Ayala Group ramping up mall redevelopment

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala Group is investing more in the redevelopment of additional malls, as the reinvention of the first two shopping centers under its initial makeover plan is slated for completion by the end of the year.

“We just had an approval for another five. Another five redevelopments and new builds,” Ayala Malls chief operating officer Paul Birkett told The STAR.

“My plan for the next five years is a busy plan with billions (of investments). We have to build more. Build it better. Build it quicker and make it right,” he said.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) in 2024 decided to embark on a massive P13-billion redevelopment of its flagship malls, which will see its four iconic shopping centers –– Glorietta, Greenbelt, TriNoma and Ayala Center Cebu – reinvented to cater to evolving consumer preferences.

The company later on announced that it is spending an additional P4.5 billion to redevelop four more malls – Ayala Malls Abreeza, Ayala Malls Cloverleaf, Ayala Malls Fairview Terraces and MarQuee Mall.

Birkett said that TriNoma’s reinvention is expected be completed by the end of the year.

“You know how it is on any redevelopment. It’s the final 20 percent that is the most challenging. So that’s moving on track,” Birkett said.

“Ayala Center Cebu will be completed by the end of the year, barring some recent incident with some earthquake damage. But we’re right on track on that,” he said.

For Glorietta, Birkett said that all internal works will be finished by the end of this year, while Greenbelt is also progressing at a steady pace.

“They’re all on track. So now there’s more coming, I’m not content with that. We’ve got MarQuee being refreshed and expanded. We’ve got Davao (Abreeza) being rebuilt after the earthquake, refreshed and expanded,” Birkett said.

Ayala Malls’ redevelopment program is expected to unleash the full potential of its retail space as well as enhance areas for convergence and create spaces that challenge retailers to bring their best to the Filipino consumer.

Including the renovations, ALI has about 700,000 square meters of mall space currently under planning or construction.

ALI’s optimism to expand its malls is fueled by the continuing growth in foot traffic across its shopping centers nationwide.

Ayala Malls president and ALI head of leasing Mariana Zobel de Ayala earlier said that the group will strategically expand its footprint over the next five years, with plans to add 700,000 square meters of gross leasable space with the opening of new Ayala Malls in key growth areas across the country.