Big new SM mall opens in Cebu

SM Seaside City is deemed as an “architectural jewel”

THE COUNTRY’S leading shopping mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. is opening on Friday (Nov. 27) a big new shopping mall described as an “architectural jewel” along the reclaimed South Road Properties in Cebu.

This marks SMPH’s 56th mall in the country and the third in the country’s second most important metropolis next to Metro Manila.

The new shopping destination mall – called SM Seaside City – provides additional 430,000 square meters (sqm) in gross floor area (GFA), expanding SMPH’s total retail space to 7.3 million sqms in the Philippines.

SM Seaside City Cebu has a nautilus-inspired design of concentric arcs from a central multi-purpose space featuring a “Seaside Tower“, a 147-meter iconic viewing tower which offers a sensational panoramic view of the entire city. A Sky Park provides a unique setting for diverse dining outlets in an elevated garden with soothing water features.

SMPH has two other older shopping malls in Cebu, namely SM City Cebu and SM City Consolacion.

The new mall is touted to be the first of its kind in urban development in the South Road Properties, one that also promises to “revolutionize the malling experience not only in Cebu, but in the whole southern portion of the Philippines,” the property firm said in a press statement on Thursday.

“We are inspired by the success of our Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, the first lifestyle city project or mixed-use development that offers retail, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers. We are replicating this concept of ‘lifestyle cities’ in Cebu as we open the SM Seaside City mall. We see Metro Cebu as one of our important growth corridors in Visayas and Mindanao following our growth track in Metro Manila,” SM Prime president Hans Sy said.

The new mall promises to provide to local communities “fresh” lifestyle options in food, fashion and entertainment.

The new destination mall will open with 80 percent of space already awarded to tenants. It will be the venue of “unique” and “world-class” events and entertainment, the company said. Anchor tenants include The SM STORE, SM Supermarket, Forever21, UNIQLO, Our Home, Ace Hardware, SM Appliance Center, Watson’s, The Body Shop, Kultura, BDO Unibank and Chinabank. The mall will also have a skating rink, eight cinemas houses and 5,000 parking slots.

SM Seaside City Cebu is the first of many developments envisioned by SMPH in the 30-hectare SM Seaside Complex. As the anchor development, the project is envisioned to transform the city’s landscape as SM Prime builds residences, offices, an arena, a five-star hotel, and convention centers. The complex also features “The Cube”, a steel sculpture that symbolizes “strength and stability of Cebuanos” alongside SM’s “continued commitment to excellence.”

This is the sixth SM Supermall to be opened this year, after SM Center Sangandaan, Cherry SM Shaw, and SM City Cabanatuan.

To date, SM Prime has 56 malls in the Philippines and six in China with an estimated combined gross floor area of 8.3 million sqms.