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A businessman with more than 40 years of experience in the construction industry joined forces with his son who, with his new ideas, renewed the company's philosophy and energy. Together they are working on one of the most challenging real estate projects of their career: Ciudad Porta Nortebased on colonial architecture and urban planning.

Henry Faarup Mauad's creativity and experience have been key to the development of the real estate sector. A true believer that you have to keep innovating to be successful, he joined forces with his son, Henry Faarup Humbert, to create Ciudad Porta Norte, which emerged under the concept of New Urbanism.

The engineer Henry Faarup Mauad has a prestigious trajectory characterised by the development of multiple urbanisations and buildings, which have won awards and distinctions, as well as for his innovative ideas with several pioneering projects in his time.

Social World video interview with Henry Faarup Mauad and Henry Faarup Humbert.

Together with his son Henry Faarup Humbert he is preparing for his next challenge: Ciudad Porta Norte, a project modelled on romantic European cities with low-rise houses and buildings, colonial architecture, shops and restaurants, temples, schools, sports and health centres within easy reach.

To find out more details, we took a tour with both of them through the city's Old Town, the place where they were inspired to execute the master plan, where the rescue of the sense of community has been paramount in its creation. The design has the firm mission of allowing to build a complete city with the pedestrian as the protagonist and residents with an active life and full of culture that recovers the true meaning of the word "neighbourhood".

VISIONARY FROM CHILDHOOD

With Don Henry's characteristic assertiveness and patience, he tells us as we walk through the Plaza de Francia that it all began when his parents, born in Panama of Danish and Lebanese descent, taught him hard work from the time he was a child. His father worked for an airline and his mother worked in three warehouses they owned in Calidonia. He grew up in a household of five siblings, being the middle child.

While his friends spent their school holidays playing and riding bicycles, he worked in his parents' store, "which taught me the value of work and responsibility". He also had a passion for sports and music, he said, becoming a Panamanian children's table tennis (ping pong) champion and learning to play guitar and piano.

Due to the benefits of being the son of an airline executive, he had the opportunity to travel from the age of 9 and get to know multiple cities with their different cultures and customs, "which gave me the basis for the projects I would develop in the future".

After finishing his studies he worked in the insurance and reinsurance world. In 1980 he formed his first company, Asetecnia, S.A., with which he ventured into the world of real estate with appraisals and inspections for banks and companies.

At the same time, in his initial period of commercial independence, he was part of Tridex (Independent Insurance Adjusters) and later in the development of real estate projects in 1984, forming Colonias de Panamá, today Grupo Colonias. "My passion for real estate was born out of my profession as a civil engineer, as well as during my travels abroad, where I would get ideas on how to improve the quality of life of Panamanians. In 1994 he became a partner and integral part of Costa del Este.

IN YOUR VEINS

After the tour through the quiet cobbled streets of Casco Viejo, we enter the home of Henry Faarup Humbert, who is proof that what is inherited is not stolen. For as long as he can remember he has seen his father involved in entrepreneurship.

Faarup Humbert remembers growing up listening to his father telling him about ideas that would later materialise. "I have very vivid memories of visiting construction projects and going on construction progress tours," he shares.

In addition to his father, his legacy of business creation comes from two of his great-grandfathers, Federico Humbert Victoria, who was one of the promoters of El Cangrejo, and Juan B. Arias, with the founding of Banco General.

As for his grandparents, he highlights the work done by Federico Humbert with the growth of Banco General, by his paternal grandfather, Oscar Faarup, with clothing shops on Avenida Central and now by his father, with all the companies he has created. "Entrepreneurship comes naturally to me, it's in my blood.

IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES

Henry Faarup Humbert confesses that he is a curious, passionate and introverted man, who was not always in the construction industry, even though he was passionate about it. After finishing his studies, he worked in an investment fund for entrepreneurs.

However, he saw the greatest opportunity he had when making a decision about what to do with his life in the creation of "vibrant and progressive communities", which he discovered while studying and living in Austin, Texas, whose characteristics he found primarily in Old Town. He explains that it is for this reason that he resides in the area.

He recalls that, before joining forces with his father, he discussed with him the idea of doing a development with Grupo Colonias. "This was a giant opportunity to build a vibrant community like the one I missed from my university... I recognised this opportunity and acted on it. I'm following in some of my father's footsteps because our interests are aligned".

A NEW CITY IS BORN

Engineer Faarup Mauad was Panama's ambassador to France for 5 years. Upon his return in 2014, he set out with his son to find a site near the city centre to start a new project. They went to the sector of Panama Norte and spotted a property belonging to the Rojas Pardini family.

This gave rise to the vision that this area could become the new development pole of Panama City, and so they began a process of negotiation with them, becoming partners in this mega-project.

"From the beginning, we have worked very closely together, contributing ideas and forging an excellent relationship that we can consider a family relationship.

Faarup Mauad tells us that to develop the master plan they adopted the concept of "New Urbanism", which is nothing more and nothing less than a return to traditional urbanism where the pedestrian is paramount, bringing back the neighbourhood life where children play with neighbours in squares and parks and adults are friends with each other, as our ancestors used to live".

This concept is supported by Faarup Humbert, who adds that the project was designed on the pattern of old cities built before the mass adoption of the car, i.e. before 1930, when cities were built for people.

CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY

Ciudad Porta Norte is currently in the process of building streets and squares. From there they will continue with the bridge leading to Phase 2 with its respective infrastructure. Around 11,000 dwellings will be built and approximately 580,000 m² of retail space will be developed on an area of 262 hectares.

One thing that motivates Faarup Humbert is the freedom of mobility that this community offers to groups in our society who cannot move independently, such as the elderly, children and people with disabilities.

"Unfortunately we live in a city where only having well-made pavements is innovative. Another element to highlight is the respect for nature with the creation of paths, the maintenance of all natural waterways, and the planting of trees. They were incorporated as part of the design and will be a vital component for recreation".

Engineer Faarup Mauad points out that it is an investment of more than 500 million dollars, not counting the construction of houses and buildings. "This mega-project contributes to the development of a new growth sector of the city together with neighbouring projects. At the same time, it creates new horizons for Panamanians who want to have a better quality of life. All this goes hand in hand with the labour force that is generated". Today they have more than 12 developers.

THE VALUE OF THE FAMILY

Don Henry greatly admires his parents, who taught him the most important values in his life, as well as his father-in-law, Federico Humbert Azcárraga, who together with doña Lupita Arias de Humbert formed a simple family with high moral and social values, "with honesty and a lot of social conscience was the pillar for more than 40 years of what Banco General is today".

"Family is the most important thing in my life. His wife, Liz Humbert, to whom he has been happily married for 37 years, has been his faithful life partner, with whom he has four children: Liz Marie, Juliette, Jaqueline and Henry James, each successful in their own fields.

However, he is proud that Henry Jr. has chosen to follow in his footsteps. "We share ideas, we evaluate how to implement them, sometimes there are debates. What's better for a father than to have his children follow in his footsteps - I'm trying to work less and less," he says with a laugh.

MORE THAN A LEGACY

Generational handover is a key issue for Henry Faarup Jr. "At this stage, many companies don't make it... some fail or fail". This happens, he believes, because interests are not aligned.

"One never ends up making the match because the generation doesn't have the will to want to follow in those footsteps. I have followed some of them and I have taken the part that interests me and that has meant that this passion has been strongly transmitted to the project and it has been very important to be able to bring a very pleasant generational change".

Working hand in hand with his father and learning from more than 40 years of experience in Panama in community development has been the best lesson of his life. It has been 6 years of working together, which has filled him with satisfaction.

He is now ready to take on the mission of carrying on the legacy built by his father and passing it on to future generations.

If you want to read the full interview, click on this link to see the "Uncensored" version.

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