SM North EDSA to undergo P2-billion facelift

MANILA, Philippines - Shopping mall giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. is giving SM North EDSA a P2-billion facelift to keep it going for several more decades and respond to the ever-changing needs of the public.

In a press briefing following the launch of Sky Garden at SM North EDSA, SM Prime president Hans Sy said the company is refurbishing the main building in line with continuing efforts to reinvent it as a dynamic shopping destination in the northern portion of Metro Manila.

“We will redo the main building. We will give it a totally different look similar to The Block. It should be ready by the first quarter of next year,” Sy said.

Sy said the main building, which has been in existence for 25 years now, needs to be renovated to allow shoppers to further enjoy their shopping experience.

Part of the redevelopment of SM North EDSA is the P600-million Sky Garden, which features the Roof Garden, The Sky Dome, retail, dining and entertainment outlets.

SM Supermalls president Annie S. Garcia said the Sky Dome is open for concerts and promotional activities. It has a seating capacity of 1,500 and a movable stage to accommodate different types of events.

With the completion of Sky Garden, SM North EDSA’s gross leasable area is now over 445,000 square meters, making it SM Prime’s largest shopping mall to date.

Jeffrey C. Lim, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of SM Prime, said SM North EDSA contributed about 13 percent of SM Prime’s total revenues last year and expects its contribution to increase in the coming years especially with the completion of its rehabilitation.

SM North EDSA has an occupancy rate of 98 percent and has seen marked increases in sales and foot traffic over the past year.

The old annex building which measures 40,000 square meters, will also undergo an extreme makeover.

SM Prime has set aside P12 billion this year for the construction of new malls and expansion of existing ones given the steady flow of remittances from Filipinos working or living abroad.

By yearend, SM Prime expects its gross floor area to rise by five percent or 214,000 square meters to 4.5 million square meters from only 4.3 million square meters in end-2008.

Of the total capex, P6.5 billion will be used to expand operations on the domestic front while the balance of P5.5 billion will go to its international expansion.

In the pipeline is the development of the group’s properties in China – Chongqing, Suzhou and Zibo which are targeted for opening in 2010-2012. This is in addition to its three existing malls – SM Xiamen, Jinjiang, and Chengdu.

Suzhou, with a gross floor area of 73,000 sqm., is under construction and is expected to open early 2010. Zibo and Chongqing, which has the biggest population in China, are scheduled to open in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Local malls that are slated to open this year are SM Las Piñas and Rosario, Cavite.

In the pipeline are SM Tarlac; SM San Pablo and Calamba in Laguna and SM Commonwealth.

SM Prime is also leasing property in Taguig which will be converted into a department store and supermarket. Construction is expected to start towards the end of the year and is targeted for completion in 2011.

In addition, SM Prime is studying the viability of putting up a mall in Cabanatuan where it owns a property.

The company continues to be on the lookout for prime locations in Metro Manila and provinces for future expansion.