Glorietta

Glorietta is a large shopping mall in the Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. The mall is owned by the Zobel de Ayala family and operated through its holding company, the Ayala Corporation. The mall is divided into five sections (named Glorietta 1–5) and contains many shops and restaurants, as well as cinemas, a gym, arcades and a large central activity center, often used to stage events.

Glorietta 1-4 is integrated with the nearby Greenbelt Mall, SM Makati, Rustan's Makati and The Landmark, a department store. Glorietta 5 is fully detached, located in front of the lot formerly occupied by the Hotel InterContinental Manila and beside Rustan's Department Store. The tenants affected by the October 19, 2007 explosion will be given an option to relocate there.^[1]

History

The rebuilt Glorietta 1 & 2

A shot of the central atrium area during an electronics event

Glorietta Building complex in 2008

Glorietta was originally a park surrounded by establishments, and was used as a location by Viva Films for its youth-oriented movie Hotshots. The park, with its outdoor stage for event hosting, was built in the 1970s as part of the wider Makati Commercial Center complex, which included several independent small malls and the Quad cinemas plus retail outlets - some having been opened since the mid-1960s. In the early 1990s the Zobel De Ayala family decided to renovate Glorietta, the Quad mall, Greenbelt and the rest of the Makati Commercial Center compound - then dubbed The Center Makati - and thus all the establishments were merged into a whole new development named the Ayala Center in 1990.

The plan was to convert Glorietta into an indoor facility and integrate it with existing nearby buildings as well as newly constructed ones such as the QUAD cinemas.

The Glorietta mall was opened in 1992 with a gross leasable area of 250,000 m², envisioned as one of the largest malls in the Philippines. By the mid- and late 1990s, Glorietta gained popularity as a premier mall. It has an air-conditioned atrium with water features, an indoor children's playground, and an activity center that hosts concerts and shows.

Other new buildings were also constructed between 1999 and 2005, making Glorietta bigger than its original construction plan.

In 2010, Glorietta 1 and 2 were demolished for redevelopment with a new mall, hotel (Holiday Inn and Fairmont Suites) BPO offices and condos (Park Terraces and Garden Terraces). Glorietta 1 was opened in November 5, 2012 with a new activity center, as Glorietta 2 opened in December 7. Glorietta 3 is planned to be demolished to finalize a redeveloped Glorietta mall complex, hailed as the crown jewel of Ayala.

Incidents

2000 Glorietta explosion

On May 17, 2000, thirteen people were injured in an explosion at Glorietta. Police said the blast originated from a restroom of a restaurant and affected a nearby video game arcade (Timezone). Two rival gangs were seen fighting near the restaurant shortly before the blast occurred.^[2]

Oakwood mutiny

On July 27, 2003, Magdalo soldiers led by Lt. Sr. Grade Antonio Trillanes took control of the Oakwood apartments in Makati. Glorietta, where the Oakwood Premier stood, was also closed during the siege.

2005 Valentine's Day bombings

On February 14, 2005, a passenger bus was bombed in Makati, near Glorietta. Four people were killed and 36 injured. On the same day, a mall in General Santos City was also bombed. Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility, with spokesperson Abu Solaiman saying on a radio interview: "This is our Valentine gift to Gloria".

2007 Glorietta Explosion

On October 19, 2007, an explosion in Glorietta 2 killed eleven people and injured a hundred others. Initially, authorities termed it a liquefied petroleum gas explosion in a restaurant, but later began investigating the possibility that the explosion may have been a C-4 bomb.^[3][4] The explosion destroyed much of Glorietta 2's main lobby and vehicles parked outside.

Several days later, October 23, 2007, senior government officials expressed "a high level of certainty" that the explosion was an accident,^[5] but the bomb theory has not been totally ruled out. This was brought on by the inability of experts to find bomb components after four days of rigorous investigation. It is believed that the explosion was caused by underground structures in the mall that might have triggered the blast, pending further investigation.

Glorietta 4 Fire

Two days after the explosion, October 21, a fire broke out at noon in the kitchen of one of the restaurants in Glorietta 4. It was put out by firemen an hour later.^[6] The authorities announced that this incident was in no way associated with the earlier Glorietta blast. Glorietta 4 was closed, right after this disaster, while the authorities indicated that it was business as usual in the open areas not affected by the fire.

Awards

• Shopping Center of the Year (Philippine Retailer's Association and Department of Trade & Industry, 2002 & 2004)

See also

• 2007 Glorietta bombing
• Ayala Avenue

References

External links

• Official site at Ayala Malls
• Glorietta

Coordinates: 14°33′04″N 121°01′31″E / 14.55111°N 121.02528°E / 14.55111; 121.02528