Developer Confirms Replacement Is “Bigger, Better, and Approximately 40% More SM”
SM Mall Announces New Branch on Location Where Previous SM Mall Was
Developer Confirms Replacement Is “Bigger, Better, and Approximately 40% More SM”
SM Prime Holdings announced it will demolish an existing SM City mall and replace it with a larger one on the same footprint, ending what its press release calls “the original SM era” and critics call “a building that was fine.” The new mall, SM Grand City, opens in 2027 at 40% more square footage and features a rooftop park, a dual-IMAX cinema complex, and a food hall described as “curated” rather than “food court,” despite being structurally identical to a food court. The project creates 15,000 temporary construction jobs and 8,000 permanent retail positions announced first by SM, and second by environmental groups, who noted it also displaces 4,200 existing jobs at the current mall, the fate of whose tenants has not been clarified. SM’s spokesperson confirmed anchor tenants including SM Supermarket, SM Department Store, SM Cinema, SM Appliance Center, and SM itself will return. Asked if these are the same company, the spokesperson confirmed they are all SM. Small enterprise tenants received a letter expressing “deep gratitude” and describing the rebuilding as “an exciting opportunity for everyone,” without specifying how. The public awaited the opening with the specific Philippine retail anticipation reserved for SM a chain residents describe as slightly too expensive, inexplicably crowded, and impossible to stop going to.
SOURCE: Bohiney News.