, i.e. the provision of investment capital followed by a period of revenue share," Hapatinga says.

Doh Eain started in 2015 with Emily Röell, a Dutch national working in Myanmar with UN agencies when the country was opening up. One day she met a local taxi driver, Gulam, who was struggling to make ends meet. Finding out that Gulam owned a heritage property, she saw an opportunity to convert it and lease it to the many Western expatriates working in the country at that time.

International expansion

"Gulam's friends also owned heritage homes. One restored apartment led to another," said Ar. Tun Ye Wai, director of Property and Design. Over time, Doh Eain became known for converting gross trash alleys into flourishing gardens and community spaces, especially in places like Yangon.

Because of the 2021 coup d'etat, however, the expats were forced to leave Myanmar. Aside from pivoting to local middle classes and lowering prices, Doh Eain created Our Heritage Homes to network with private heritage homeowners in the Philippines, Georgia and Sri Lanka. It has been reaching out slowly to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan and Singapore these past few months.

It headquartered in Singapore, however, because of the stable political landscape and the developed heritage protection laws. The City State harbors many examples of sustainable heritage properties, like the shop houses. Despite its reputation for being a modern city, its heritage community is robust and homeowners cherish their patrimony.

Hapatinga says that some of Doh Eain's other programs, such as the neighborhood network, will also be rolled out in the Philippines.

This may come as welcome news to heritage homeowners who have long histories and great stories attached to their property. Ar. Tun does not want to encourage them to sell. If they do decide to sell, though, Our Heritage Homes can identify suitable buyers who have a passion for vintage houses so that their estate remains intact.

An antique house is a diamond in the rough. It only takes vision to bring out its innate luster.

2024-04-22T16:16:04Z dg43tfdfdgfd