DoubleDragon to put up 2nd mall in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines - The property joint venture of the founders of Mang Inasal and Jollibee has secured another prime lot in Cebu for its second community mall in the city.

In a disclosure, DoubleDragon Properties Corp. said its subsidiary CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. (CMCCI) signed a 30-year lease agreement with Dunes and Eagle Land Development Corp.

The deal covers the lease of a prime commercial lot along N. Bacalso Ave. in downtown Cebu for the construction of a Grand CityMall. Bacalso Ave. is a national road that connects both the northern and southern parts of Cebu.

“DoubleDragon always makes sure that all its projects are located in prime and strategic locations because it believes that its ability to secure prime locations, coupled with having the top retail brands as locators, is a sure formula for long-term viability and success,” the property firm said.

“Metro Cebu represents the province’s thriving urban centers that are physically proximate to Cebu City, which is the leading commercial and financial hub in the Visayas and northern Mindanao areas,’’ it earlier announced.

The acquired property is right in between an existing mall and the Cebu South bus terminal. It is also adjacent to the soon-to-rise Cebu City Medical Center Hospital, several transport terminals, schools, residential communities and government offices.

Grand CityMall, which will be located in the vibrant and highly-populated shopping and business district of Colon, is the second CityMall project in Cebu. In May, CMCCI acquired a 10,251-square-meter lot of Sta. Lucia Realty & Development Inc. in Consolacion, Cebu.

“The company envisions these malls to become the largest branded community mall chain in the Philippines,” DoubleDragon said, adding that CityMall is poised to become a household brand.

CMCCI is 66-percent owned by DoubleDragon while the remaining 34 percent is held by mall and banking conglomerate SM Investments Corp.

DoubleDragon aims to reach the P1-billion net income level by 2016 and P4.8 billion by 2020. It targets to reach one million sqm of total leasable space portfolio by 2020, of which 700,000 sqm is expected to come from the planned 100 CityMall community malls, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

In the first quarter, DoubleDragon said its net income spiked 117 percent to P21.2 million from P9.8 million a year ago while consolidated revenues surged 142 percent to P172.5 million from P71.3 million year-on-year.

The property firm is expecting almost P350 million in earnings this year with the start of the operations of various commercial centers.