SM City North EDSA

SM City North EDSA

Location	EDSA corner North Avenue, Barangay Santo Cristo and Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City, Philippines
Opening date	November 8, 1985 (1985-11-08)
Developer	SM Prime Holdings
Management	SM Prime Holdings
Owner	Henry Sy, Sr.
Architect	Arquitectonica[1]
No. of stores and services	800+ (including 300 dining outlets)
No. of anchor tenants	36
Total retail floor area	498,000 m2 (5,360,000 sq ft) (2015)[2]
No. of floors	City Center: 4 The Block: 5 The Annex: 6 Interior Zone: 1 Car Park Plaza: 5 North Link: 6
Parking	10,000+ slots
Public transit access	North Avenue Station, MRT Line 3
Website	SM City North Edsa

SM City North EDSA is a shopping mall located in Quezon City, Philippines. It is the first SM Supermall in the country and is the largest shopping mall in the Philippines, as well as the fourth-largest shopping mall in the world.

The mall is operated by SM Prime Holdings, opened on November 8, 1985. The SM City North EDSA was constructed at a challenging period in the Philippines' political history with a gross floor area of 120,000 square meters in 1985. The mall's redevelopment began with the opening of The Block in July 2006. Among the developments were a new Annex building which opened in December 2008, and Sky Garden which opened in May 2009. The Car Park Plaza transformed into a lifestyle center in 2009. SM City North EDSA, a work in progress with the renovation of the City Center, and the development of the North Link.

History

Old facade of The Block with the Sky Garden under-construction in the foreground.

SM City North EDSA was built in a 16 hectares (40 acres) land which was then a marshland in a relatively remote location^[3]amidst a political crisis which saw interest rates to rise as high as 45 percent.^[4] The lot was previously owned by the Government Service Insurance System and was originally intended to be used to host houses for public school teachers.^[5]The mall opened on November 8, 1985.^[1] It was the first mall built by SM Prime Holdings Inc. and initially only had SM's fifth department store and first supermarket as its tenants.^[3] and at that time it had a gross floor area of 125,000 square meters.^[4]

As more tenants and entertainment venues were added, The SM City North EDSA then came to be known as the mall that institutionalized the "one-stop" shopping concept in the Philippines. It was the first to introduce "malling" as a pastime in the Philippines. A 4-level carpark, also known as the Annex 1, was constructed in February 1988; with the lower ground floor converted into an enclosed retail space. Another level was also added on its main mall. On July 28, 1989, a two-floor annex, also known as the original "Annex 2" was built providing more leasable space, a bowling alley and four additional movie houses. The main building and the annexes were expanded with a lower ground level, and the first level of The Carpark Plaza was converted into Cyberzone, a section reserved mainly for technology and gadget retail.

Over the years, SM City North EDSA had seen four expansions and redevelopment, including the construction of Annex 3, which opened in 2006. On July 28, 2006, Annex 3, also known as The Block was opened featuring a hypermarket, its flagship toy store, an additional four movie theaters, retail shops, and restaurants. On February 8, 2007, as part of its massive redevelopment plan, the original Annex 2 was completely demolished and construction of a new building started. The current Annex 2 was reopened on December 12, 2008.

For two years (2014-2016), the SM City North EDSA was named as the largest solar-powered shopping mall in Southeast Asia for the installation of 5,760 solar panels, until that record was surpassed in May 2016 by the Robinsons Starmills Pampanga in San Fernando, Pampanga.^[6]

SM City North EDSA Complex

Since its inception in 1985, and the construction of the original Car Park Plaza in February 1988 and the second Annex Building in July 1989, SM City North EDSA Complex’s edifice are composed of the City Center, Interior Zone including the Car Park Plaza, The Annex, The Block, the Sky Garden, the Northlink, the former Warehouse Club building including the open parking lot situated east of The Block and The Grass Residences. The latter is interconnected by a series of footbridges linked to different sides of the main mall structure.

City Center (Main Building)

The City Center viewed from the neighboring TriNoma mall

Opened on November 8, 1985, the original building consisted of only three floors. Its original structure has evolved through the years. The City Center has a total of 190,000 Gross Floor Area it fourth floor has recently been added to keep up with demand. The newly renovated city center has spherical skylights. As the hub of the retail complex, the City Center has various retail establishments, including the mall's main anchors: The SM Store (formerly SM Department Store) and the SM Supermarket. It is also the hub of leisure anchors such as SM Foodcourt, an entertainment center, and a newly modernized cineplex that incorporate the country's second IMAX Theater. The main dining establishments of the City Center are situated on the second level, where they break through the frontage in a sequence of linear casements which overlook the Sky Garden.^[7][8]

Interior Zone (Annex 1)

The Car Park Plaza or Annex 1 was the first additional building, built in February 1988. The original structure was a four-level parking lot. In the 2000s, two additional levels were constructed to accommodate more vehicles and to integrate the newly constructed The Block. The Car Park Plaza features the first outlet of the Cyberzone, which was later moved to The Annex building, and an additional 8,000 parking slots. The building is connected to the main mall with a footbridge located at the second floor. The total Gross floor area of Interior Zone is 30,000 m² (320,000 sq ft)

Today, the former Car Park and Cyberzone has been transformed into a "lifestyle center", named the Interior Zone, which opened in July 2009 and planned by Architects EAT from Australia, the 300 meter long "lifestyle center" is a shop for furniture, houseware, decor, upholstery, wallpaper, tiles and lighting fixtures.^[9] Also on the Annex 1 is a solar power plant located on the seventh level which features the installation of 5,760 solar panels that can generate up to 1.5 MW of power, which makes SM City North EDSA as the world's largest solar-powered shopping mall for two years until Robinsons Starmills in San Fernando, Pampanga reclaimed the title in 2016.^[10][11]

The Annex (Annex 2)

The Annex

The original Annex 2 was built on July 28, 1989 (formerly The SM City Annex), consisting of three floors, as an expansion to the City Center. It featured close to 200 shops and restaurants; aside from four additional movie houses it also catered a bingo hall, an amusement center and a bowling alley. The lower ground floor (or basement) also served as the former administration office of SM City North EDSA along with a few beauty clinics and a junior anchor, Hardware Workshop. A footbridge was constructed at the left side of the City Center to have easy access to the mall. On February 20, 2002, the four movie houses were closed and on February 8, 2007, the original Annex 2 was closed and demolished as part of SM City North EDSA Complex's redevelopment plan.^[12]

On December 12, 2008, it reopened with high-end retails stores, specialty restaurants, a Cyberzone, a game arcade and a new bowling center. The current Annex 2 measured 140,000 m² (1,500,000 sq ft). Like The Block, The Annex has an exterior with undulating aquamarine ribbon consisting of perforated metal panels. The Annex has a curvilinear atrium, which stretches its length. In June 2009, SM City North EDSA reopened its bowling center located on the lower ground floor.^[13]

The Block (Annex 3)

The Block

The Block was opened on July 28, 2006, this 95,000 m² (1,020,000 sq ft) has five levels of retail shops and restaurants, four high-digital cinemas, and a 10,000 square meter SM Hypermarket on the ground level. The Block's architectural design is centered on a large oval courtyard, which has become a location for events and products launches. This is crisscrossed by multiple bridges on several levels and is lit through large circular skylights. Bridge connections integrated The Block with the existing mall and carpark areas.^[14]

The North Link (Annex 4)

The North Link is the latest addition to the complex. It is a six-storey structure primarily hosting BPO and other office tenants along with some retail stores. It is connected to other parts of the wall through bridgeways. The Northlink has an open deck at its top which is used for private use of the mall.^[15]

Sky Garden

The Sky Garden

A Starbucks outlet and a pond at the Sky Garden

The Sky Garden is a long, elevated curvilinear park which opened in May 2009. The Sky Garden's water features include two bubblers, a simulated river flowing at the central part of the park, and waterfalls at the end of the second floor which can also be used as a screen where promotional materials can be projected. The main feature of the Sky Garden's feature is the Sky Dome, an events venue which has a seating capacity of 1,500 seating and a floor area measuring 18,000 m² (190,000 sq ft).^[16][17][18]

New building

A long building with several towers is currently under construction.

Grass Residences

A 43 floor, three tower condominium complex by SMDC (SM Development Corporation) Towers 4 and 5 is still under construction which was named Fern Residences

Fern Residences

It is still in construction. Tower 1 will open at 4th Quarter 2017. Tower 2 will open at 2nd Quarter 2018. Tower 1 named Wilmington Tower 2 named Berkshire.

SM Cyber West Avenue

The SM Cyber West Avenue is a 15-level structure that covers more than 42,000 square meters of GFA, and around 22,700 square meters of GLA for office space. The building will be linked via Bridgeway to the SM North EDSA Mall as well as nearby MRT stations. It targeted primarily for a business process outsourcing or BPO companies which houses Emerson Electric, Concentrix and Convergys. It will rise on a highly visible 2,910 sq m. property at the corner of the main EDSA thoroughfare and West Avenue. The remaining leasable area mostly found on the ground and second levels will feature a Save More supermarket and other support retail and commercial establishments.

Former buildings

The Warehouse building situated on a two-hectare lot within the SM City North EDSA Complex houses the former Super Sale Club. Sometime in 2008, it was leased to one of its junior anchor, the Ace Hardware that later moved to The Annex. Today, Kotse Network leases a portion of the Warehouse building. Part of the building was converted into a parking lot for its valet service. Meanwhile, expansion plans for the former Super Sale Club warehouse would potentially add another 30,000 to 50,000 square meters of gross floor area and will include a new retail, commercial and business-process outsourcing module.^[19]

Gallery

New Mall

• 
  The Block atrium
• 
  SM Hypermarket at The Block, now part of Food Circuit.
• 
  The Annex hallway
• 
  The Sky Dome
• 
  SM Department Store at the City Center, prior to renaming as The SM Store
• 
  Sky Garden Walkway

Old Mall

• 
  Old facade of the City Center/Main Building
• 
  Old Cyberzone
• 
  Old City Center Atrium
• 
  Old SM Department Store
• 
  The former Entertainment Plaza
• 
  Old Appliance Center at The Block (now occupied by Uniqlo and relocated at the 4th floor)
• 
  Old SM Cinema

Incidents and accidents

• January 8, 2010: Two male persons were reportedly injured after a portion of the sunroof of The Block. One person was brought to the emergency room of the Capitol Medical Center for treatment.^[20]
• September 14, 2011: Two persons were shot, Police Officer 2 Jonathan Diva of the Quezon City Police District Station 2 said that initial information on the shooting incident stated that a woman shot two persons at SM North EDSA past 7:00pm^[21]
• December 15, 2013: A holdup and shootout occurred when the Martilyo Gang, a local criminal group specializing in robbing stores by smashing and stealing valuables using hammers, robbed a jewelry store in the department store on the first floor.^[22][23]
• May 6, 2015: A man fell to his death at the SM City North Edsa Annex. The man, whose identity is being withheld pending approval from his family, allegedly jumped from the mall's 3rd floor.^[24]
• November 8, 2015: A 2-year-old girl sustained injuries on her hand after touching the connector of Christmas lights in the second railing.^[25]
• May 11, 2016: An unidentified teenager allegedly falls off from the 5th floor of SM North EDSA Mall Annex building around 1:30 PM.^[26]
• July 16, 2017: A fire broke out at SM North EDSA in Quezon City on Sunday evening, July 16, 2017 around 8:45PM

In a tweet, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the blaze had already reached the 3rd alarm. SM Supermalls clarified in a statement that the warehouse of its department store was hit by the fire, and not the department store itself.<ref>http://www.rappler.com/nation/175783-fire-sm-north-edsa-july-16-2017<ref>

See also

• List of largest shopping malls
• List of shopping malls in Metro Manila
• List of shopping malls in the Philippines

Bibliography

• Pocock, Emil (2007-01-10). "World's Largest Shopping Malls". American Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University: Shopping Mall Studies. Eastern Connecticut State University. Archived from the original on 2007-02-13. Retrieved 2007-02-15. 

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SM City North EDSA.

• Official website.
• Worlds Largest Shopping Malls by Forbes Magazine

Coordinates: 14°39′25″N 121°01′50″E / 14.6570269°N 121.0304815°E / 14.6570269; 121.0304815