SM Prime Holdings Inc., the Philippines’ largest shopping mall operator and developer, will open on September 5 its 31st shopping mall in Marikina City.

SM Prime, in a disclosure to the stock exchange, said SM City Marikina, which is along Marcos Highway, will occupy 60,000 square meters of land with a gross floor area of 122,000 sqm.

Total leasable area is estimated at 58,000 sqm with the SM Department Store and Supermarket, the anchor tenants, occupying 15,800 sqm And 10,000 sqm, respectively.

SM Prime said Marinika was an important city for the company as the country’s shoemakers became vital partners of SM during the company’s growth years in the 1960s as a shoe store in Carriedo, Manila

“Marikina was supplying 70% of the shoes we were selling at Shoemart. I would like to think that being one of its biggest buyers of shoes, we contributed to the growth of Marikina,” said SM founder Henry Sy.

SM Prime president Hans Sy, in a statement, said SM Marikina, which sits on Marikina’s riverbank, was designed by EDGE Interior Design Pty. Ltd., a design consultant based in Australia.

“We continue to improve on the look of our malls to make them not just aesthetically appealing, but more importantly, environmentally friendly.’ said Sy.