Property giant SM Prime Holdings has expanded its footprint in Mindanao with the opening of a new lifestyle-oriented shopping mall in Cagayan de Oro (CDO).
SM CDO Downtown Premier, which is set to open on May 12 (Friday), will add almost 178,000 square meters (sqm) of gross floor area to the group’s total retail footprint.
“SM Prime is one with the government in creating more opportunities that highlight the economic growth potential of Mindanao. The opening of SM CDO Downtown Premier, which is at the gateway of Northern Mindanao, is our second SM mall in Cagayan de Oro, and fifth in Mindanao which reflects our commitment and confidence to this part of the country,” SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim said in a press statement on Thursday.
About 87 percent of retail space in SM CDO Downtown Premier had been awarded to tenants.
The new mall pitches an elevated malling experience in CDO by offering top amenities to Kagay-anons: Cyberzone, SM Food Hall, SM Bowling Center, five-level carpark building, four digital theaters, two Director’s Club cinema, one large format cinema, an 800-seater Sky Hall similar to what SM Aura Premier has in Taguig City and an al fresco dining and entertainment Sky Garden just like in SM North EDSA in Quezon City.
The new mall has outlets of Ace Hardware, BDO, Chinabank, Forever 21, Miniso, Our Home, Pet Express, SM Appliance, Sports Central, Surplus Shop, Toy Kingdom, Uniqlo and Watsons.
SM CDO Downtown Premier complex also has an eight-level office building catering to business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.
Intended to be a premier shopping address, SM CDO Downtown Premier is located at the bustling central business district of the city and easily accessible to the financial, commercial, residential and learning institutions.
In line with a program on sustainability and integrating disaster resilience into its properties, SM CDO Downtown Premier mall will have a water catchment beneath, which will be able to hold 13,650 cubic meters of rainwater to help lessen flooding in the area.
SM Prime is scheduled to open four more malls in the Philippines this year, namely: SM Cherry Antipolo in Rizal, SM Center Tuguegarao Downtown in Cagayan Valley, SM City Puerto Princesa in Palawan and SM Center Lemery in Batangas this year.
By the end of 2017, SM Prime will have 65 malls in the Philippines – 22 of which are in Metro Manila, 33 in Luzon outside of Metro Manila, five in the Visayas and five in Mindanao – and seven malls in China with an estimated combined gross floor area of 9.3 million square meters.