SM opens 48th mall in Paranaque

By Doris C. Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Ahead of the Christmas rush, shopping mall giant SM Prime Holdings has opened its 48^th mall in the Philippines located in BF Paranaque.

In a press statement, SM Prime said the SM City BF which spanned a gross floor area of 120,000 square meters would also redefine the BF community’s movie experience.

SM City BF will be the first mall in the country to have four Director’s Club cinemas equipped with electronic recliner (lazyboy type) seats that can accommodate up to 200 moviegoers. Including the Director’s Club cinemas, SM City BF will also house two premier cinemas with 180 seats each for a total of six digital cinemas in the new mall.

“We are pleased to open SM City BF in the highly progressive city of Parañaque and this reflects our continuing efforts to better serve the various needs of the city with a more upscale offering,” SM Prime president Hans Sy said.

“Always wanting to give a unique mall experience, we have equipped SM City BF with the most number of premier digital cinemas and director’s clubs in a single mall. We are also introducing new facilities and more international brands to heighten our customers’ shopping and dining experience,” he added.

Among the casual dining establishments in the new mall which opened on Thursday are Vikings, Guernicas, My Little Buttercup, Thousand Cranes, Toho, Kimono Ken, Cafe Mary Grace, Zabo Chicken, Cafe Benne, and 12 Cupcakes.

Meanwhile, fashion brands include Mango, Uniqlo, Giordano, and Plains & Prints. The anchor tenants are The SM Store, SM Supermarket, Our Home, SM Appliance Center, Ace Hardware and Watson’s.

The mall provides parking space for 1,419 cars and 179 slots for motorcycles located at the 4th, 5th and 6th levels.

In its statement, SM Prime said SM City BF “had been built to be environmentally friendly, sustainable and disaster resilient.”

“Its design and construction features three skylight domes in its main atrium to reduce the use of electricity by fully maximizing the use of sunlight, while air conditioning is automatically regulated to help ensure efficient energy consumption,” the company said.

To prevent flooding in the area, SM City BF has installed a water- catchment basin that can store up to 5,000 cubic liters of rain water which is equivalent to one Olympic-size swimming pool. Rainwater collected in the basin will be recycled to water plants, to clean the mall and to flush toilets.

“Over the years, SM Prime has taken the lead in making its malls both green certified and disaster resilient which, apart from protecting and conserving the environment, reduces risks for SM and its tenants from the potential effects of the intensifying weather patterns,” SM Prime said.

Apart from its 48 malls in the Philippines, SM Prime has expanded in mainland China, where it now operates five malls.