Bacolod set to upstage Iloilo as WV’s ‘mall capital’

“Doing a mall is not only construction of the physical place: what is important is the merchandising mix. We strive to serve the convenience of the public. We want shopping at our malls to be a unique and an enjoyable experience.”
--Henry Sy

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY --WHEN the SM City Prime Holdings, owned by the late Henry Sy Sr., opened its 8th SM
Supermall in Iloilo City on June 11, 1999, Iloilo City earned the reputation as the “Mall Capital of Western Visayas”.
No present-day mall in Western Visayas has eclipsed SM City Iloilo’s vast size, a four-level complex composed of lower ground floor, upper ground floor, second floor with a total retail floor area of 181,657 sq.m. located at Mandurriao district.
Even if all the malls in Iloilo, Bacolod, Roxas City, San Jose de Buenavista, Kalibo would be joined under one roof, none could match SM City Iloilo’s imposing physical structure that features eight cinemas, food hall, food court and a cyberzone; the SM Foodcourt on the Lower Ground Level of the Main Building, SM Cyberzone at the Third Level of the Northpoint, SM Foodhall at the 2nd Floor of the Northpoint.
Only SM City Bacolod (divided into two buildings called the "North Wing" and the "South Wing" connected by two bridge ways that allow patrons to walk between the two structures), which opened on March 1, 2007, could come near SM City Iloilo’s magnificence in size and value.

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Robinsons Mall also sprouted in Western Visayas’ two major cities, but Iloilo City still retained the kingship in as far as the title of “Mall Capital” in the region is concerned.
But this title may soon be taken away by Bacolod City.
Arra B. Francia reported in the BusinessWorld that Megaworld Corp. is investing P1.2 billion to develop a three-storey mall inside its 34-hectare Upper East township in Bacolod City.
Quoting a statement Megaworld Corp issued on May 24, 2019, the report said the Upper East Mall will cover 24,200 square meters in gross floor area and will have restaurants, four cinemas, an open-air food hall, and an indoor garden.
The Upper East Mall will also reportedly feature a 48-meter clock tower, seen to serve as a landmark for the township’s six-lane main avenue spanning from Lopez Jaena Street to Circumferential Road.
Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan said in a statement: “We are curating an architectural masterpiece that depicts the cosmopolitan vibe of our Bacolod township. This is just the first mall that we are building in this township because there is still more room for future expansion.”
Megaworld will reportedly use a solar panel roofing for the mall, as well as other energy efficiency features including perceived airconditioning cooling design, escalators with crawling features, rainwater harvesting system that will use the collected water for plants, and gray water recycling system.
Francia reported further that “a gray water recycling system means that water discharged from the sewage treatment plant will be used for secondary flushing of the mall’s toilets and urinals.”
Megaworld expects to complete the mall by 2021.

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Francia reported that “it will be then be directly connected to the transport hub that the company is building across the township’s central park, which in turn faces two residential towers called One Regis and Two Regis.”
Upper East Mall forms part of the company’s P28-billion investment to develop the Upper East in a span of 10 years.
“In the next three to five years, we will see the residential towers, office towers, commercial buildings, hotel, church, parks, and this new lifestyle mall rising. We will also be opening the Upper East Avenue to the public in two years,” Mr. Tan said.
Aside from the Upper East, Megaworld is also developing a 54-hectare township called Northill Gateway along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road. The estate will have its own lifestyle mall and residential villages--Forbes Hill and Fountain Grove.
Megaworld’s net income attributable to the parent grew by 16% to P3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2019, after consolidated revenues surged 15% to P14.9 billion.
The BusinessWorld report also said shares in Megaworld dropped 0.91% or five centavos to close at P5.44 each at the stock exchange on Friday.
The beauty of modern capitalism is it brings unlimited economic progress to cities.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)