DoubleDragon builds CityMall in Boracay

PROPERTY developer DoubleDragon Properties Corp. is set to build a CityMall-branded community shopping mall in Kalibo, Aklan, the international gateway to the world-famous Boracay Island.

DoubleDragon told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday that its shopping mall arm, CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. (CMCCI), had forged a deal covering a 1.1-hectare prime commercial lot in Kalibo.

By going to Kalibo, DoubleDragon said CMCCI was set to “uplift community mall standards” and “revolutionize the community mall industry in the Philippines.”

The site for CMCCI’s community mall is near the Kalibo Public Market, Kalibo Pilot Elementary School, Aklan Memorial Hospital, Dr. Rafael S. Tumbokon Memorial Hospital and Kalibo Institute.

It is within the commercial and residential zones in the town proper of Kalibo.

Kalibo, the capital of Aklan in northwest Panay Island, is a first class municipality. It is the international gateway of the Western Visayas Region.

It is also famous for the Sto. Niño Ati-Atihan festival held every January.

“As a major tourism entry way, the inflow of tourists to Boracay Island catalyzes rapid economic expansion and municipal landscape development – making it ideal to put up a CityMall in the area,” the disclosure said.

DoubleDragon wants to build an inventory of a million square meters of leasable space by 2020 by creating a chain of 100 community malls under the “CityMall” brand, alongside other commercial and office developments.

CMCCI is a 66-percent owned subsidiary of DoubleDragon, while Henry Sy-led SM Investments Corp. is a strategic partner with a 34-percent stake.

The CityMall chain is envisioned to become one of the largest branded community mall networks in the Philippines with floor areas of about 5,000 to 10,000 square meters in each location and will be located in prime locations, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao. Doris C. Dumlao