More Cebu malls sprout, expand

CEBU is set to become an emerging shopping destination in the Philippines as existing mall operators are expanding and new ones are set to rise in the different parts of the province in the coming years.

Ayala Center Cebu mall developer Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) president and chief executive officer Francis Monera said Cebu’s shopping market has been “tremendously” growing not only in Metro Cebu but in other key cities and towns in the province.

Ayala Center Cebu
photo by [colorblind] - Flickr

“There is a lot of money in Cebu. Offer something of value and it’s taken,” Monera said.

Capitalizing on the demand for additional mall space to cater to the growing mall shoppers and vendors, CHI earlier mulled another expansion plan for Ayala Center Cebu to complete the original development of the Cebu Business Park (CBP).

Monera earlier said the Phase 2-B project will begin by March or April this year, starting with a study on how to develop a concept for another shopping mall expansion.

Monera, however, clarified that total project cost is yet to be determined (and not the P2-billion which was previously reported).

Following the “face lift” of the Ayala Center Cebu mall-with the opening of the three-story annex in the middle of 2006 and the re-designed al fresco lagoon area in the first quarter of this year-Cebuanos will soon enjoy a more expanded shopping mall in the next few years, completing the development of CBP’s 9.6-hectare super block.

Expansion and renovation of its mall in Cebu is part of CHI holding company, Ayala Land Inc.’s efforts to stamp the Ayala mall brand on all its malls, which have been regarded as the Ayala retail group.

In the downtown area, Cebu Central Realty Corp. (CCRC) is currently undergoing phase two of its expansion project for its mall venture Elizabeth Mall (E-Mall).

CCRC president and chairman Augusto Go earlier said some 5,000-square meters of leasable spaces are currently under construction at the eastbound Sanciangko area of the mall’s property.

About 80 units of stalls, excluding kiosks and carts, are projected to be accommodated in the four-story wing which has an additional basement parking of 2,445 square meters.

The expansion project is slated to open within the first quarter of the year.

Other cities, towns

Other than Ayala Center Cebu and E-Mall, shopping centers are also sprouting in other cities and towns in Cebu.

Another mall developer, Golden Great Value Properties (GGVP) is set to launch next month phase one of Parkmall@168 (Parkmall) located at the Mandaue City reclamation area.

GGVP chairman Carlos Co said the mall involved an investment of P300 million to P400 million.

Parkmall will feature a rotunda, ala Fuente Osmeña, amid a park setting where people can stroll, shop and dine al fresco, and enjoy the scenery.

Christopher Tio, Parkmall business development director, said the concept of a Fuente Osmeña park is set to bring back an “experience of our childhood,” since parks like Fuente and Plaza Independencia are popular hang-outs since the 1980s.

Aside from the piazza and SaveMore supermarket, Parkmall will also feature a kids’ village and a tourist and traveler center, which will be equipped with hotel check-in desks, airport and seaport shuttle service, lockers and showers. The mall will be able to accommodate about 700 cars in its parking lots.

Apart from the cities of Mandaue and Cebu, the municipality of Consolacion welcomed Fooda Mall late last year.

Foodasaversmart Inc. completed the construction of its P200-million business and commercial center that is said to compete with existing mall developments by multinational companies.

“The presence of Fooda here in Consolacion will certainly contribute to the coffers of the municipality in terms of business taxes and other regulatory fees,” Consolacion Mayor Avelino Gungob said.

For his part, Edward Gaisano, vice president for operations of the Metro Gaisano group of companies, said Cebu’s retail market will continue to be upbeat this year.

Gaisano said the province has a “favorable” economic climate which has become a magnet for more developments in the retail sector evidently shown in the expansion of malls, food and garment outlets, as well as the entry of new players.

The Metro Gaisano group is still eyeing feasible areas for supermarket or mall-type developments not just in Cebu but in other parts of the country.
Article source: Sun.Star Cebu

Parkmall@168

Location: 168 Ouano Avenue, Mandaue Reclamation Area, Mandaue City
Developer: Golden Great Value Properties
Gross Leasable Area: 30,000 square meters

About Parkmall

Parkmall is the first development of Golden Great Value Properties, the commercial
center company of the Cebu Oversea Hardware Group, one of the biggest in its
category.

This upcoming mall is Cebu’s biggest value shopping destination – about 30,000
square meters of choices, situated in a six-hectare land expanse in 168 Ouano
Avenue, Mandaue Reclamation Road, Mandaue City. The area is just beside the
Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), and right in the heart of an emerging
commercial district in Mandaue City.

Parkmall is a complete experience. The mall will be a smooth blend of landscaped
Park and fully-airconditioned mall for comfortable shopping, accented by a Piazza
which also serves as a gathering place, truly inspired by the Fuente Osmeña. The
Park is envisioned to give a venue for people to stroll, relax, jog and do other fun
outdoor activities. The piazza, on the other hand, is a venue for main mall activities.
Beside the Park is a Garden Enclave of resto-bars and garden restaurants in standalone
structures. A Pasalubong Center will offer a wide variety of food and souvenir
items from places tourists may have visited. The Gateway Center is a first-of-its-kind
hub for shuttle services to and from the Mactan International Airport and the Pier,
and other convenience-focused facilities to assist traveling businessmen and
transient travelers get to and from the hotels, meet and dine with business partners
with so much ease.

One of the unique concepts is the Al Fresco Experience, Cebu’s first outdoor-indoor
dining and relaxing of this scale. Whether dining or bar-hopping or enjoying a sip
of coffee while facing the Park and the CICC beyond, this is an experience to watch
out for. There will be an expanded supermarket or a Hypermart. One of innovations
is a unique concept of a “kids’ mall in a mall” called Kids Village. The Home Zone will
consist of Do-It-Yourself home improvement shops, appliance and furniture
centers, and boutique shops giving choices across a wide range of prices. A Value
Zone is one of the anchors and will consist of factory outlets of branded goods and
tiangge-type stalls in an airconditioned environment. These zones will be
surrounded by leisure shops, food plazas, gadgets center, and wellness shops.
The mall will have over 700 slots for parking. Jeepney routes to the mall are also on
their way to reality.

As a tribute to the rich tradition of entrepreneurship in Cebu, Parkmall’s Zones will
be dotted with concept stores of Cebu icons—Cebu-homegrown brands which
have made it outside Cebu. Another Parkmall vision that is out-of-the-box is
providing an incubation platform for the new breed of Cebu entrepreneurs.

Construction Update

as of December 8, 2007

photo from sugbianon

Cebu Boardwalk Mall

he Business, Tourism and Leisure Hub… A celebration of Cebu’s vibrant island life

Developer: FF Cruz and Company, Incorporated
Target Completion Date: 2008

Latest Construction Update

as of December 5, 2007

photo from slemarken

Paseo Talisay

New commercial center to rise south of Metro Cebu

A BRAND-NEW five-hectare commercial center is set to start construction in the south of Metro Cebu, the first of its kind to rise in the mostly residential district.

John Paul Chiongbian, president of DevAsia Corp., said the complex, initially called Paseo Talisay, will have a Robinsons Department Store, a nighttime entertainment strip and a night market as its main attractions. Construction is set to start January 2008.

“There will also be call centers and retail outlets, all dedicated for the people of the south,” Chiongbian told BusinessMirror.

“We hope to spur growth in the south. With us paving the way, the net projects should be better and it will only bring good things to the residents of the south,” he said.

The complex will be built right in front of the Talisay City Hall and the Cebu South Coastal Road, giving it superhighway access right into downtown Cebu City and the South Road Properties (SRP).

“Everybody is saying that Talisay is too laid-back to host a commercial center. We do not believe that,” Chiongbian said.

Metro Cebu’s south district—Talisay and Carcar cities and the towns of Minglanilla and Naga, including parts of Cebu City—had long been deprived of commercial development, with all the major malls as well as commercial and business centers all located in the north.

Chiongbian, however, said the inevitable development in the Cebu City-owned 240-hectare SRP would give the south its much-needed break.

“We want to be there when the south explodes with opportunity,” he added.
DevAsia’s foray into the south comes on the heels of its successful establishment of 5,000-square-meter Paseo Cebu in Cebu City’s northern urban tip. Paseo Cebu hosts more than 100 night-market stalls, food outlets and mini bars, altogether sharing a common sitting area and entertainment center.

Chiongbian said during a regular weekend, Paseo Cebu gets around 5,000 patrons. Work is already finishing for Phase 2 of Paseo Cebu.

Article source: Business Mirror

Cebu expansion not final yet

WHILE the owner and operator of SM malls has yet to come up with final arrangements regarding its plans for the South Road Properties (SRP), a company executive said his group has to have something concrete by 2008.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) president Hans Sy said he does not want the company’s expansions in Cebu to be overtaken by that in Mindanao.

“I have to close a deal by 2008. We are on an expansion binge in Visayas and Mindanao. In Mindanao, we have already started,” he told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview yesterday.
He said that while SMPHI is “very serious” about expanding in Cebu, the company has not yet made any final arrangements regarding SRP.

“We have lots of issues to tackle, including the rates,” he told news reporters in a subsequent interview, also yesterday.Biggest mall
Sy said SMPHI plans to build another shopping center, similar in concept to the Mall of Asia but smaller. The Mall of Asia has a gross floor area of more than 38 hectares and is considered one of the biggest shopping malls in Asia.

Sy said SMPHI is also looking at possible sites for another mall in northern Metro Cebu and is eyeing properties between Mandaue City and Consolacion.

“We’re quite serious about expanding. We just hope that this would not be used to raise prices because we also have to look at economics (in our plans),” he said.

He said SMPHI is open to having a long-term lease or acquiring land at SRP.
“Both (arrangements) are okay. It all depends on the rates,” he said.

Despite the existence of SM City and the Northwing, an expansion wing to the existing mall, as well as Ayala Center Cebu, Sy said SMPHI foresees the need for more malls in the province.
He said he is “very positive” about further growth in Cebu’s economy, particularly with the boom in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

In 2006, some 200,000 people found employment in the BPO sector, particularly in contact centers. The BPO sector is known to provide higher than minimum standardwages.

More OFWs

According to the National Economic and Development Authority in a report presented during the Sun.Star Economic Forum 2007, there are about 20 contact centers in Cebu.
Sy said the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is also expected to go up, another factor that will increase consumption.

While dollar remittances of OFWs have declined in value because of the appreciation of the peso, Sy said it cannot be denied that there are many Filipinos working or living overseas. “And the number (of OFWs) is growing,” he added.

“The market is very strong,” he said. “The (appreciation of the) peso is not helping but, looking at the totality (of the situation), it (rising peso) is good because even with the rising oil prices, the effects are not so big.”

Sy warned, though, that the BPO companies are vulnerable to the adverse effects of the peso’s appreciation as their clients are mostly based in the United States and are paid in dollars.

Article source: Sun.Star Cebu