New mall to rise in Mandaue City
December 10, 2009 11:19 pm CEBU CITY, Dec. 10 – A new and modern shopping mall has broken ground on A.S. Fortuna St. in Mandaue City, to officially start its construction. J Mall is also the first venture of Everjust Realty Development Corp., a family corporation headed by Justin Uy, founder and president of food processing company Profood International Corp. Uy said the company decided to use the name J Mall so it will be easy to remember, especially by tourists who don’t speak English. The letter J also stands for the names of the Uy brothers, who all have a role in the corporation. The two-storey J Mall sits on a 3.2-hectare property that used to be the manufacturing compound of Royal Match before it was foreclosed. ”Our company wants to be the engine, the missing link for economic revitalization in this side of Mandaue City,” Uy said. Uy did not disclose how much the company would invest in the project, but he said the financing is backed by Banco de Oro. Construction of the project is expected to be completed in two years. During the peak period of its construction phase, which will be in February, the company may hire 2,000 people, said Harisson Pow of HS Pow Construction and Development Corp., J. Mall’s managing contractor for the project. Once the mall starts operations not latter than October 2011, it will also provide more job opportunities to Cebuanos. He said J Mall will also provide the commercial and leisure component on the A.S. Fortuna St. stretch which is mostly occupied by industrial firms. Uy said the total usable floor area of the project is 92,000 square meters, 7,000 of which have been set aside for its anchor tenant, SM Hypermart. The company is negotiating with other possible tenants through a Manila-based consultancy firm. The mall will have space for 271 outlets. Aside from this, the mall will have space for lease for a contact center. The one-hectare space for the contact center can accommodate at least 1,500 seats. Negotiations are also ongoing between J Mall and various business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. Uy said the talks have been opened with BPO players already in Cebu and those that are yet to expand operations here. J Mall will also have a two-level basement parking that can accommodate 800 cars. The second phase of the project, to start on its third year of development, will include the building of two towers that can be made into a hotel or service apartments. But Uy said the concept for the two towers may still change, depending on the progress of the development. Everjust Realty Development Corp. is also looking at acquiring more properties since it plans to venture into more commercial developments. (PNA) LDV/EB/re |