It all started with shoes. And it was but fitting that as with SM celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, it should open its first supermall this year in Marikina, the country’s shoe capital.
As Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando, SM Prime Holdings president Hans T. Sy and SM Supermarket president Herbert T. Sy welcomed the first wave of shoppers, thousands trooped to the new mall, revitalizing the long relationship between SM, founded by Henry Sy Sr. as a shoe store in 1958, and the dynamic City of Marikina.
A simple blessing was held the day before, highlighted by a concelebrated mass led by Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes. This was followed by the ribbon cutting ceremony led by the city’s top officials—Mayor Fernando, Vice Mayor Marion S. Andres, Rep. Marcelino R. Teodoro (First District), and Rep. Del R. de Guzman and former Marikina Mayor and MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando.
Henry Sr., Felicidad, Hans and Herbert Sy, as well as SM president Teresita Sy-Coson welcomed the guests to the new supermall.
Located along a 59,000 square meter site along Marcos Highway, Barangay Calumpang, the 125,000-sq m mall is SM Prime Holdings’ 31st supermall and the first to open this year.
The mall is expected to be a growth catalyst for Marikina City. To meet the growing demands of business in the area, the government has city ordinances on waste management, vehicular traffic management, repair of road and bridges, construction of new arterial roads, and rehabilitation of Marikina River.
The Riverbanks Center has been declared as the city’s business, finance, and commercial triangle. SM City Marikina is located in the Riverbanks Center and will serve customers in this bustling city as well as those in Pasig, Cainta, San mateo, Quezon City and Antipolo.
With its grand appearance, high ceilings, interplay of glass, steel, and Modern Asian touches, the new mall will be a landmark in the area. Interiors have spacious areas with multicolored lighted ceilings with circle accents.
The SM Department Store and Supermarket anchors the mall and the mix of SM mainstays like the SM Appliance Center, ACE Hardware, the Surplus Shop, Watsons, and top homegrown and international brands will provide everything that shoppers need.
Mallers will also have great food choices. The mall will also have eight cinemas, and a Cyberzone, which will feature the latest in computers, gadgets, and telco innovations. It has more than a thousand parking slots, a jeepney terminal, a four-meter wide pedestrian overpass from the LRT Santolan Station, and another 2.4 meter wide overpass to the bus bay area to ensure the safety and convenience.
The supermall is eco-friendly, where a leisurely walk to and from the riverside is encouraged through an interlnked walkway, accessible even to the physically challenged.
SM City Marikina’s design team includes Jose Siao Ling and Associates, architects; D.A. Abcede and Associates, project managers, and BF Corp., general contractors.