Property developer DoubleDragon Properties Corp. has sealed two prime commercial property deals in Iloilo on which it will build new community shopping malls under its upcoming CityMall chain.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, DoubleDragon said its unit CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. (CMCCI) had signed a long-term lease agreement with Iloilo Commercial Development Corp. (ICDC) for a 26-year lease of two prime lots in Ungka, Pavia and Tagbak, Jaro for the construction of two CityMalls.
The first site in Ungka, Pavia has an area of 11,918 square meters (1.19 hectares) and is beside the Pavia People’s Transport Terminal. The property is situated at the corner of the national highway, which links the downtown Iloilo and the Iloilo International Airport, and the-newly created access road which leads to Jaro, the busiest and the largest of all districts of Iloilo City.
The company noted that this property was conveniently located near several large-scale residential communities.
On the other hand, the Tagbak, Jaro site has an area of 8,000 sq m (0.8 hectare) and is across the Tagbak bus terminal, the biggest transportation hub in Iloilo City.
Tagbak terminal is where the buses, jeepneys and shuttle vans pick up or drop off passengers to and from Antique, Aklan, Capiz and neighboring towns such as, Ajuy, Barotac, Leganes, Passi, Sara and Zarraga, among many others.
ICDC is owned and controlled by the Iloilo-based Que family which currently operates Iloilo Supermart, the largest supermarket and community mall chain in the city with seven branches. The family has been into the supermarket business for over 30 years.
“The Que family has several properties for their expansion and were also planning to expand their own community malls but decided to work with CMCCI instead, recognizing the synergy that will be created by the partnership between DoubleDragon and ICDC,” the disclosure said.
DoubleDragon aims to open 100 CityMall community malls by 2020 and aims to hit P1 billion in net profit by 2016 and P4.8 billion by 2020.
The shopping mall business under CMCCI is expected to become the company’s flagship business and a key component to meet its goal of becoming one of the country’s leading property developers by 2020. Henry Sy-led SM Investments Corp. has a 34-percent stake in CMCCI but DoubleDragon kept a 66-percent interest as well as management control.
DoubleDragon is joint venture between Mang Inasal founder Edgar “Injap” Sia II and Jollibee group founder Tony Tan Caktiong.
The CityMall chain is envisioned to become one of the largest independent community mall chains in the country with a footprint of about 5,000 to 10,000 square meters each. Each community mall will be located in prime locations all over the country, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.