When SM Seaside City Cebu opens on Friday, November 27, Cebuanos will have a first look at the state of the art, environmentally sustainable urban center on the waterfront of the new South Road Properties development in Cebu, the Philippines’ second largest city and a major tourism hub in the country.
Located on a 93,570 square meter site, the 470,490 square meter mall is SM Prime Holdings’ 56th mall and the third in the Queen City of the South, after SM City Cebu and SM City Consolacion.
SM Seaside City Cebu is one of the first developments in the master plan of SM Prime Holdings for their 30- hectare space at the South Road Properties (SRP), a prime property development project on reclaimed land located a few meters from Cebu’s central business district.
Designed by Arquitectonica, an international architecture, interior design, and planning firm from Miami, Florida, this grand first of its kind urban development at the SRP will be a landmark in the region, transforming the way people live, work and play in this community. When completed, the complex will include residential towers, hotels, a convention and exhibition center, a school, and hospital.
The development has been compared to that of the SM Mall of Asia, which has been envisioned to be the destination mall in the Asia Pacific region. Both are located beside the waterfront: SM Seaside City Cebu has a spectacular view of the Cebu Channel, just as the SM Mall of Asia has Manila Bay and its glorious sunset as a picturesque backdrop.
Similarly, the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod was the first structure to open at SM Seaside, just as the Shrine of Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life paved the way for development of the SM Mall of Asia complex. This is reminiscent of Spanish times when towns would be built around a church.
Just as the SM Mall of Asia has the Globe as its iconic landmark, SM Seaside City Cebu has the Cube, a steel 21- meter by 21 meter sculptural piece that is a symbol of strength and stability. It is a tribute to the resilience of the Cebuanos in particular and the Filipino people in general.
With its nautilus inspired design of expanding, concentric arcs from a central multi purpose space, the mall will have multiple anchors, including a two storey SM Store, as well as an SM Hypermarket and SM mainstays like SM Appliance Center, ACE Hardware Watsons, Our Home, Kultura Filipino, Toy Kingdom, Surplus, and Sports Central. It will have over 400 food and retail shops, including international brands.