Condo developer Gwen Ku Wong delivers homes people need and want.

Gwen Ku Wong, president of LK Global Realty and Development Corporation is very familiar with the Congressional Avenue area.  She says, “I grew up here. This is where I lived for  25 years. It’s very near shopping malls, schools and  government offices. Travel here is always a breeze.”

So when LK Global was scouting for a location to build a condominium, she naturally gravitated to familiar ground. The project eventually became Cherry Orchard Suites, which stands on the corner of Saturn and Neptune Streets in Congressional Village. Construction began last year and will be completed before the end of 2009.

The structure is right behind the popular Cherry Foodarama, the supermarket that became the inspiration for the condo’s name. “We wanted something that would easily be associated with the location,” Gwen explains. “It was also serendipity that the cherry blossom or Sakura, Japan’s national flower, is a delicate and beautiful flower. It connotes springtime which is what we want our buyers to feel.”

Unlike most condos that are towering residences, this one is only eight stories high. The design is in keeping with the minimalist and modern Zen theme. Buyers may choose from one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. The two-bedroom units are semi-furnished with a ref, gas range, washing machine and two air conditioners.

Gwen tapped media personality Boy Abunda as endorser. “He’s been a friend for over twenty years,” she says of Boy. “He is very articulate. He can communicate the message we want to deliver and he’s been sharing with us many good ideas so we can make our project very successful.”

Interestingly, Boy never lived in a condo and never had any intention of doing so until LK Global’s offer came along. “I know that living in a condo means being very close to your neighbors. They’re just a wall away,” says Boy. “Kapag tumira ka sa condo, parang makikisama ka sa lahat ng tao doon.”

What made Boy reconsider was he saw it as a chance to encourage people to invest in buying a home. “I like the concept of selling a home. It’s everyone’s dream to live in a nice house.”

He was further heartened when he discovered that some of the members of his Backroom staff and a number of ABS-CBN cameramen have bought units at Cherry Orchard Suites. Boy relates, “Tinanong ko yung isang cameraman kung bakit siya bumili ng condo dito. Simple lang ang sabi niya, ‘Gusto kong magkabahay. Kaya naman ng suweldo ko.’”

In the midst of the global financial crisis, real estate is still booming. Gwen attributes this to the fact that developers like her address a very important need. “The market is really there. Middle class families need housing,” she says.

Gwen and LK Global are very confident about their prospects that they are building more condominiums. It has launched the LK Global University condominium hotel in Lipa City Batangas. An education/residential/commercial complex in one, it puts five formidable schools in one area: Ateneo Graduate School of Business, De La Salle Lipa, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and the Royal British College. Target market for this includes international students (mostly from China and Korea) who want to avail of quality education.

Gwen got the idea for this when she participated in an international trade fair and learned that Chinese students were looking for affordable schools where they could study college and learn English en route to finding jobs in the U.S. and Europe “It would be much cheaper for them to study in the Philippines and find work in U.S. and Europe, than in going directly to the U.S. and Europe to study and then work,” says Gwen.

Their company’s latest endeavor is the Treasure Towers in Sta. Mesa. There will be three towers, with one catering solely to students. A special feature of this is the Museum of Chinese Antiquities, a repository of Chinese artifacts directly donated to Gwen’s father.

Gwen has put something "extra" in her property ventures. In a way, they’re also redefining the real estate game. Gwen says, “We hope that our plans will blossom and bear fruit.”