SM Southmall

SM Southmall
SM Southmall logo
SM Southmall in 2023
AddressAlabang–Zapote Road, Almanza Uno, Las Piñas, Philippines
Opening dateApril 2, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-04-02)
Previous namesSM Southmall Las Piñas
DeveloperSM Prime Holdings
ManagementSM Prime Holdings
No. of stores and services400+
No. of anchor tenants6
Total retail floor area205,120 m2 (2,207,900 sq ft)
No. of floors4
Public transit accessBus interchange  24  SM Southmall
WebsiteSM Southmall

SM Southmall (formerly known as SM Southmall Las Piñas), is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. The mall is located along the busy Alabang-Zapote Road in Las Piñas. The mall has 200,000 m2 (2,200,000 sq ft) of land area, a total floor area of 205,120 m2 (2,207,900 sq ft) and a gross built-up area of 189,676 m2 (2,041,660 sq ft). It is currently the 7th largest SM Supermall in the Philippines after SM Mall of Asia, SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Seaside City, SM City Fairview and SM City Cebu.

History

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Construction for SM Southmall began in early 1994. The mall later opened on April 2, 1995, and is the first SM Supermall in the southern region of Metro Manila and the 5th SM Supermall ever built by Chinese-Filipino businessman, Henry Sy. It is the second SM Supermall to feature an Ice Skating Rink after SM Megamall.[1]

In March 2010, renovations for SM Southmall began, with many stores on the second floor have closed with some stalls on the sides offering small items on sale. The redevelopment saw a newly refurbished SM Store, which relocated from the center of the mall to the side to accommodate more fashion stores and the addition of the IMAX cinema which was opened last July 14, 2011. The SM Storyland theme park was closed in May 2011 and was part of the renovation, however some of its rides and attractions were moved at the SM By the Bay Amusement Park at the Mall of Asia Complex. The fashion stores opened in December 2011 along with the grand re-launch in November 2012 (which formally ended the renovation process and declared the mall as a 'premier SM mall').[2]

SM Southmall attracts global retailers including Swedish fashion giant H&M which opened on October 29, 2015, and Uniqlo which opened on November 7, 2014.[3][4]

Miss World 2013 Megan Young became the new mall brand ambassador as part of the #SeeYouDownSouth campaign on August 7, 2019.[5]

Features

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SM Southmall has over 400 shops and service outlets, with six anchor stores. Among the noteworthy features of the mall are its center and south atriums. The center atrium, which once housed a large indoor fountain, is used for events such as concerts and presentations. The mall also features a skating rink at the second level and a bowling center at the lower ground level, that opened in May 2013 and closed in March 2020.[6]

Food Street

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The Food Street which is located at the back of the main mall is a group of restaurants which offers outdoor dining amid plants and an LED-lighted fountain.[7]

SM Game Park

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The SM Game Park [8] is an entertainment facility located at the East Wing of the mall, occupying the original Cinema 4 and opened on December 3, 2021. It features a 14-lane bowling area (relocated from the lower ground floor, which the former space was now a Driftito indoor go-kart center), billiards, archery, table tennis, and a videoke bar.[9] The SM Game Park is also the home of the UFC Gym which opened on June 18, 2022.[10]

SM Cinema

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SM Cinema Southmall; old facade, West Wing

SM Cinema Southmall, which formally opened in late 1995,[11] consists of 9 cinemas with 5 regular cinemas, 1 Event Cinema, 2 Director's Club Cinemas and 1 IMAX Theater, it originally features 10 regular cinemas.[12]

IMAX

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IMAX theater; old entrance

The IMAX theater opened on July 14, 2011, along with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,[13] it has a seating capacity of 440, and it is located at the West Wing of the mall. It is the fourth IMAX theater in the country after SM Mall of Asia, SM North EDSA, and SM City Cebu.[14][15]

Director's Club Cinema

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Two Director's Club Cinemas were opened on April 24, 2019, along with the premiere day of Avengers: Endgame, equipped with Dolby Atmos sound system and Christie CP2320-RGB pure laser cinema projector.[16]

Redevelopment and renovation

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Three cinemas in the West Wing (Cinemas 6–8) were temporarily closed on February 18, 2019, for renovation works, and re-opened on December 25 (Christmas Day), 2019, along with the celebration of the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival (5 days after SM Mall of Asia opened their new cinemas on soft opening), with the new Cinemas 1 and 2 equipped with digital surround sound, premium seating and advanced laser projection, and a 45-seat Event Cinema (also the second Event Cinema branch after SM Mall of Asia that opened on December 12, 2018).[17] Current Cinemas 6 and 7, which were the old Cinemas 1 and 2 at the East Wing, remained open in temporary operations and were closed on February 27, 2020. Old Cinemas 3 and 4 were closed on February 10, 2020, and re-opened in the renovated wing on February 13, 2020. The old Cinema 5 was closed on February 25, 2020, and re-opened in the renovated wing on February 27, 2020. The former cinema wing is now occupied by SM Game Park at the former Cinema 4 and an Events Hall beside it.

Mall complex developments

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South Residences at SM Southmall

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The South Residences at SM Southmall is a condominium with four 15-storey towers. It is located at the south parking area near the entrance gate to Pilar Village.[18]

SM South Tower

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The SM South Tower was established last November 16, 2017. It is a two-tower, eight-storey BPO and carpark building, with parking on its four lower levels and offices above.[19] with a total floor area of 55,092 m2 (593,010 sq ft).[20] One of the main attractions in this building was the Bounce trampoline park, which was now closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

Incidents

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  • August 2, 2004: Five security guards and bank escorts were wounded when 10 armed men fired shots at them before taking two bags of cash from Banco de Oro.[21]
  • August 5, 2017: A councilor from Pasay was hurt in a shooting incident at the mall's driveway near Door 4 (back entrance) at around 8:30 PM. Senior Superintendent Marion Balonglong, Las Piñas City Police chief, identified the injured local official as Borbie Rivera.[22] He was declared dead on arrival at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa.[23][24]
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SM Southmall". 360Cities. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  2. ^ "What's happening to SM Southmall?". Alabang Bulletin. 2010-07-19. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  3. ^ "H&M SM Southmall Opening Promo: Oct 29 2015". www.manilashopper.com. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  4. ^ "Uniqlo SM Southmall Store Opening SALE: Nov 2014". www.manilashopper.com. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  5. ^ "SM Southmall Launches See You Down South Campaign with Megan Young as New Face". Business Mirror. 7 August 2019.
  6. ^ "SM Bowling opens Southmall branch". Manila Standard.
  7. ^ "A new direction for SM Southmall". Philstar. November 20, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  8. ^ "Get your game face on for serious fun at SM Southmall's new game park!". Manila Bulletin. 18 Dec 2021.
  9. ^ "Get your game face on for serious FUN at SM Southmall's new Game Park!". SM Supermalls.
  10. ^ "UFC Gym opens in SM Southmall". Manila Standard. 21 June 2022.
  11. ^ "SM Southmall cinemas open". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. November 2, 1995. p. 30B. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  12. ^ https://smprime.com/sites/default/files/investor_relations/SEC%2017-A-2008.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  13. ^ "Imax invades suburbia". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 20 July 2011.
  14. ^ "SM opens 4th IMAX theater in Las Piñas". BusinessWorld.
  15. ^ "A new direction for SM Southmall". Philippine Star.
  16. ^ "New Director's Club Cinema in SM Southmall opens with 'Avengers: Endgame'". Cinema Bravo. 24 April 2019.
  17. ^ "SM Cinema's new direction: mores screens in smaller theaters". BusinessWorld. 27 January 2020.
  18. ^ "South Residences". SMDC.
  19. ^ "SM Prime builds office tower beside Southmall in Las Piñas".
  20. ^ "SMIC set to spend P73b for expansion - SM Investments". www.sminvestments.com.
  21. ^ "2 Southmall bank robbers identified - Philstar.com". philstar.com.
  22. ^ "Pasay councilor hurt in SM Southmall shooting incident". GMA News. 5 August 2017.
  23. ^ "Pasay councilor shot at SM Southmall declared dead". GMA News. 5 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Pasay City councilor dead in Las Piñas mall shooting". ABS-CBN News. 5 August 2017.
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Preceded by 5th SM Supermall
1995
Succeeded by
SM City Bacoor