THE country’s largest mall developer, SM Prime Holdings (SMPH), is opening two new shopping malls in the next quarter.
In a statement Wednesday, it said it will open SM Rosales in Pangasinan and SM Baliuag in Bulacan in addition to the planned launch of the newly renovated SM Megamall and SM Fairview.
SMPH, whose shares are traded at the stock exchange, is seen to end the year with 33 shopping malls in its portfolio.
On Friday, it is set to unveil SM City Marikina, which sits on a 60,000 square meters (sq m) of land and has a gross floor area (GFA) of 122,000 sq m. Its total leasable area is 58,000 sq m. with the SM department store and supermarket occupying 18,500 sqm and 10,000 sq m, respectively.
Its main anchor tenants are SM Department Store and an SM Supermarket. The new mall will also feature a-sq m Cyberzone, where the latest in information technology products and services will be available. Similar to all its other malls, SM City Marikina will offer a complete line of stores, and services for shopping, dining, entertainment, spa, health and wellness.
Marikina is a key city for the group as its shoemakers became vital partners of SM during its growth years in the sixties as a shoe store in Carriedo, Manila. According to SM’s founder Henry Sy Sr., “Marikina was supplying 70 percent of the shoes we were selling at Shoemart. I would like to think that being one of its biggest buyers of shoes, we contributed to the growth of Marikina.”
The mall, which sits on Marikina’s riverbank, was designed by EDGE Interior Design Pty. Ltd., a foreign design consultant based in Australia. “We continue to improve on the look of our malls to make them not just aesthetically appealing, but more importantly, environmentally friendly.” Hans Sy, SM Prime president. SM City Marikina is a very bright mall with glass walls lining its façade to require less light bulbs and equipped with water treatment facilities.
It also has features to make it friendly to persons with disabilities (PWDs) and special needs such as handicap lifts, ramps, drinking fountains and available personnel especially trained to assist PWDs. SM City Marikina, like the rest of the other SM malls, also has a breastfeeding station for nursing mothers.
SM City Marikina is the first mall to be opened by SM Prime this year. In 2007, the company opened three malls, which were located in Bacolod, Taytay and Muntinlupa. SM Prime also acquired three existing SM malls in China, namely SM Xiamen, SM Jinjiang and SM City Chengdu.