HAR Properties: Developing Unique Real Estate in Beirut
HAR Properties is a dedicated real estate company providing all types of real estate services, more particularly developing projects. Based in Lebanon, with a regional outreach, we develop our own real estate projects, as well as develop third party operations.
Interview with Philippe Tabet, General Manager of HAR Properties
Can you give us a quick history of the company, and its work in the Lebanese real estate market?
Created in 2009, HAR Properties is a dedicated real estate company providing all types of real estate services, more particularly developing projects. Based in Lebanon, with a regional outreach, we develop our own real estate projects, as well as develop third party operations.
The domestic real estate market has changed in the last few years, how has HAR properties accommodated to these changes with the building, sizing, and pricing of its properties?
For us quality is not a matter of size. It’s about finishing the work with great honesty and optimization of the space. The most important features of our projects is the quality of architecture and design. It’s one of our main focuses.
Our concept is to show art from the architecture of the building. It is the art of the city. When you look at a nice building, it’s like a beautiful painting in the middle of the street. Again, appealing design is our main goal.
Describe the range of demographics that you sell your properties to.
I don’t have a range. It’s very wide, because our customers range from single to married couples elderly and young. I don’t like to limit myself to a range, our apartment spaces are flexible to welcome people from different ages.
Back in 2010, the company started Aya Towers. Has it been completed? It was described as an original tower concept, how so?
The old buildings of Sanaa in Yemen inspire the architecture of AYA building. We have created a piazza in the middle of the project surrounded by boutiques and restaurants all around. It will emerge a vibrant life around the project by mixing residential with retail and offices in a very smart way.
Tell us about UPark. It seems very New York.
UPark is a project launched in 2011. It is located in the old industrial area in Achrafieh that projected the industrial look of the building. We tried to preserve the atmosphere of an industrial area. This is how it is in Seoul, New York and all the suburbs of big cities, where industries are located. Now more and more industries are moving far from the cities and people live in these kind of old industrial buildings. A 2,500 sq m of common garden was created to improve the surrounding and offering for every apartment the luxury to have a view on that garden where they can sit and socialize in this green space, which in itself is quite unique inside of Beirut.
Can you tell us about any new projects you are currently working on?
We just launched Allée des Arts in Gemmayze Street. It’s a mix-use project composed of 56 apartments, 3000m2 retail. An art gallery in the middle of the project with a pedestrian street lining the building from side to side. We started selling this project a month ago and have already sold around 40% of the project.
Our concept is to show art from the architecture of the building. It is the art of the city. When you look at a nice building, it’s like a beautiful painting in the middle of the street. Again, appealing design is our main goal.
Is “going green” something HAR properties incorporates into the construction of its buildings?
Our first project AYA is a green building. It’s a LEED-certified building, targeting the silver rate. We are trying to aim green for all our projects.
The company has been established for five years now, playing in the same game as companies that have been in this business for over 20 years. Can you tell us what your competitive advantages are over the other players in the market?
We are not competing with anyone. We just try to give our very best product to the city and to our clients. As I mentioned before, we try to focus on the design of our building. So, developers with this philosophy are very few and the number of players in this niche who really care about the design and not only concerned about the commercial aspect of the project are very little.
Philippe, I want to thank you for having us. We look forward to seeing your new projects come up all around Lebanon.
FAIR USE POLICY
This material (including media content) may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the page (including the source, i.e. Marcopolis.net) is permitted and encouraged.