Homegrown retail chain New City Commercial Corporation (NCCC) has commenced construction of its four-story NCCC Mall in Ma-a and is targeting 2024 for its completion.
Rodolfo Saturos, assistant vice president for operations of NCCC Malls, said the ground breaking was in January 2020 and construction started early June 2020, however, construction was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the official day one of the construction was on November 5, 2020 but ground works started early as June, and the company is looking at the fourth quarter of 2024 for the completion of the mall.
Saturos assured that the mall is compliant in the latest structural code and the structural component is made of concrete pile and pile caps as for the installations of fire protection, he said the company took advantage of the latest technology in terms of fire suppressions.
“As you see in the designs there is presentations of the availability of fire ducts, hydrants, automatic fire alarm detectors-these are the latest technology as of the moment. These are the additional features that designer put into consideration for this mall,” he said.
Althea Lucas, vice president for NCCC Malls, said NCCC is investing P4 billion to build the four-story NCCC Mall Ma-a in its 3-hectare property in Ma-a.
“We have been very transparent on our building permit and we initially applied P4 billion capex for this project. We cannot share the exact ratio as to what is internally sourced but we have been working with banks to fund for this project and internally sourced yung iba,” Lucas said during the online launch of the NCCC Mall Ma-a on Wednesday.
The area development includes a business complex that will give a complete mall experience to its customers from homegrown, national and international brands. Poised to be the mall’s unique attraction is “The Nest” where shoppers can relax and enjoy Davao’s skyline view. Also available are four sports courts and multi-purpose halls for various events.
The building will house a complete mix of shops including supermarket, department store, pharmacy, hardware, restaurants, among others.
NCCC commissioned a top-notch design team Asya Design, the same company that designed NCCC Mall Buhangin, for the architectural design of the mall.
Melanie Bacala, assistant vice president for marketing of NCCC Malls, said NCCC collaborated with Asya back in 2018 and drew inspiration from the Philippine Eagle for the design of the mall. NCCC Mall Ma-a is shaped to embody the habitat and way of life of Davao City’s icon, the Philippine Eagle.
“Ito naman ang symbol of Davao City. The Haribon symbolizes a new beginning and courage in overcoming difficulties. Pag conceptualize nung shopping center visualizing the limits from the architectural design perspective. Ini-embody natin ang habitat nung eagle so we use earthly pallets on top of greenery. Marami tayong natural lights which resemble to the appearance of the Philippine Eagle,” she said.
Bacala said NCCC will recognize the aspirational market because the company wants to stay true to the affordability that it is best known for.
The mall will also feature several entertainment options such as cinema, arcade and bowling.
‘We will still continue to give you the best cinema experience in Ma-a,” Lucas said.
The mall will center on providing shoppers with convenience and accessibility where shopping, dining, and entertainment options are made available.
The basement of the building will serve as a parking area, providing 800 slots.
NCCC Mall Ma-a also aims to be an environment-friendly establishment advocating no to single use, non-recyclable plastics.
In terms of mitigating traffic, Lucas said with the new approved traffic impact study, NCCC will be using some part of the mall as access road for the vehicles going to and from the south.
Lucas said that hiring of applicants who were formerly employed by NCCC Mall Ma-a is also being considered.
“But of course, they would have gone through the hiring process again,” she said.
