IT MAY NOT BE OUT TO CREATE another Hanging Garden of Babylon but, for its next development project, Ayala Malls is turning landscaping on its head, raising the bar—literally—by putting the greenery at the top rather than below.
In fact, even the fountain is defying gravity—flowing upward instead of the traditional downward.
That should be good for both humans and plants as they will be spared the toxic emissions from motor vehicles that ply Edsa and the minor arteries that crisscross it.
For its first foray into Quezon City, erstwhile Philippine capital where most national agencies are headquartered and some of the biggest schools are located, Ayala Malls is pulling all the stops, bringing a little of the Ayala Center, primarily its best-known development projects Glorietta and Greenbelt, to Quezon City with Trinoma, short for Triangle North of Manila.
The more commercially focused Glorietta look-alike will be in the lower floors while the laid-back Greenbelt copy will be on the upper level.
And the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), which ends abruptly at North Avenue like it has suddenly lost its bearing or lost its sense of direction, will finally have some sort of purpose. It will connect directly to the new mall, giving its passengers the luxury of not having to go out into the heat and dust and madness of Edsa but straight into the air-conditioned comfort of Trinoma.
Set to open by the second quarter of 2007, Ayala Malls also calls Trinoma its first regional shopping center as it is designed to service not just Quezon City and neighboring Caloocan’s residents, but also those coming from provinces north of Metro Manila.
Also leading directly to the mall are Mindanao and North avenues, among others.
Offering a wide array of fresh retail choices carefully chosen with the Quezon City market in mind, Trinoma is meant to be “the center of retail, dining and entertainment in Quezon City,” says Rowena Tomeldan, vice president and deputy group head of the Ayala Malls Group.
One of the anchors of the new mall will be Landmark, which so far has resisted the temptation to spread its wings and has seemed happy to have its single store at the MCC. It will finally open a second department store and supermarket in the new QC mall.
Trinoma will have over 550 retail, entertainment and food outlets on four levels. Other features are spacious food court, seven all-digital cinemas and 3,500-slot parking area.
To provide people a more leisurely and efficient shopping experience, Trinoma will be divided into several zones—for kids, teens, sports, home, wellness, entertainment and information technology.
Javi Hernandez, Trinoma general manager, says like other Ayala Malls development projects, the company has put the customers in mind first and tried to “create a super regional shopping center that will fit their needs and be their second home.”
