Posted on 08:19 PM, November 15, 2010 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
DAVAO CITY -- City councilors here approved the reclassification of a 10-hectare property in Lanang district, about six kilometers north of city hall, from “parks and recreation” to “major commercial zone,” tearing down a major hurdle in the construction of a second SM City shopping mall.
The subcommittee on housing and subdivision development gave the recommendation after the applicant, represented by Southernpoint Properties Corp., submitted all the necessary documents including the barangay council resolution and the certificates of non-objection by the property owners. Southernpoint Properties is a subsidiary of SM Prime Holdings, Inc.
“The applicant intends to construct and operate a commercial shopping mall on the property, hence the application for reclassification,” said city councilor Rachel P. Zozobrado, chairwoman of the subcommittee.
The land was purchased by SM Prime from Dakudao and Sons, Inc., and was previously part of the 40-hectare Lanang golf course, which folded on July 31, 2008 after nearly 30 years of operation due to mounting taxes and maintenance costs.
On July 20, the Office of the City Planning and Development Coordinator issued a certification that the property in question is within the parks and recreation area under the zoning ordinance.
On Sept. 13, the subcommittee conducted a public hearing to discuss the reclassification. After deliberations, the subcommittee recommended the grant of the application of Southernpoint Properties to amend the zoning classification of the property.
The second SM Prime shopping mall in the city, the Lanang mall would be about half in size of the existing SM City Davao Mall along Quimpo Boulevard, south of the city, which opened in November 2001 with a floor area of about 80,000 square meters.
The SM City Lanang is expected to start operations later next year along with SM City in General Santos. SM Prime executives project that around 1,000 new jobs will be generated by the project. Talks are rife here that the new SM City Lanang will feature an IMAX theater.
It will compete for the northern residents of the city with the P4-billion Abreeza Mall of the Ayala Land, Inc., about four kilometers away, which will also open next year after a delay in construction.
The stretch of J.P. Laurel Avenue has become a hub for shopping malls in the city, hosting both SM City and Abreeza, Robinsons Cybergate, Gaisano Mall, and Victoria Plaza.
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