Greenhills Shopping Center
Greenhills Shopping Center is a shopping centre in the city of San Juan in the Philippines. It has over 2,000 stores, and espouses an 'indoor-outdoor' theme, with the Shopping Center having the appearance of several distinct buildings (some separated by a main road) that are all interconnected through pathways and bridges. It hosts a Roman Catholic chapel and a Muslim prayer room. The Shopping Center is bounded by Ortigas Avenue on the west, Connecticut Street on the south, Club Filipino (also known as McKinley), Eisenhower, and Annapolis streets on the north, and Missouri Street on the east. This mall faces the tip end of Wilson Street.
Greenhills began in the early 1960s. Plans were drawn up to create a fully complemented first class residential community to include schools, churches and what was then the most modern concept for a shopping centre as its centrepiece. Plans for building the Greenhills Shopping Centre began in 1966 following two years of studying some of the world’s most advanced community development projects. The proposed concept for the Greenhills Shopping Center, modern in every aspect and suited to local conditions, was presented by Architect Juan Nakpil, a Filipino National Artist for architecture. The concept included a supermarket, a movie house, variety stores, a bowling alley, service shops and restaurants.
The Greenhills subdivisions, which cover 197 hectares, provided a ready market for the commercial complex.
V-mall
V-mall, formerly known as Virra Mall, underwent a 10 month renovation in 2005. Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership (OCLP) used this time period to redesign the mall. The stalls and people selling pirated CDs and DVDs are gone, replaced by stores such as Astrovision and Odyssey, which sell original audio CDs, VCDs, DVDs and selected Blu-ray titles. Ortigas officials also wanted to show class and regain its old reputation as a centre for computers.
Virra Mall’s Php 500-million worth of renovations into the new V-mall was completed in December 2005. The V-mall renovation is part of a four-year plan by Ortigas and Company that began in 2002 to spruce up one of the country’s oldest shopping centres.
V-mall would boost Greenhills’ reputation even as some of its rivals are trying to position themselves for economic growth. Although OCLP lost some rental income during the 10 month renovation, Joey Santos, the General Manager of the Greenhills Shopping Center, believes that the new look would draw in more customers after.[1] He said they were aiming for a more spacious look to create better ambiance. The Greenhills Shopping Centre occupies 16 hectares along Ortigas Avenue, of which V-Mall accounts for 20,000 square meters.
Store attractions
According to Joey Santos, V-Mall still retains the computer stores that have been favorite destinations of technology lovers and the old toy shops that have been the mecca of toy lovers and collectors from all over Metro Manila.[2]
Totally redesigned to make it more convenient for shoppers to go around, V-mall has of a wider area as the escalators have been relocated to the sides instead of its old location at the middle of the mall. It also features a scenic elevator that allows shoppers to see the whole area on their way to the top levels.
Sports shops like Ralph’s Sports Shops and Planet Sport are also part of the new attractions. The Great Eats Food Court has several food outlets at the third level of V-mall together with Q-Power Station, and an arcade and amusement centre. Astrovision, whose first store was at the old Virra Mall is back home in its new a 300-square metre shop at the ground floor. Cinderella, one of the oldest stores in the Greenhills Shopping Centre, is also back with another branch in V-Mall.
V-mall has five franchises from the SM group that include the Toy Kingdom chain, SM Appliance Center, Our Home, Watson's, and Ace Hardware.
Goodwill Bookstore also has a branch facing the Annapolis Carpark. To make it a total family destination, the dental, optical and beauty clinics will be back to serve the needs of families.
“They can come here to check on the affordable tech gadgets that includes MP3s for the teens, iPods and other attractions that make up the complete shopping experience and perhaps we are the most complete shopping centre in the whole Metropolis as we do have everything that the family needs under just one roof,” Santos said.
V-mall is now connected to the new parking building of the GSC to make it easier for shoppers to walk to and from the parking area (known as the Annapolis Carpark) and V-mall. It also has branches of Dunkin' Donuts, Milky Way, Crazy Crepes, Pho Hoa and a Chinese Deli among others in the mall’s peripheral area.
The management team of Greenhills Shopping Centre, also manages the operations of Tiendesitas, ensuring the complementation and synergy of both shopping destinations which cater primarily to value-conscious foreign and domestic shoppers.
Malls, Restaurant and Supermarket
- Annapolis Carpark Square: a carpark hosting computer shops and popular fast-food franchises such as Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, KFC, and Mang Inasal.
- The Jewellery: a vaulted hallway that leads to a plethora of jewellery shops.
- Connecticut Carpark: a carpark featuring restaurants and bars on the ground floor. Trendy and upscale.
- Bridgeway Shops: a strip of shops and stores located between the elevated bridge leading to the Connecticut Carpark and the 2nd floor of the Centermall, where various cellphone shops are found.
- The Shops: a wide hallway featuring local and foreign boutiques, Cinnabon and Watsons, a drugstore.
- LifeStyle Center: contains a sports centre and antique merchandise, such as furnitures, old coins and other memorabilia.
- Beauty Central: contains salons, beauty parlors, and diet restaurants
- McKinley Arcade: features upscale restaurants specializing in Filipino cuisine.
- The Strip: features Chinese and other Asian restaurants.
- Theater Mall: contains cinemas and a few boutiques, software shops, and restaurants.
- Promenade: contains cinemas, restaurants, KTV, concert hall, and book shops. Trendy and upscale, and a popular destination for young people.
- Music Museum
- Shoppesville Arcade: One of the older shopping centers in the Greenhills Shopping Centre. Made up of 4 levels. The lower 2 levels contain various shops, selling local and imported merchandise. The 3rd level is mostly composed of stores selling RTWs, toys, and other gadgets. The 4th level, known as Shoppesville Plus, hosts many computer shops formerly located Virra Mall, before it was renovated into the new V-Mall.
- V-Mall: contains computer shops, some boutiques, some of SM Prime's stores, a bookstore and a food court.
Awards
Greenhills Shopping Center, owned and managed by Ortigas & Company, garnered the 1st Runner-Up (Building Category) in the ASEAN Best Practices for Energy Management in Buildings and Industries Competition under the ASEAN Energy Competitions 2009 held at Yongon, Myanmar on June 8 & 9, 2009.[3] The Property Management Department is headed by Ramon Sumulong
This annual competition is being initiated by the ASEAN Centre for Energy with the following objectives:
· To promote and disseminate best practices in energy management demonstrated or applied in buildings and industries in the ASEAN Member Countries.
· To encourage all sectors participation in adopting and implementing innovative and creative energy management approaches towards energy conservation to enhance business growth.
· To promote energy management as a tool to save energy and to improve environmental quality in the ASEAN region.
References
- ↑ "Manila Bulletin, April 26, 2004
- ↑ "Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 27, 2006
- ↑ http://www.ortigas.com.ph/news001.html
External links
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