MANILA, Philippines – What will the interiors of the SM Supermalls’ three new mall projects opening in the second half of 2024 look like?
After releasing last April artist’s renderings of the exterior of four new malls (including SM City Caloocan, which opened last May), SM Supermalls released on Friday, August 9, images of the interiors of SM City San Fernando La Union; SM City Laoag in Ilocos Norte; and SM City J Mall in Mandaue, Cebu.
The most striking among the three is SM City La Union, the first SM mall in this northern Luzon province. This mall will have a gross floor area (GFA) of 112,000 square meters.
“New wave of fun malling,” said SM Supermalls. “Bringing La Union’s fun and youthful beach vibe indoors.”
The image shows what appears to be the mall’s main entrance staircase with a blue-waves-themed carpet. The back of the staircase has a large white leaf outline.
SM Supermalls president Steven Tan said in February that the mall in the Philippines’ surfing capital would have “timber” and “beige” in its design.
“La Union would also be great because there will also be an area where you would create that same vibe as the surfing capital of the Philippines,” he told ANC.
Green and white will be the dominant colors of SM City Laoag, also the first SM mall in this northern Luzon city located in the Marcos family’s home province of Ilocos Norte.
“Inspired by Laoag’s coastal desert, this mall celebrates local heritage and culture,” said SM Supermalls.
The mall’s concourse is designed to be spacious with a number of artificial plants and trees.
SM City Laoag will be slightly bigger than SM City La Union with a GFA of 113,000 square meters.
Its roof will have shades of green and white panels, giving it a fresh and cool feel.
SM City J Mall in Mandaue City, Cebu, on the other hand, will have a modern look and feel in contrast to J Center mall’s old self.
Brown and white is the theme with artificial trees in various parts of the mall.
Its food court will also look modern and earth-themed, a stark contrast to most of SM Supermalls’ common eating places in its older malls.
Together with SM City Caloocan, these four new malls in 2024 will add 440,000 square meters of GFA to SM Prime’s portfolio.
SM Supermalls also gave a sneak peek of what to expect from its expansion work in SM Megamall, SM MOA Sky, SM City Cebu, SM City Bacolod, and SM City Iloilo.
SM Megamall will have an “airconditioned lush garden at level 5,” in addition to “brighter, wider, and taller hallways.”
SM is building a “blooming garden in the sky” in its SM Mall of Asia (MOA).
“Expect an amphitheater, a dog park, a professional-sized football pitch, and more,” SM Supermalls said.
In SM City Cebu, its north wing expansion will include a new modern chapel design plus more shopping and parking spaces.
SM City Bacolod’s “transformation” will have a “lush indoor garden,” said SM Supermalls.
In Iloilo City, which is being promoted as a convention center destination, SM City will have its own SMX.
As of the first quarter of 2024, SM had 85 malls in the Philippines with a total GFA of 9.2 million square meters.
These malls had an average daily pedestrian count of 3.5 million, 393 cinema screens, and at least 106,683 parking slots.
SM Prime’s mall business delivered P18.2 billion in revenues in the first quarter of 2024, up 7% from the P17 billion in the same period in 2023.
SM Prime also has eight malls in China, but with only 300,000 average daily pedestrian count.
SM Prime’s mall expansion is now focused in the provinces, including “progressive cities in Mindanao.” Its malls in Metro Manila comprise 41% of the company’s total gross floor area. – Rappler.com
