Tycoon Andrew Tan-led property developer Megaworld Corp. is investing P1.2 billion to build a three-level lifestyle-oriented shopping mall in its Bacolod City township, The Upper East.
Covering a gross floor area of 24,200-square meters and expected to be completed by 2021, the Upper East Mall is envisioned to become Bacolod’s new architectural landmark with its blend of neoclassical and art deco architecture that is inspired by New York City’s Upper East Side cityscape.
The mall will feature a 48-meter high iconic clock tower that illuminates at night, making it a major landmark along the six-lane main avenue of the township that stretches from Lopez Jaena Street to Circumferential Road.
“What we are building in The Upper East is not just an ordinary mall. We are curating an architectural masterpiece that depicts the cosmopolitan vibe of our Bacolod township. This is just the first mall that we are building in this township because there is still more room for future expansion,” Megaworld chief strategy officer Kevin Tan said in a press statement on Friday.
The mall will host several rows of restaurants facing a garden of century-old trees that will be surrounded by koi ponds, the company said.
It will also house four state-of-the-art cinemas and an open-air food hall with an indoor garden.
To be managed and operated by Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, the Upper East Mall will also touts sustainable features such as solar panel roofing and energy-efficient air conditioning and escalators with crawling features.
It will also have a rainwater harvesting system where the rainwater is recycled for plant watering, as well as a gray water recycling system where the water discharged from the sewage treatment plant is collected and used for secondary flushing of toilets and urinals.
The mall will be directly connected to the future transport hub of the township, and just across the central park facing the two residential condominium towers of One Regis and Two Regis.
The P1.2 billion budgeted by Megaworld to build the Upper East Mall forms part of the P28-billion capital spending that the company announced for this township.
“We are excited to see The Upper East transforming into a modern central business district of Bacolod. In the next three to five years, we will see the residential towers, office towers, commercial buildings, hotel, church, parks and this new lifestyle mall rising. We will also be opening the Upper East Avenue to the public in two years,” Tan said.
Aside from The Upper East, the company is also completing its 54-hectare Northill Gateway township located along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road within the boundary of Talisay City and Bacolod City. The township will also have its own lifestyle mall called Northill Town Center beside the residential villages of Forbes Hill and Fountain Grove.