A bigger SM in SRP: SM Seaside City Cebu

SM City Cebu has often been dubbed as a city within a city. It is one of the largest malls in the Philippines and factually, the largest mall in the Visayas. It has landed among the 15 largest malls in the world. With a land area of 11.8 hectares encompassing the 268,611 square meter of shopping floor area, SM City Cebu is quite large, a fact that many Cebuanos have enjoyed since its opening in 1994.

I still remember the time when I was 10 years old when the largest mall in Cebu opened. It was huge. Now, with the addition of the Northwing area, SM City Cebu has reached the grandeur a mall like it would achieve. And yes, it has gained that status and has become a household name for years now.

SM City Cebu is a city of different shopping outlets wrapped constructively in concrete and steel inside a big air-conditioned box. Restaurants and food kiosks are among the main space occupiers of the mall. Entertainment centers including IMAX theater, banks, business centers, salons, furniture shops, clinics, wellness centers, trade halls and conference halls and even one school have vacated the other spaces of the mall. With an average visits of 100,000 per day, it is no wonder for business owners and franchisees to bid for feasible spaces inside the mall.

But it is not about SM City Cebu this article is about. Oh yep… I already talked about it. Guilty as charged.

The highlight, however, is the SM Seaside City Cebu which will soon rise in Cebu City. This time, it is in the South Reclamation Project, where many developments have been planned out by the city. And yes, it will be another city within a city.

SM Seaside City Cebu is projected to convey a mammoth rise in Cebu City’s most-talked about property. It will be one of the buildings that will grow like mushrooms and turn into stellar structures in the South Reclamation Project.

The shopping floor area of SM Seaside City Cebu is, by far, larger than SM City Cebu. But this is still in the plan. If you want to dig deeper on what it really has, then you are in for a great surprise. But I won’t spoil that surprise because even me is yet to be surprised and amazed with this development.

I have shared this news based on what my blogger friend and Internet marketing expert Ruben Licera has come up from an interview with an SM City Cebu management staff.

The prospect is exciting for many Cebuanos. Imagine, within the perimeter of SM Seaside City Resort, there are shopping areas, restaurants, business centers, condominium buildings, hotels and yes, a church.

SM Seaside City Cebu is the centerpiece of a much bigger plan from the SM Prime Holdings. The SM SRP Complex encompasses this mall and other buildings as can be shown (not yet now) in the masterplan of SM Prime Holdings.

Are you excited of this development?

If you’d ask me, then it is definite yes.

Many were excited when the first large shopping mall was constructed in Cebu for almost 2 decades ago.

SM Seaside City Cebu is an added masterpiece that apparently depicts the continued economic progress of Cebu City. It will be among the highlights in SRP when it will open sometime in 2012, 2013 or 2014. Dates have not yet been definite for now on the mall’s opening. But there are now works in progress on SM SRP Complex.

With the SM mall’s planned location fronting the waters of Cebu’s bay area, it is not anymore a question on why it is named as it is. For many, it will be like a resort mall. For others, it will be another pride the City of Cebu has attained.