SM Megamall

SM Megamall is the second largest shopping mall in the Philippines and the fifth largest in the world, developed and operated by SM Prime Holdings.^[2] It is located in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Philippines. The mall occupies a land area of approximately 10 hectares (25 acres) and has a total floor area of 474,000 square metres (5,100,000 sq ft).^[3] The mall has a maximum capacity of 4 million people.^[4]

SM Megamall
SM Megamall in 2014
Location	Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines
Coordinates	14°35′04.01″N 121°03′24.38″E / 14.5844472°N 121.0567722°ECoordinates: 14°35′04.01″N 121°03′24.38″E / 14.5844472°N 121.0567722°E
Address	Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) corner Doña Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Wack-Wack Greenhills
Opening date	June 28, 1991
Developer	SM Prime Holdings
Management	SM Prime Holdings
Owner	Henry Sy
Architect	Arquitectonica
No. of stores and services	500 shops including 280 dining outlets
No. of anchor tenants	18
Total retail floor area	474,000 m2 (5,100,000 sq ft) (2015)[1]
No. of floors	Mega A & B: 5 (+ 1 basement level) Mega C: 11 (Parking at 2F-7F) Mega Fashion Hall: 5 + basement carpark
Parking	4,200+
Public transit access	MRT3  Ortigas  MRT3  Shaw Boulevard
Website	sm-megamall.com

History

SM Megamall was constructed in 1989 and opened its doors on June 28, 1991. It is the third SM Supermall ever built by Henry Sy Sr. after the SM City Sta. Mesa and SM City North EDSA. The mall is located in the Ortigas Center, at the portion encompassed by Mandaluyong City. It stands along the main EDSA thoroughfare and is almost adjacent to the Ortigas MRT Station. The SM Megamall was the largest mall in the country for a 17-year period, but when the SM Mall of Asia was built, it was ranked third largest in the country by floor area, measuring 331,679 m² (3,570,160 sq ft) of total retail floor area and after SM City North EDSA (which ranks first in the country and second in the world). It also boasted the first ice skating rink (removed in 2009 but rebuilt five years later in 2014) as well as one of the first trade halls in the country.

In 2018, SM partnered with Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines) Inc. for the provision of its New Era AI (Artificial Intelligence) Robotic service robots stationed at SM Megamall by the first quarter of 2019.^[5]

Buildings

The Mega Atrium.

Main Mall

The mall has two main buildings. Building A features the SM Cinemas, Food Court, Toy Kingdom and other anchor tenants. Building B features the SM Department Store (now known as The SM Store), Cyberzone, and other anchor tenants, and has been expanded with the Mega Fashion Hall, which opened in January 2014. The SM Supermarket is featured on both buildings. The Bridgeway connecting the two main buildings of the mall contains several eateries. This section of the mall was completed in 2009.

Mega Atrium

The 16,000 m² (170,000 sq ft) Mega Atrium is an addition to the existing two buildings. The Atrium bridges the gap between Buildings A and B, and was completed in 2008. The Atrium features various shops and restaurants, and can also be rented out as an event venue.

Building C

Building C is a more recent addition to SM Megamall, opening on October 11, 2011. Located near EDSA to the west of Building A, it was formerly the Building A open parking facility. Office space is located on the upper levels of the carpark, which also houses an integrated bus terminal serving the north of Metro Manila including CAMANAVA, Quezon City and further to Bulacan and Rizal. The building also contains a transport terminal and offices for the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Mega Fashion Hall (Mega D)

The Mega Fashion Hall

The Mega Fashion Hall is the latest expansion of SM Megamall. Featuring a two-level basement parking and a five-level mall, it houses several global clothing retailers, including the 3-level H&M store, as well as a 3-level Uniqlo which extends to the two uppermost levels of Building B. Aside from clothing stores, the expansion includes dining establishments, houseware stores, service shops, and a Bingo area on the 5th level. The Mega Fashion Hall also houses an IMAX theater, a 56-seat Director's Club Cinemas with butler service, an Olympic-sized ice skating rink (replacing the one removed in 2009 from the lower-ground level of Building A), an upscale food court (Mega Food Hall), and a 14-lane bowling center.

Shangri-La Plaza - SM Megamall Link Bridge

This link bridge will connect Shangri-La Plaza to SM Megamall. This bridge will contain a Restaurant and Shops along the bridge.

Expansion

After the soft opening of the newly constructed Building C Carpark, the mall surpassed SM Mall of Asia by 2,000 m² (22,000 sq ft) and became the second largest shopping mall in the country.

With the opening of the Mega Fashion Hall (Building D), the current gross leasable area is 500,000 m², allowing the mall to reclaim the title of the largest mall in the Philippines.^[6]

The addition of the Mega Fashion Hall building added 125 new retail stores, 90% of which are global brands and 10% of which are local retailers.^[7]

Office Tower

A 50-storey office tower, named as The Mega Tower, will be built next to the Mega Fashion Hall formerly occupied as an open carpark. The S-shaped tower will be directly connected to the Mega Fashion Hall and will feature three levels of basement parking and multilevel parking. It will have a leasable area of 124,200 m² (1,337,000 sq ft).^[8]

Incidents and accidents

• May 21, 2000: A bomb exploded inside a restroom at Cinema 6 of the mall's movie theater located on the third floor. One person was killed and dozens injured. Two of the victims sustained very serious injuries.^[9]
• May 25, 2012: A police officer allegedly involved in protecting pickpockets was killed in a shootout near the bus loading bay area of Building A. The cop, identified as PO1 Leo Antiporda, was shot dead by officers of the Philippine National Police Intelligence Group (PNP-IG) in an encounter at around 8:00 PM. ^[10]
• January 26, 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.^[11]
• May 5, 2013: An explosion briefly caused panic at the foodcourt at Building A, with at least one reported hurt in a stampede before shoppers were able to calm down after learning the sounds were not gunshots. A siomai steamer was short-circuited, caused people to file out at around 7:25 PM ^[12]
• February 14, 2016: A female person was found dead on the ground floor in the mall's Building B. It was said that she committed suicide because of an unrequited love, but news has not been confirmed.^[13]
• July, 2016: An 11 year old Korean student accidentally injured his right leg in an escalator in the department store.
• October 24, 2016: Another female person was found dead on the same floor of the same building. It was said that she jumped from the fourth floor of the mall and it was a suicide. She was rushed to the Medical City but was declared dead at 10:45 AM.^[14]
• October 4, 2017: Another female person was found dead on the same building again for the third time at around 3:15 PM. She was jumped from the 5th floor of the mall and news confirmed that it was a suicide. She was later rushed to the Medical City but was declared dead as of 3:31 PM. The police have no documents of the person who committed suicide.^[15]
• June 29, 2018: A fire hit the SM Mega Tower under construction near SM Mega Fashion Hall at around 7:30 PM. It was declared "fire out" at around 6 hours later, at 1:30 AM on the next day. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) had announced in a tweet at 8:16 PM on Thursday that the blaze had already reached the 3rd alarm. This meant that up to 9 fire trucks should be deployed.^[16]

See also

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

References

1. ^ "15 Biggest Malls in the World". Insider Monkey. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
2. ^ "Megamall". Malls. SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Archived from the original on 2007-01-21. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
3. ^ Tantuco, Vernise (27 November 2015). "Touring the new SM Seaside City Cebu, PH 3rd biggest mall". Rappler. Retrieved 25 February 2016. SM said that the largest mall is SM Megamall at 474,000 m² (5,100,000 sq ft), followed by SM North EDSA at 470,000 square meters.
4. ^ "SM Prime expanding Megamall for P1.5b". Manila Standard Today. May 2, 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
5. ^ Charm, Neil. "Service robots coming soon to malls as SM ties up with Cal-Comp | BusinessWorld". www.bworldonline.com. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
6. ^ "SM Megamall now PH's largest mall". Inquirer Business. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
7. ^ "SM Megamall is Once Again the Largest Mall in the Philippines". Pinoymalls.
8. ^ "SM Prime Holdings appoints Aurecon as designer of SM Megamall Towers". The Edge Markets. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
9. ^ "Blast hits Megamall; 1 killed, 17 wounded". THE PHILIPPINE STAR. May 22, 2000. Retrieved Dec 16, 2017.
10. ^ http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/metro-manila/05/26/12/cop-killed-sm-megamall-shooting
11. ^ Tricia Aquino (January 26, 2013). "Netizens capture mayhem in Megamall". TV5. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
12. ^ http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/306951/malfunctioning-siomai-steamer-sends-megamall-shoppers-fleeing-in-panic-1-hurt/story/
13. ^ "SM issues statement on alleged suicide at Megamall". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
14. ^ "Teen falls to her death in Mandaluyong mall". The Philippine Star. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
15. ^ https://rmn.ph/babae-tumalon-mula-sa-5th-floor-ng-sm-mega-mall-patay-pnp/
16. ^ https://www.rappler.com/nation/206029-fire-sm-megamall-building-under-construction-june-28-2018