SM_City_North_EDSA

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SM City North EDSA

SM City North EDSA is the first and flagship SM Supermall by Henry Sy's SM Prime Holdings, the largest retail & mall operator in the Philippines. The Mall ranks as the 2nd largest shopping mall in the Philippines in terms of Gross Floor Area (GFA). It is located at the intersection of North Avenue and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City, approximately a kilometre west of Quezon City Hall and 10 kilometres north of Makati City. SM North EDSA's First major tenants are Manels, Jollibee, Ricky Reyes, National Bookstore, French Baker, Sportshouse, McDonald’s, Max's of Manila, Goldilocks Bakeshop, Dimensione, Magic, Ideal Vision, Fabric Warehouse, and Multi time. Construction started in 1983 and opening in 1985, 1 year before the country's record deficit levels and political turmoil; it then survived and succeeded to this day. The Mall has gone several major expansions and renovations in the 1990s. It features SM Department Store, The Flagship SM Supermarket, and Owned tenants, a bowling alley, a food court, a Sky Garden, an entertainment stage for musical and other events, a 12-theatre cineplex, a Hypermarket and 820 specialty shops and restaurants. In 2006, Ayala constructed TriNoma, a shopping mall across the street, next to SM North EDSA that created significant market competition. Ongoing renovations and expansions is set to be finished by 2009. It will then become the largest Shopping Mall in the Philippines and 3rd largest Shopping Mall in the world, next to CentralWorld in thailand, Golden Resources Mall and South China Mall (closed July 2008) in China.

History

Back then, the lot that was purchased in 1978 was no better than a vacant swamp remotely located from the center of the metropolis. SM Prime’s Chairman, Mr. Henry Sy, Sr. saw the potential of the place, standing at the crossroad for regional traffic coming to and from the northern provinces of Luzon. Mr. Sy took his inspiration to build SM North EDSA from the first few malls built in the U.S., which he thought Filipinos will want to have. Ironically, many thought his plan was ill-timed because the construction of the North EDSA mall happened when divisive political issues were prevalent in the country. The mall opened in 1985

The mall was opened on November 29, 1985, the first mall ever built by SM with a gross floor area of 125,000 square meters, at the height of one of the country’s worst crises. “We had a tough time getting tenants to fill up the place. It was a risky period in our country’s history. So, we opened with only the SM Department Store and another small shop as the mall’s tenants,” said Mrs. Teresita Sy-Coson, Vice Chairperson of SM Investments Corporation. But to everyone’s surprise and those of many skeptics, crowds came and filled the mall. “It was an instant success,” noted Mrs. Sy-Coson.

The mall was then composed of just the main building and outdoor parking areas. As more tenants came in and entertainment concepts were introduced to the mall such as cinemas, SM North EDSA came to be known as one that institutionalized the “one-stop shopping concept” and was the first to introduce “malling” as a pastime in the Philippines. The 5-level carpark, also known as Annex 2 building was built soon after, with the lower ground floor of the building quickly converted into more enclosed mall space. The two-floor annex was built after, expanding the mall's floor area and providing space for a bowling alley and four more movie theaters. The Main Building and The Annex was expanded with a Lower Ground Level and the first level of The Carpark Building was converted to a Cyberzone mainly for tech and gadget shops and later on, the Main Building added a 3rd level.

Businesses and real estate thrived where SM North EDSA was built, that over a period of 20 years, it has seen four expansions including The Block which opened in 2006. In July 2006, Annex 3 now better known as The Block at SM City North EDSA was opened featuring the Hypermarket, Toy Kingdom, additional four movie theaters and several shops and restaurants. In February 8, 2007, SM closed the Annex building from the public and later on, demolished for a major renovation of The Annexes. The Cinema 1 located in The Block was converted to a Digital cinema format. According to studies of large malls in the world by Eastern Connecticut State University, SM City North EDSA was ranked the 6th largest mall in the world in terms of Total GFA (Gross Floor Area) of 331,861 m² and was ranked second largest in the country.

News

The Greening of SM North EDSA

Construction is now underway to create a 400-meter long “The Sky Garden Park” with a gross floor area of approximately 15,500 square meters and a "Sky-Garden" located at the top of the car park section of the New Annex Building.

In "The Sky Garden Park", shoppers can stroll along a landscaped and covered path, pleasantly lined with tropical trees, flowering plants, and shrubs. It will stretch from one end of "The Annex" to the end of "The Block". A number of entryways will be constructed that leads to different parts of the mall. It will be decorated with a lagoon, an aviary, an amphitheater, cafés, specialty restaurants, and novelty shops. A waterfall will cascade from the Skygarden at level four down to "The Sky Garden Park" at the ground level facing EDSA— producing a piece of art that promises to create a calming and colorful scene, especially at night when various lights provide an added dimension to the falls and the pond beneath. Below the Skygarden will be a transport depot for buses and added parking space for shoppers.

This is the first SM Supermall to add green elements in honor of the original SM North EDSA, being the very first in the Philippines.

After construction and redevelopment, including the Skygarden and the Annex building expansion, SM North EDSA’s gross floor area will quadruple to 456,000 square meters from its original size, making it the country’s largest mall, surpassing SM Mall of Asia.

SM City Annex set to open in November

SM City North-EDSA's new Annex Building, is a 92,830-square-meter, six-level Annex, which will rise on the site of the old Annex building, was recently presented to tenants giving them a first look. It was designed to create an enjoyable and festive shopping experience, and to provide an entertainment environment.

Design

The exterior of the new Annex is a simple block clad in undulating perforated aluminum panels. The façade is interspersed by either glass or metal-clad cubes. The undulations of the cladding panels make for every dynamic composition. The eastern end of the Annex overlooking the Sky Garden Park will consist of a monumental glass wall, which will stretch to the whole height of this end wall. This creates a grand shop front from which the atrium, its scenic lifts, as well as various retail outlets and restaurants can be seen from The Sky Garden Park. The choice of aqua suggests an affinity with other SM malls, SM Megamall and SM Mall of Asia. In all, a dynamic composition is created aimed to give the mall a distinct architectural identity with a balance of dynamism and elegance.

Inside tenants are arranged along the ribbon-like atrium with vertical circulation provided by escalators and lifts at opposite ends. Interiors are clean and modern, and centered around a curvilinear atrium, which stretches its length. Daylight is provided through a series of circular glass cones set into the ceiling, giving the interior a light, airy feeling.

Tenant Mix

The new Annex's tenant mix will include high-end retail, various dining establishments, a Cyberzone, a games arcade, and a bowling center, creating a cutting-edge mix of shopping and entertainment.

Its lower ground floor will include leisure shops while its upper ground floor will consist of general services. Nourishment and indulgence shops will be on the second floor, while specialty shops and fashion finds complete the third floor. The biggest Cyberzone is the attraction of the fourth and fifth floors, while an upcoming call center will be on the sixth floor.

Cyberzone

One of the new Annex' major attractions is the Cyberzone, and its fourth and fifth floors are dedicated entirely to the virtual world. The Cyberzone at SM City North EDSA will be the largest tech center in all SM malls, and a one-stop haven for the tech-savvy shoppers. With over a hundred shops and tech service centers, it will include tenants offering hardware and software solutions, mobile communications, Internet and gaming services. The Cyberzone is envisioned to be the center of the technology lifestyle: more tech, more brands, and more shops.

Buildings

The buildings are interconnected by a footbridge. A footbridge is being constructed to connect "The Garden" to the sidewalk at the back of TriNoma. Another 200-meter long footbridge is also planned as an exclusive bridge way to SM Developments' Residential Towers called The Grass Residences.

Main Building

The Original and popular building features more than 500 shops and restaurants, 8 SM Cinemas, A Food court, A 4-level Department Store and A Supermarket. The main building is also undergoing renovation with new claddings designed by Arquitectonica Interiors, an international interior management firm owned by Arquitectonica that also designed The Podium, SM Mall Of Asia and the new and ongoing renovation of SM Megamall.

Annex Building

The Original Annex was built in the 1990's for expansion. It featured 200 shops and restaurants and a bowling alley. It also included the SM Appliance Center, Hardware Workshop and World of Fun. In February 8, 2007, the Annex was closed from the public for demolition. The demolition was part of SM North EDSA's Redevelopment Plan.

The New Annex will feature a Sky Garden, The Largest Cyberzone, SM Bowling Alley Relaunch and surprise anchors. The Annex Building is set to open by November 2008 in which it will have more than 400 shops and restaurants. The annex's main designer is Arquitectonica, the same architectural management firm that designed The Podium, SM Mall Of Asia and the new and ongoing renovation of SM Megamall.

The Block

SM Annex 3 or widely known as The Block is the high-end part of the Mall, featuring SM regulars; the Hypermarket, 4 Digital Cinemas, Cinema 1 as Digital Cinema and Cinema 4 to be converted as an IMAX Theater, Fitness First, Our Home, Kultura Filipino and Toy kingdom. The mall also features international brands of shoes and clothes and other specialty shops. The Block was designed and constructed by Arquitectonica, the architectural management firm that designed The Podium, SM Mall Of Asia and the new and ongoing renovation of SM Megamall.

Carpark Building

The Carpark Building or Annex 2 is part of the additional buildings built in the 1990's. The carpark building features the first branch of the Cyberzone and additional 8,000 parking spaces in which the building is connected to the main mall with a footbridge up to the 2nd floor. As part of the redevelopment plan, the building is also undergoing some major renovations.

Warehouse Building

Located near The Block. This building served as The Super Sale Club for wholesale of goods. SM then changed the format of wholesale and merged it into a Hypermarket format, then The club is discontinued. The name was changed to The Factory Sale Outlet Warehouse Building, still the same as what it once was since the 1990's. Now, the building holds the ACE Hardware and other outlets. The latter part of the building is converted as additional parking space and a small parcel of land at the back of it was bought for future expansion, currently a parking space.

Anchors

SM Supermarket

Built on 1985, SM Supermarket is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments. The store attracts more than 80,000 visitors a day located in the ground level of Cinema 9-12 Building. SM Supermarket in SM North EDSA is the very first branch and flagship store of SM Supermarket, Inc.

SM Department Store

The SM Department Store is a 4 level shopping mecca. Slated from the basement to the third level of the mall, attracts more than 140,000 visitors a day and features The Quarter for Men, Women, Children and A Homeworld inside the anchor. It starts from the Upper Ground Floor up to the Third Floor.

SM Cinemas

SM Cinema-North EDSA is the first digitalized movie house in the Philippines and owned by the West Avenue Theaters Corporation built on 1985. The SM Cinema is composed of 8 digital auditorium style cinemas and accounts almost 60% of the ticket sales. Currently, SM North EDSA is undergoing major renovations and competitions of cinema ticket sales against TriNoma, which has rivaled SM North EDSA in ticket sales because of their Stadium Style seating.

IMAX Theater

The IMAX Theater for SM North EDSA is placed at the Cinema 4 of SM North EDSA The Block. SM alloted a P100 Million for IMAX Theaters in both North EDSA and Cebu. The ticket price worth P350 to P500 same with the price in IMAX at SM Mall of Asia. The IMAX theater in The Block, can seat 400 people. The 3rd IMAX theater in the Philippines is going to be located in SM City Cebu.

SM Bowling Alley

The bowling alley of the mall is the first X-lane bowling center in the Philippines which is located inside the Annex. On the fourth quarter of the year 2006, SM demolished the building for a major renovation. On November 2008, SM will open the building together with the re-launching of the SM Bowling Alley and Sky Garden.

SM Hypermarket

Located on the lower ground floor of The Block, the SM Hypermarket is a large shopping facility that carries enormous range of products under one roof. The SM Hypermarket is a combined SM Supermarket and SM Department Store.

Cyberzone

The SM Cyberzone is shopping hub for gadget lovers. Located at the back of the "Main Mall", it offers 120 shops and a few restaurants. The Cyberzone is one of the destination for buying gadgets and other technology-related stores. The Cyberzone at the Carpark Building will be closed down will be relocated at the Annex Building and will become the largest Cyberzone branch in all SM Supermalls.

Sky Garden Park

It is mainly located between the Main Building, The Annex Building and The Block. The Sky Garden Park will feature various plants and trees and will also feature a lagoon, a waterfall, an aviary, an amphitheater, cafes and several shops & restaurants.

Future plans

Redevelopment Plan

The redevelopment of SM City North EDSA is currently ongoing and set to be completed in 2009. The redevelopment is set to be a big competition to its near mall, TriNoma and set to be bigger than SM Mall Of Asia. It's GFA which is 351,872 sq.m will surpass the GFA of the SM MoA which is 407,101 sq.m and soon to be 460,000 sq.m than its current GFA, making it the country's largest mall and the 3rd largest in the world. They're still planning if they will re-dub the name of the mall. Many sources that they will re-dub the mall as The Block.

Future Expansion

SM Acquired the old barracks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at the back end of San Francisco High School that is now converted into The Grass Residences. After the current redevelopment, SM City North EDSA still have more room to expand. The Mall's property is surrounded by Philippine Government's DSWD owned lands like the Bagong Buhay lot, Golden Acres, and The Quezon City Science High School at the back, San Francisco High School and the Department of Education in between the SM Annex and The Grass Residences and The Philippine College of Surgeons in the middle of The Annex's Buildings. Future Expansions would include also the renovation or a proposed expansion of the Carpark Building.

LRT-1 Station

The Manila LRT Yellow Line will be extending Northward ending near North Avenue Station in Trinoma. SM confirmed there will be a station located beside the SM Annex Building in their own design. The Station will be directly connected to the mall for quick access. This will make transportation easy for shoppers coming from southern parts of Metro Manila who like to go to SM North EDSA.

Gallery

Bibliography

Pocock, Emil World's Largest Shopping Malls. American Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University: Shopping Mall Studies. Eastern Connecticut State University. Retrieved on 2007-02-15..