Photo shows the plan of the new owners of Davao's first Mall - Victoria Plaza. Photo grabbed from video presentation of NCCC
DAVAO CITY -- Homegrown New City Commercial Center (NCCC) vowed to turn this city’s first shopping mall into a prime and iconic destination, saying it will hire the services of Filipinos who designed Singapore’s Marina Sands Bay, Hokada and Galaxy Macao.
NCCC, which formally took over Victoria Plaza on Wednesday after it sealed the acquisition on March 12, presented a five-phase development of the 9.6-hectare property, where Victoria Plaza currently stands.
Victoria Plaza was owned by Sunrise Investments and Development Corporation of the Limso Family.
Sharlene Faye Lim, LTS president and chief executive officer, said the area will be a mixed-use development with eight high-rise condominiums, serviced apartments, retail strips, lush green space, and a five-star hotel.
LTS (Lim Tian Su) operates the NCCC chain of stores in the city. It has expanded to other areas in Mindanao and Palawan.
Lim said the development could run from seven to 10 years and it will be partly funded by a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). The last phase of the development will involve the reconstruction of the original mall, she added.
Lim said all the more than 300 mall tenants will continue to operate but at an area that will be provided by NCCC within the sprawling property. The tenants have also signed new contracts with the LTS/NCCC.
Walter Melicor, chief financial officer of Elements Habitare, said the site would be a showcase of Davao’s icons -- Waling-waling orchid and the pitcher plant.
“We will create iconic buildings,” said Melicor, whose firm is responsible for the design of Singapore’s Marina Sands Bay.
He said Victoria Plaza has a sentimental value to be enhanced, referring to the mall's 26-year-old structure, which was inaugurated on March 16, 1993. (PNA)
