SM Prime bets on Bulacan growth with mall, condo
SM PRIME Holdings, Inc. is taking advantage of the booming population in Bulacan with the opening of a new shopping mall and the development of a midrise condominium project.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the holding firm for country’s richest man Henry Sy, Sr.’s property investments said it is slated to open SM Center Pulilan along the Plaridel- Pulilan Diversion Road on Friday (Dec. 1).
This will be the company’s fourth shopping mall in Bulacan, after SM City Marilao, SM City Baliwag, and SM City San Jose del Monte.
“The notable development and growth of this province gives us more reasons to keep on expanding in Bulacan while continuously providing utmost malling experience and convenience to more Bulakenyos,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim was quoted as saying in a statement.
The company noted 80% of the mall’s gross floor area of 27,000 square meters (sq.m.) has already been leased out to tenants. SM Hypermarket, Watsons, Ace Hardware, SM Appliance, and Surplus will also have branches at SM Center Pulilan.
SM Center Pulilan marks the sixth mall that SM Prime has opened this year, bringing its total mall count in the Philippines to 66. SM CDO Downtown Premier in Cagayan de Oro, SM Maison at Conrad Manila in Pasay City, SM Cherry Antipolo in Rizal, SM City Puerto Princesa in Palawan, and SM Center Tuguegarao Downtown in Cagayan started operations earlier this year.
Meanwhile, SM Prime’s subsidiary SM Development Corp. (SMDC) broke ground for Cheer Residences in Marilao, Bulacan, which is the company’s first vertical development in the area.
SMDC Assistant Vice- President for Marketing Chad D. Africa said the firm is ramping up investments in Bulacan as it projects the rise of property values in the area as the population grows.
“It’s a growing population, right now it is growing at a rate of about 1.95%. This means the population is growing, and they need homes, whether to buy or to rent, so we are positioned for that. At the same time, property values would keep on increasing,” Mr. Africa told reporters in a briefing after the groundbreaking ceremony in Marilao on Wednesday.
SMDC targets to generate P2.6 billion in sales from Cheer Residences over the next two years. The company said it has so far sold 35% of the 995 condominium units in the project.
“As of now, we’re more than one-third sold na. So if we continue with this rate, hopefully by 2019 we’ll be sold out,” SMDC Assistant Vice-President for Project Development Therese P. SonsingFernando said during the same briefing.
The project’s seven towers will have five storeys each, offering what SMDC calls the “flexi-unit” that will have no divisions.
“It allows our homeowners to decide, depending on their stage in life how they want to use the unit,” Mr. Africa said.
Sizes of units range from 28.52 sq. m. to 43.09 sq. m., priced at P90,000 per square meter. On average, units are sold at a price of P2.6 million, with monthly amortization going for as low as P7,000.
Amenities in the 23,000-sq.m. development will include a clubhouse and function room, swimming pool, central park, and a children’s play area.
SMDC targets to complete the project by August 2020, with turnover to follow around that time.
Cheer Residences is also situated right next to SM City Marilao. Mr. Africa noted the company will follow the strategy of putting up residential projects next to SM malls in the future.
“That has always been at the core of our developments. They’re buying a prime piece of lot, just like what we’re offering here, and it’s right beside the mall,” Mr. Africa said.
SM Prime posted a 15% increase in attributable profit for the first nine months of 2017 to P20 billion, riding on the expansion of its shopping malls and sales from its residential projects.
Shares in SM Prime were unchanged at P36.30 apiece at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.