SM Megamall

SM Megamall is a large shopping and mixed-use complex in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, developed and operated by SM Prime Holdings, the property arm of the SM Group. Opened on June 28, 1991, it was the third SM Supermall, following SM City Sta. Mesa and SM North EDSA. The project was financed through a major 1989 loan arranged by First Asia Realty under the direction of Henry Sy Sr., at a time when a development of its scale was considered an unusually ambitious undertaking in the Philippines. The mall occupies roughly 10 hectares and is organized around several interconnected buildings and facilities. Its two original structures, commonly known as Buildings A and B, are separated by Julia Vargas Avenue and connected by pedestrian links. They contain department-store and supermarket operations, electronics and technology retail, home-improvement stores, fashion tenants, restaurants, cinemas, and the Megatrade Hall operated by SMX Convention Center. The complex also includes the Mega Atrium, Building C, the Mega Fashion Hall, transport facilities, parking structures, and the adjoining Mega Tower office development. SM Megamall has repeatedly expanded and changed its role within the SM portfolio. The 16,000-square-meter Mega Atrium was completed in 2008. Building C opened in 2011 with offices, parking, transportation facilities, and a Department of Foreign Affairs passport office. The Mega Fashion Hall opened in January 2014, adding approximately 86,000 square meters of retail space and a large concentration of international fashion, dining, leisure, and lifestyle tenants. The expansion also introduced an IMAX theater, a premium cinema, an Olympic-sized ice-skating rink, a bowling center, an upscale food hall, and additional event space. The mall has been known for combining everyday shopping with destination entertainment. Its tenant mix includes SM Store, SM Supermarket, Ace Hardware, Toy Kingdom, Cyberzone technology retailers, international clothing brands, restaurants, service businesses, cinemas, and event venues. It has also hosted major public activities, including speed-skating and figure-skating events during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. A 2021 stainless-steel public artwork titled Time Sculpture, created by Filipino-American artist JEFRË, became a visual landmark outside the Mega Fashion Hall. SM Megamall is positioned as a high-traffic metropolitan destination serving shoppers, office workers, commuters, families, tourists, and visitors to the wider Ortigas business district. Its location along EDSA and Julia Vargas Avenue places it near MRT-3 and EDSA Carousel connections and within a dense cluster of offices, schools, hotels, financial institutions, and competing retail centers. The complex has been described as one of the Philippines' largest malls, with reported total floor area figures varying according to whether retail, leasable, office, and parking components are counted. The mall's redevelopment plans announced in 2024 were intended to modernize portions of the complex, add leasable space and parking, and update interiors, food, cinema, and rooftop public areas.

SM Megamall emerged from the expansion of the SM retail business into large-scale enclosed shopping centers. In April 1989, Henry Sy Sr., through First Asia Realty, arranged approximately one billion Philippine pesos in financing from Philippine National Bank and Citibank for the development. Construction began that year in Ortigas Center, a strategically important business district connected to major roads and public-transport routes. The mall opened on June 28, 1991, as the third SM Supermall. Its original complex consisted primarily of Buildings A and B, positioned on opposite sides of Julia Vargas Avenue. The development introduced a very large retail destination to the district and remained the country's largest mall for approximately 17 years, until the opening of SM Mall of Asia in 2006 changed the national ranking of major shopping centers. The original complex included retail stores, cinemas, restaurants, parking, a trade hall, and an ice-skating rink. The first rink was later removed during redevelopment, while bowling facilities were also subsequently replaced or relocated. SM Megamall expanded in stages. The Mega Atrium, completed in 2008, connected and extended the original buildings with additional retail, dining, public circulation, indoor landscaping, and a Catholic chapel. Building C opened on October 11, 2011, on land previously used for open parking. Its upper floors provided office space, its middle levels supplied parking, and its ground floor included a transport terminal. The building also became home to the first Metro Manila passport office of the Department of Foreign Affairs' NCR-East office. The largest major addition was the Mega Fashion Hall, also referred to as Building D, which opened on January 28, 2014. The five-level expansion added roughly 86,000 square meters of retail space, including international fashion brands, restaurants, household retailers, service shops, and event facilities. It also brought an IMAX digital theater, a premium Director's Club cinema, a new Olympic-sized ice rink, an upscale food hall, a 14-lane bowling center, and a bingo area. The project helped the complex reclaim a leading position among Philippine malls by reported gross leasable area. SM Megamall's wider footprint later gained an office component through Mega Tower. The 50-storey tower, designed by Arquitectonica, was built beside the Mega Fashion Hall on a former open-parking area. Groundbreaking took place in 2016, construction began later that year, and the tower was topped out in 2020 before opening in 2021. It contains office and parking facilities and is directly linked to the fashion expansion. A major tenant, ConnectOS, was reported in 2022. The complex has also served as a civic, cultural, and transport-oriented destination. It is adjacent to MRT-3 and EDSA Carousel access points and is close to numerous offices, schools, hotels, banks, and competing malls. In 2018, SM partnered with Cal-Comp Technology Philippines on planned artificial-intelligence service robots for deployment at the mall. In 2021, artist JEFRË's stainless-steel Time Sculpture was unveiled outside the Mega Fashion Hall. The mall has experienced several safety and security incidents, including a fatal 2000 bombing, a 2013 jewelry-store robbery, a 2021 fire in Building C, and fires affecting the adjacent under-construction Mega Tower in 2018 and 2021. These events are part of the site's documented history but do not define its principal commercial role. In June 2024, SM Supermalls announced a further redevelopment involving additional leasable space and parking, updated interiors and exteriors, revised food and cinema areas, and a rooftop sky garden. The project represents the continuing adaptation of the complex from a traditional enclosed mall into a broad mixed-use urban destination.

• 2024

  Redevelopment announced

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  SM Supermalls announced plans for additional leasable area, parking, upgraded interiors, cinemas, dining, and a rooftop garden.

• 2021

  Time Sculpture unveiled

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  JEFRË's stainless-steel public artwork was unveiled outside the Mega Fashion Hall.

• 2019

  Southeast Asian Games skating venue

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  The mall's rink hosted speed skating and figure skating competitions.

• 2016

  Mega Tower construction begins

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  Groundbreaking and subsequent construction started for the adjoining 50-storey office tower.

• 2014

  Mega Fashion Hall opens

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  The expansion added major fashion, dining, cinema, sports, and leisure facilities.

• 2011

  Building C opens

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  Building C added offices, parking, a transport terminal, and government service space.

• 2008

  Mega Atrium completed

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  A 16,000-square-meter addition introduced more retail, restaurants, indoor landscaping, and a chapel.

• 1991

  SM Megamall opens

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  The mall opened on June 28 as the third SM Supermall.

• 1989

  Development financing and construction begin

  [1]SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org

  First Asia Realty arranged major financing for the project, and construction began in Ortigas Center.

A large, centrally located metropolitan lifestyle and retail destination that combines mass-market shopping with international fashion, dining, entertainment, transportation, events, and office uses.

• Retail and entertainment · 1991

  Main Mall Buildings A and B

  The original core of SM Megamall contains department-store and supermarket operations, fashion and specialty retailers, technology stores, restaurants, cinemas, parking, and the Megatrade Hall. Building A includes cinemas and family-oriented retail, while Building B includes SM Store, Ace Hardware, Cyberzone, and convention facilities.

• Retail and public space · 2008

  Mega Atrium

  Completed in 2008, the Mega Atrium links the principal mall buildings and adds shops, restaurants, an indoor garden, and the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord.

• Mixed-use and transport facility · 2011

  Building C

  Building C combines office floors, parking, a transport terminal, and a Department of Foreign Affairs passport office. It expanded the complex beyond conventional retail and strengthened its transport and civic functions.

• Fashion, dining, and entertainment · 2014

  Mega Fashion Hall

  The Mega Fashion Hall is a five-level expansion with international and local fashion retailers, restaurants, service businesses, an IMAX theater, a premium cinema, an Olympic-sized ice rink, a bowling center, a food hall, event areas, and additional parking.

• Office tower · 2021

  Mega Tower

  Mega Tower is a 50-storey office development directly connected to the Mega Fashion Hall. It includes office floors, basement parking, and mall administration facilities, extending the complex's mixed-use business-district role.

• 2025

  Vendor confrontation involving security guard

  A video showing a security guard confronting a sampaguita vendor and damaging her garlands circulated in January 2025. The guard was dismissed, barred from SM Supermalls, and reportedly faced an administrative case.

  Source

• 2000

  Cinema restroom bombing

  A bomb exploded in a restroom near Cinema 6 on May 21, killing one person and injuring dozens.

  Source

Read more

• 2024

  Major redevelopment announcedStrategy

  Background

  SM Supermalls announced a modernization program for portions of the aging complex.

  Action taken

  The plan called for additional leasable space and parking, updated interiors and exteriors, refreshed food and cinema areas, and a rooftop garden with outdoor dining and seating.

  Aftermath

  Parts of Building A were identified for redevelopment, with the design attributed to Benoy.

  Source

• 2018

  Artificial-intelligence service robot partnershipStrategy

  Background

  SM pursued technology-enabled customer assistance within its mall network.

  Action taken

  SM partnered with Cal-Comp Technology Philippines to provide New Era AI robotic service units for SM Megamall.

  Aftermath

  The robots were planned for deployment at the mall by the first quarter of 2019.

  Source

• 2014

  Launch of Mega Fashion HallProduct launch

  Background

  SM Megamall needed additional retail and leisure capacity as competition among large Philippine malls intensified.

  Action taken

  SM opened a large fashion-oriented expansion with new stores, restaurants, cinemas, sports facilities, and event areas.

  Aftermath

  The complex increased its reported gross leasable area and regained a leading position among Philippine shopping centers.

  Source

• 2009

  Original ice rink removedGeneration change

  Background

  The first ice-skating rink in Building A was removed during changes to the original mall facilities.

  Action taken

  SM later replaced it with a new rink in the Mega Fashion Hall.

  Aftermath

  The new rink opened as part of the 2014 expansion and subsequently hosted international sporting events.

  Source

• 2021-11-18

  TikTok and SM Supermalls launch Mega TikTok Stage[3]TikTok与SM Supermalls推出Mega TikTok Stagetechnology.inquirer.net

  Reported: 2021-11-18

  TikTok partnered with SM Supermalls to launch the #MegaTikTokStage, an interactive offline stage at SM Megamall for shoppers to create TikTok videos.

1. 1SM Megamallen.wikipedia.org
2. 2SM Megamall official websitesm-megamall.com
3. 3TikTok与SM Supermalls推出Mega TikTok Stagetechnology.inquirer.net