Tutuban as a brand, not just a destination

MANILA, Philippines - A redevelopment plan for the former Tutuban Mall, which shall be called “Tutuban Commercial Center” from now on, has been unveiled to its current lessees and tenants in a grand cocktail held last March 11 at the TMX Multipurpose Hall of this popular bargain center in Manila. Once completed, Tutuban will no longer be interchanged with Divisoria but will already be a brand in itself.

The redevelopment plan is in preparation of the renewal of the 25-year lease in 2014 by the Philippine National Railways (PNR), which helped shape this new concept as PNR also plans to open this June its Bicol line and by first quarter next year, its Tarlac or La Union line.

According to Ernesto Hilario, Business Development Officer of Prime Orion Philippines, Inc. (POPI), the investment holding company that handles Tutuban Propeties, Inc., the expansion totaling 11.5 hectares will cover the Tayuman side and will be a complete mixed-use development that includes commercial and hospitality establishments. It is also envisioned to be a strip mall just like Bonifacio High Street in the Fort Bonifacio Global City with one whole street devoted to malls. “This is something like Chinese Binondo strip since most of the vendors will be second generation and business-educated Filipino-Chinese,” he said.

The existing 8.5 hectares of Tutuban Commercial Center, which will now be known as the only upgraded bagsakan center operating 24/7, will also be renovated and a six or seven-story tower will rise in the unused portions of the property to house commercial stalls on the first two floors, a recreation and entertainment center in the third floor and the top three or four stories will be 250-room budget hotel for viajeros who will be bringing their goods to the bagsakan center. Also envisioned in this site are clusters of review centers for graduates of architecture, engineering, nursing, and others who are preparing for their board exams.

The bagsakan will be for fresh fruits, both here and abroad — since there is no known bagsakan for fruits in Manila except the pricey retail stores in San Marcelino — and as clamored by residents from both Divisoria and Tayuman sides will also contain wet and dry goods, Hilario said. There will also be an “auto” strip just like in Banawe and for motorcycles, same as that found along 8^th Avenue in Caloocan City. “Motoring shows and other auto-related events can be held here.”

“What is exciting is I am positioning the new Tutuban as an intermodal terminal hub. If we have an Araneta terminal in Cubao we will replicate it here because we have all the spaces for buses, vans and jeeps. What Araneta does not have that we do is the PNR train,” Hilario said.

The company will also lobby for the extension of LRT Line 2 to run from Recto to Tutuban Commercial Center on the way to Port Area coming from Pasig. “They have a plan to extend it until the pier and the first spot after Recto is our property,” Hilario added.

Funds for the redevelopment will be basically coming from internal savings but the company is also looking at the possibility of public offerings for the Tutuban brand since POPI, the mother company, is already listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Tutuban Commercial Center has six buildings with two clusters, two center malls, one parking mall and one main block mall. It also has the most number of security personnel in the entire property and a total of 2,000 tenants. The company will also renovate the current mall. “I would want to make Tutuban as a brand and not just a location. Because now when you talk about Tutuban it connotes affordable bargains,” he said.

Tenants in the existing clusters may choose to stay but have the option to open a new store in the expansion area. The new development will focus on the higher-end and younger market, which Hilario said can attract the new breed of Chinese merchants, particularly those who finished business courses in either Ateneo or La Salle.