LAST year, the SM group bagged a deal to acquire a 9.7-hectare property in San Fernando, Pampanga, that used to host the “Paskuhan Village,” a year-long Christmas-themed park that showcases lanterns and other yuletide arts and craft.
 
This was after SM won the bidding conducted by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), an attached agency to the Department of Tourism. The price for the outright purchase of the defunct Christmas park was P10,000 per square meter, SM Prime Holdings senior vice president for commercial properties group David Rafael said.
 
The SM group is now looking at a mixed-use development for this property, which is right across the group’s mall in San Fernando, Pampanga.
  
“It’s still in the planning stage,” the SM executive said.
 
The group is likewise finalizing the masterplan for the large reclamation projects (300 hectares each) in the cities of Pasay and Parañaque. Once the land-sharing and other agreements have been finalized with the local government units, the plan will be submitted to the state-run Philippine Reclamation Authority. The next hurdle will be to get the imprimatur of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda), chaired by the President.
 
On top of these, Rafael hinted of a prospective big property deal between SM and the Manila city government, but not in the form of another reclamation project.
 
Note that there have been rumors about Manila Mayor (and former President) Joseph “Erap” Estrada hatching big property privatization deals in the capital city. We have an idea on which plum property in Manila SM has locked its radar on: A bustling commercial neighborhood it’s no stranger to. With uncertainties surrounding the upcoming presidential and local government elections, the question isn’t “if” the SM group will get it, but “when.” As implied, it already has one foot in the door.