A record 55 entries across all sectors of property development were received.

“The property sector is an important contributor to the overall economy, and the awards actively foster development excellence across the country and industry,” says SAPOA CEO Neil Gopal.

“These awards are widely recognized and coveted, and as a result the competition is fierce.”

Judged by a multi-disciplinary panel of 17 judges, the 2010 awards will be presented in 11 categories – plus the overall green building award.

Awards will be given for office, retail, industrial and residential developments, as well as refurbishments, mixed-use, international and social/environmental impact projects. The category of ‘Other Developments’ includes hotels, leisure and dealership developments.

“The category for office developments has proved to be the most competitive with record entries received for this award,” says John Truter, chairman of the SAPOA Excellence Awards Committee.

In addition, there will be a special, once-off award this year for excellence in the development of stadiums for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The submission of entries for this particular category will remain open until 31 March 2010.

Despite the bumper number of submissions, tough economic times in the past few years are reflected in the entries that have been received by the panel.

“There is definitely a more cautious approach this year,” says Truter, “developers in general seem to be focusing on refurbishments and extensions to existing properties, while entries in the residential category specifically have dropped – an indicator of market trends in the past 12 months.”

Awards sponsor, Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, managing executive Frank Berkeley, says that recognising excellence in the industry is an integral part of the vision of Nedbank Corporate Property Finance. “This is an opportunity to showcase the excellence of world-class South African property developments across the different sectors of the market, and these awards have unearthed some sterling examples in the market.”

The overall green building award ably demonstrates that developers are taking a more serious approach to sustainability and climate change, and awareness for green building principles has increased.

Nedbank Corporate Property Finance has a particular interest in development excellence; Phase II of the bank’s head office building was the first commercial property to achieve a Green Star Rating from the Green Building Council of SA.

“Nedbank is committed to making every effort to play its part in addressing climate change issues, from being the current leader of the South African Carbon Disclosure Project Index  to being the first SA bank that signed up to the Equator Principles and the first large SA corporate to commit to carbon neutrality,” explains Berkeley.

Finalists and category winners will be announced at the 42nd annual SAPOA International Convention and Property Exhibition that will take