Cagayan de Oro, also known as the “City of Golden Friendship” is also the Gateway to Mindanao and the gold mine of breath-taking attractions. It is well-known as the adventure capital of Mindanao since it boasts several adventure sports activities such as the zipline, white water rafting, paragliding, parasailing and many others.
Cagayan de Oro city is also one of the booming cities in the Philippines since it houses plenty of businesses and infrastructures. What makes the city so attractive to investors and tourists is its rich cultural heritage, its abundance in natural attractions, hospitable residents and the peaceful, quiet lifestyle of Kagay-anons. Whenever there is an opening, people are always excited which is why when SM opened a premier mall downtown, several individuals flocked the place.
SM CDO Downtown Premier officially opened last May 12, 2017. This being SM Prime Holdings’ 61st mall and 6th in Mindanao alone. It is also the second SM mall to be opened in Cagayan de Oro. This new mall is placed at the city’s “mall belt” which is at the intersection of Claro M. Recto Avenue and Osmena Street.
Mall Features
SM Cdo Downtown Premier gives Kagay-anons a whole new shopping experience with its world-class design and the existence of International brands that can’t be found in other malls. This premier mall has 5 floors and boasts a 177, 743.21 square meters land area. Aside from that, it also houses an 8-floor prime office in its BPO tower that will open soon.
If you take a look around the mall, you’ll be impressed by its elegant design since its exteriors are delicate, mostly made of glass and metal. Plus, it showcases natural colors which give it a sophisticated look. As for the interiors, it’s very unique since it has rich and soft finishes that are highlighted with shades of gray and other pastel colors.
As for the floors and ceilings, a diagonal pattern is reflected on them to make them appealing to the eyes. The mall is also equipped with good lighting to give shoppers a pleasant experience when inside. SM Premier has a parking building that can accommodate 1,500 vehicles.
Bringing the Uptown Vibe Downtown
What SM Cdo Downtown Premier aims to project is to bring the uptown vibe downtown thus giving Kagay-anons a classy mall experience. It has the perfect combination of shopping, leisure and entertainment.
The mall’s design team include; DSGN & Associates, Jose Siao Ling and associates (Design Architect), Architect on Record and DA Abcede and Associates, construction managers.
What’s Inside SM Cdo Downtown Premier?
The mall has its signature retail anchors which are the SM Store and SM Supermarket.
However, also present are SM Appliance, Eye Browse Optical, Miniso, Burger King, Sweet Cravings, Pet Express, Toy Kingdom, Our Home, Sports Central and others.
Aside from that, SM Premier will also be the home of lots of fashion stores, shoe stores, novelty shops, home improvement stores, wellness center and Cyberzone for technology-loving customers.
As for the International brands that can be found inside the mall, they are the following; Uniqlo, Forever 21, The Body Shop, Miniso, Giordano, Ace Hardware, Watsons, Crocs, The Face Shop and Oakley. The Filipino brands will also be there such as Penshoppe, For Me, MEMO, Oxygen, Bench and many more.
Kagay-anons are known to have a deep love for good food which is why SM opened its Food Hall at the 3rd floor. Food chains and specialty restaurants can be found there such as Pepper Lunch and the Big Apple Pizza Co.
Home-grown restaurants and food shops are also present on the same floor namely; Bigby’s, Missy Bon Bon, The Hungry Plate, Chez Marie, Damaso, Barkadahan Grill, Bingsoo, Naicha, Hanabel’s, Salo Salo sa Panagatan and Arturos.
A mall wouldn’t be complete without entertainment so SM Premier has 7 cinemas, 4 digital theaters, 2 Director’s Clubs and one large format digital cinema. In addition, there’s also a world-class bowling center for those who love the sport.
An Environment-friendly Mall
Another unique feature of this new premier SM mall is that it is committed to sustainability and wants to show mall-goers that it is an environment-friendly mall.
Upcoming is its Sky Garden that has a beautiful landscape filled with plants, trees and everything green. It will allow shoppers to experience a touch of nature in this urban setting.
Disaster Risk Protection
To ensure that mall-goers will be safe during heavy rainfall or typhoons, SM CDO Downtown Premier is equipped with a Rainwater Catchment System that can help prevent flooding. This facility is placed below the Main Mall building and is 3,000 square meters wide and 6 meters deep. It has the capacity to hold up to 13,650 cubic meters of water or close to 13.7 million liters of water. Its tank was based on the of 24-hour rainfall intensity of 455 mm that was brought by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.
Mall Blessing and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Before the mall’s Grand opening day, SM CDO Downtown Premier had a blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony last May 11, 2017.
This was attended by the mall tenants, stakeholders, VIPs like Mayor Oscar Moreno, Vice Mayor Joaquin Uy, SM Prime Holdings President Mr. Hans Sy, Governor Bambi Emano, Ms. Felicidad Sy and Mr. Elmer Francisco (Special Advisor to the Director General for North America and ASEAN at Philippine Economic Zone Authority) among others.
After the one hour mass, the ribbon-cutting followed suit and a huge explosion of confetti signaled the inauguration and formal launching of SM CDO Downtown Premier mall.
Video Courtesy of YouTube from The Explorer’s Channel:
Several simultaneous store launchings occurred on that day, to the joy of the attendees and media people. SM Cinema, SM Store, SM Supermarket and Forever 21 are just some of the most significant launchings that took place on that day, May 11, 2017.
Stars and Pocket Events
On the Grand Opening day, May 12, there was a Meet and Greet with KC Concepcion at 10 am.
Ms. Alice Dixson also graced the Grand Opening of Mags Store at the mall’s 2nd floor.
On the following day, May 13, Forever 21 had a fashion preview show at the mall’s event center featuring International models and local celebrities wearing their merchandise on the cat walk.