Araneta Center

History

After World War 2 The Araneta family by J Amado Araneta purchased the land owned by Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in a 35 hectare (90 acre) land between Highway 54 and Aurora Boulevard. Also within P Tuazon Boulevard and 15th Avenue. It started with The Smart Araneta Coliseum in 1957. Then in the 1970s, buildings around it start to appear including Ali Mall, SM Cubao, Fiesta Carnival (presently the Shopwise Supermarket) and The Aurora Tower, Then in the 2000s, Gateway, the modernization of the Araneta Coliseum, with endorsement of Smart Communications, Renovations of Shopwise, Ali Mall, and SM, Manhattan Garden City, a joint venture project by Araneta Center and Megaworld Corporation, Novotel Manila Araneta Center, a joint venture with Accor, Cyberpark Araneta Center, a BPO area, with plans for Gateway Mall 2, and a civic plaza within today's Shopwise.

Araneta White House

Also located in the Center, along P. Tuazon Blvd., is the Araneta family's residential compound which includes the "Bahay na Puti" or White House.

Redevelopment master plan

The Araneta Center is in the midst of an extreme transformation towards mixed-use real estate development in a transit-oriented commercial, office and residential district. Patterned after a lush "garden city" environment, it aims to attract a wide range of visitors that will enjoy various activities in the Center.

Integral to its development is an information technology backbone that would best serve the needs of tech companies and business process outsourcing firms. With this master plan, Arantea Center will become an ultimate lifestyle destination that is striking, vibrant and alive with 24-hour activities. It also cements its mark among commercial and business developments in the country, and is instrumental in the consistent growth of Quezon City, the largest and most populated city in Metro Manila with an estimated 55% belonging to the mid-to-upper market.

Gateway Mall

-The flagship mall that sparked the renaissance of the Araneta Center, Gateway was hailed as Shopping Center of the Year in 2006 and 2007 by the Philippine Retailers Association. It was also a Merit Awardee at the International Council of Shopping Centers' (ICSC) 30th Innovative Design and Development Awards, and a finalist at the 2008 Urban Land Institute Awards for Excellence.

Anchored by Rustan's Department Store, Gateway Mall has five levels of the finest in shopping, dining,fashion, services, and entertainment shops, with three levels of basement parking. It has a total floor area of 100,000 square meters, and caters to about 220,000 shoppers every day. The mall is linked to the Coliseum by a walkway, and to the two major transit systems, the MRT-3 and LRT-2.

The Gateway Mall's biggest crowd-drawer is the Cineplex 10 at Level 4, the country's first Cineplex boasting of 10 luxuriously appointed cinemas with digital sound, Boral acoustic walls, and full stadium seating. Its remarkable features are the Platinum Cinema, the first Lazy-Z-Boy theater in the country; and the 500-seater Cinema 5, which has Dolby Atmos Cinema Sound, a surround sound technology that creates a three-dimensional effect.

Another highlight in Gateway Mall is The Oasis, a one-of-a-kind interior floating garden that opens up to the sky. Mall goers can have their meals there, served by accredited restaurants from the mall; or book the venue for private functions.

Ali Mall

- Opened to the public on June 30, 1976, Ali Mall was named after boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who came out victorious in the 1975 "Thrilla in Manila" bout against Joe Frazier at the historic Araneta Coliseum.

The Philippines' first enclosed and fully air-conditioned mall, it boasted many firsts: It housed the first Cineplex with two initial cinemas that later became four upon mall expansion; had the largest indoor skating rink at the time, the widely successful Skatetown; and pioneered the concept of the food court.

Known to be the first and then the only integrated shopping and parking complex in the Philippines, Ali Mall changed the shopping experience by putting a premium on customer comfort and convenience.

Forty years later, a redeveloped Ali Mall now carries a wider variety of shopping and dining choices, environment-friendly air-conditioning, and a stadium-seating, state-of-the-art Cineplex. It features a one-stop government and banking center, and now has a retail pedestrian link to the SM Department store lined with cafes and food kiosks.

Farmers Plaza

Araneta Center's gateway to EDSA, the newly renovated Farmers Plaza has a modernized facade, upgraded facilities and amenities, and enhanced security to ensure customer safety. Its highlight is the newly opened Farmers Plaza Bazaar, a beacon to bargain-hunters. With the EDSA-MRT station directly connected to the plaza's shopping concourse, it offers utmost comfort and convenience to shoppers from all over the metropolis.

The Gateway Tower

One of the newest landmarks at the Center, the Gateway Tower is a PEZA-certified skyscraper with direct access to the MRT-3 and LRT-2 stations as well as the Manhattan Garden City residential condominiums via an elevated walkway.

Strategically located, this premier 33-storey mixed-use building has two levels of basement parking, six levels of retail seamlessly extended from Gateway Mall, a helipad, and 26 levels of premier office spaces housing multiple telecom providers. It has a centralized air-conditioning system and 100% back-up power.

It also houses the offices of the Araneta Center, Inc. on the building's two topmost floors. -Companies:

Novotel Manila Araneta Center

Standing at the South East quadrant of the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Novotel Manila Araneta Center is a conveniently located deluxe business hotel with 400 rooms, a flexible ballroom that can cater to a maximum of 1,000 people, 8 meeting rooms, an all-day dining restaurant, and a Presidential Suite at the Penthouse level. The highlight of this 26-level building is the executive lounge with a 360-degree view of the metropolis.

Apart from amenities like the swimming pool, fitness gym and two levels of parking, it has an events garden that can be used for weddings and other private affairs, and a health and wellness center.

With flexible spaces that can easily be transformed to meet the business needs of its clientele, the hotel emphasizes state-of-the-art technology, natural light, and urban contemporary design.

Manhattan Garden City

A project of the Araneta Center and Megaworld Corporation, this Mahnattan Garden City will be comprised of 18 residential high rise towers with roughly 9,000 apartments for about 36,000 residents upon completion. The ten high-rises that make up the first three phases – Manhattan Parkway (three towers), Manhattan Parkview (three towers), and Manhattan Heights (four towers) – are already 100% sold out and turned over to buyers.

The last phase, the Manhattan Plaza, will feature eight high-rise residential towers. Inspired by the famous Rockefeller Center in New York, it will have a civic plaza and retail podium at the center of the development. Mahnattan Plaza will be highlighted by a set of grand Spanish steps that leads to the civic plaza.

As the country's first transit-oriented residential development, all 18 towers will eventually be linked via elevated bridgeways to Gateway Mall and the terminals of the MRT-3 along EDSA and LRT-2 along Aurora Boulevard. The whole project will also be connected below-ground via a network of basement parking. Residents have unprecedented easy access to and from P. Tuazon Street and Aurora Boulevard without passing through the Center's road network.

The Araneta Center CyberPark

Part of the Araneta Center's massive redevelopment plan, the Araneta Center CyberPark complex is a P15-billion mega project of a master-planned district that will ultimately comprise five BPO-primed buildings in an eight-hectare location.

The first building completed in the development is the CyberPark Tower 1 (CPT1), which has 27 levels of prime office spaces, two levels of retail, and three levels of basement parking. Compliant to the green building code of Quezon City, this PEZA-registered tower has 100% back-up generator power, multiple telecom service providers that ensure high-speed telecom backbone access to its tenants.

A groundbreaking ceremony was already held for CyberPark Tower 2 (CPT2) and construction is underway. The second PEZA-registered mix-use tower to rise within the complex, it will combine retail spaces and dining areas at the ground floor and second floor; and prime office spaces from the 3rd to the 30th floors. It will have three levels of basement parking, 14 elevators, and a roof deck.

A LEED-compliant, environment-friendly building, it uses double-glazed energy-efficient windows that reduces heat penetration, and features a Rainwater Recovery system. CPT2 is expected to be completed in 2018.

Companies:

Smart Araneta Coliseum

At the very core of the Araneta Center is the 20,000- seater Smart Araneta Coliseum, which caters to over 260 shows a year.

March 2012 marked the start of the historic makeover of the country's sports & entertainment mecca—the Big Dome—with the construction of a 4-storey glass curtain wall atrium at the Green Gate entrance. This will serve as the grand ceremonial entrance of the Coliseum featuring the new SMART Araneta Coliseum logo.

To accommodate the technical demands of current international / foreign shows, the renovation includes improvement of back-of-house facilities; addition of safety features; new access gates; a VIP / Sports Bar; and replacement of all 20,000 arena seats.

Kia Theatre

The classic 60's entertainment landmark New Frontier Theater has been reborn into a 2,500 capacity ultra-modern theater equipped with the latest in audio, visual and lighting technologies.

The Kia Theatre is a multi-function venue that can house everything from mid-size concerts and private gatherings to conventions and seminars. The ground level seats may be taken out to accommodate more people. It has al-fresco dining restaurants and fast food joints along its perimeter.

Capturing the elegance of the past and mixing it with the aesthetics and functionality of a modern entertainment venue, Kia Theatre greets patrons with an elegant drop-off points that opens into an expansive lobby fit for upscale events. A staircase and matching escalators bring patrons to the mezzanine level, a perfect venue for meet-and-greet sessions with the stars before the show.

The theater officially opened on August 15, 2015 with the Manuel L. Quezon play, which was quickly followed up by the world-renowned Disney Live. Since then, it has a steady line up of shows featuring top foreign and local artists like British girl group Little Mix, Charlie Puth, and standup comedian Russell Peters, as well as local pop stars Xian Lim and Kyla, among others.

The Farmers Market

Araneta Center is the only shopping complex with a fresh market. Featured by famous American chef, author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain, Farmers Market is the largest fresh produce market in Metro Manila. Its highlights include the fresh fruits and vegetable section, the Fishmoko section with live fish in fresh-water tanks, and Dampa sa Farmers Market where one can buy fresh sea food and have it cooked.

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