SM prepares to build a new mall in the Art Capital of the Philippines with the recent groundbreaking of SM Center Angono in Rizal.

Mayor Gerry Calderon and Rizal First District Congressman Joel Roy Duavit were the guests of honor during the simple ceremony held on site.

Calderon said that the opening of SM Center Angono is in line with the municipality’s vision of being an “Angonopolis” in the coming years. The mall will kick start this goal because of the potential role in employment, income and quality of life in the town.

Also present were Angono First Lady Ida Calderon, Rizal Provincial Administrator Russell Ynares, municipal council members Gino Miranda, Joan Saguinsin, Elmer Deloritos, Bryan Cruz, ABC President Joey Calderon, and chairmen of the barangays in the municipality.

SM Supermalls President Annie Garcia and SVP for Engineering Antolin Paule, VP for Operations Liza Silerio, and VP of Engineering Architect Fides Hsu were also present at the event.

The groundbreaking was highlighted by a capsule-laying ceremony in which a national daily of that day and the mall’s floor plan were imbedded for future generations.

Located on a 12,650 sqm site at the entrance of the town between Manila East Road and Quezon Avenue, the mall will open in the second quarter of 2014. The three-story 33,094 sqm mall will be the 51st SM Supermall and the third in the province of Rizal. The other malls are SM City Taytay and SM City Masinag in Antipolo.

SM Center Angono will have SaveMore as its major anchor, as well as SM mainstays and about 140 shopping, leisure and dining choices.

It expects to hire about 2,000 employees, and will have its own rainwater holding tank which will collect and hold 1,600 cubic meters of rainwater and help prevent flood in the community.

SM Center Angono’s design and construction team includes DSGN and Associates, Design Architect; G&W Architects, Architect of Record; DA Abcede, Construction Manager; and Don Builders, Inc., General Contractor.

The SM EDD Mall Design Group is the in-house architect and the SMEDD Construction Group is the in-house project manager.