Published on Thursday, 15 August 2013 00:00
Written by ALBERT CASTRO
Malaya
Business News Online - Philippine Business News | Online News Philippines
A few months
into the completion of its first real estate project, the Del Rosario family
who owns Fisher Mall now being developed
at the former site of the Pantranco bus
terminal in Quezon City , is setting its sights on expanding its property
portfolio. This time, hotel development.
Raymond del
Rosario, president of Mallers Management
Corp., , said the company is studying
the possibility of building a 110-unit
boutique hotel within the two-hectare site of Fisher Mall along Quezon avenue.
The mall alone covers 17,000 square meters.
“There is not
much of a hotel of the kind we plan to put up within the area,” Del Rosario
said.
He did not
elaborate except to say the plan will be implemented by 2015 or 2016.
Fisher Mall
is developed by Mallers Management’s mother company Mallers Investment, Inc.
Del Rosario
said the company plans a hotel that offers five-star amenities but on
an affordanle price range geared towards travelers and businessmen.
He said
construction of the P2.8- billion mall is on schedule, in time for the planned
opening in November.
Construction
is already 80 percent complete, with projected occupancy for the mall’s 40,000
sq.m., gross leasable area now at 75
percent.
Fisher Mall
is designed to have five storeys of department stores and specialty stores, and
three levels of underground parking. The mall will also feature a supermarket
that will leverage on the Del Rosarios’ long experience in the fishing
business.
The
Malabon-based Del Rosarios are also the owners of fishing firm Irma Fishing and
Trading, Inc., which owns over 100 fishing vessels.
Fsher Mall
is designed to be an interactive place
with features such as augmented reality and high-tech mobile appplications
infused into a shopper’s experience.
As a
lifestyle and entertainment mall, Fisher Mall will have one of the biggest
gaming arcades in the country, with 2,400 sq.m. dedicated to games.
The mall was
also designed to bring back the old feel of cinema watching.
“It’s a mall
that has a more relaxed, more homey
environment. We want everybody to feel welcome and have a good time,” Del
Rosario said.
Fisher Mall’s
name pay homage to the Del Rosarios’ long history in the fishing business .
The
department store and supermarket of Fisher Mall will be managed by the Del
Rosario family.
“It is
(our) expertise in fishing that would
allow Fisher Mall’s supermarket to offer the freshest fish in town -- straight
from the port. In as fast as 20 minutes, they can have newly caught fish in the
supermarket each and every single day. You just can’t get any fresher than
that,” Mallers Management earlier said in a statement.
“We can
showcase the products of the sea. But we’d like to hit in a more extensive way.
The freshest first at the better than reasonable market price. Bringing fish to
the folk in a fresher condition andmroe competitive price,” said Roberto Del
Rosario, the del Rosario family patriarch and Mallers Investment chairman.
With this,
Fisher Mall seeks to capture a niche in the market that is rarely tapped by
current retail operators, according to Roberto Alfonso Del Rosario, Fisherfoods
Corp. president, the supermarket arm of Mallers Investment.
Fisher Mall
also seeks to be a go-to place for fashion.
Mallory
Seton, business development manager of Fisher Mall, the company will bring in
various brands into the mall, including those from Australia, UK, and
the US, among others.
The mall is
also expected to generate employment of an estimated 1,500 when fully
operational.
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