By James A. Loyola
Megaworld Corporation, the country’s largest developer of integrated urban townships, is spending P1.2 billion to build a three-level lifestyle mall inside its 34-hectare The Upper East township in Bacolod City.
“What we are building in The Upper East is not just an ordinary mall. We are curating an architectural masterpiece that depicts the cosmopolitan vibe of our Bacolod township,” said Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin L. Tan.
He added that, “this is just the first mall that we are building in this township because there is still more room for future expansion.”
Covering a gross floor area of 24,200-square meters, the Upper East Mall is set to become Bacolod’s new architectural landmark, reminiscent of New York City’s Upper East Side cityscape.
Upper East Mall will house several rows of restaurants facing a garden of century-old trees that will be surrounded by Koi ponds.
The mall will also house four (4) state-of-the-art cinemas and an open-air Food Hall with an indoor garden.
To be managed and operated by Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, the Upper East Mall will also be highlighted by sustainable features such its own solar panel roofing, energy efficiency features such as perceived airconditioning cooling design, escalators with crawling features, rainwater harvesting system, and a gray water recycling system.
The mall will be directly connected to the future Transport Hub of the township, and just across the central park facing the two residential condominium towers of One Regis and Two Regis.
Upper East Mall forms part of the P28 billion capital spending that the company earlier announced. It is expected to be completed by 2021.
“We are excited to see The Upper East transforming into a modern central business district (CBD) of Bacolod. In the next three to five years, we will see the residential towers, office towers, commercial buildings, hotel, church, parks, and this new lifestyle mall rising. We will also be opening the Upper East Avenue to the public in two years,” said Tan.