TYCOON HENRY SY’S SM PRIME Holdings Inc. has bought a three-hectare property in Lucio Tan group’s North Belton Communities, a mixed-use township development in Quezon City where it will build a new shopping mall.

Lucio-Tan led Eton Properties Philippines Inc. and Philippine National Bank recently signed a memorandum of agreement with SM Prime involving the sale of a portion of the group’s 13.8-hectare North Belton project. SM Prime will construct a commercial/shopping complex within two years from execution of the agreement, Eton said Friday in a statement.

“Our partnership with SM in North Belton Communities is all part of the master plan to give the best value to our homebuyers. The presence of a mall within the project brings in convenience and adds value to the community and its neighborhood,” Eton president Danilo Ignacio said.

Eton is the developer of North Belton Communities through a joint venture agreement with PNB as the landowner. It is Eton’s first project to cater to the middle income segment, marketed under the Belton Communities brand. It is home to three exclusive residential enclaves: The Manors, West Wing Residences and West Wing Villas that will eventually be home to 1,600 families.

The MOA signing marks the second tie-up between Eton and the SM Group. The first partnership was sealed in 2009, when Eton and SM’s Super Shopping Market Inc. signed an agreement covering Eton’s two-level commercial center, Centris Station, in Quezon City, where SM Hypermarket is the anchor tenant.

Eton had also signed a memorandum of understanding with Ayala subsidiary Amaia Land Corp., to develop a four-hectare property in Calamba, Laguna, owned by affiliate companies of the Lucio Tan group with Eton as the development manager, representing the landowners.

Eton and PNB are part of the Lucio Tan Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines with interests in airline operations, banking, tobacco and real estate. With a report from Nephele Fabiola Kirong