• GILBERT P. BAYORAN / CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Property giant Megaworld yesterday unveiled its redesigned masterplan for Northill Parade, a retail and commercial development soon to rise within the 53-hectare Northill Gateway township along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road.
In a statement, Megaworld said that the 2.4-hectare Northill Parade is a free-standing retail development concept that features a total leasable area 1.1-hectares. Aside from retail and dining establishments, the remainder of the space will be allotted to open spaces, parking, and landscaped pathways. Northill Parade forms part of the 7.5-hectare mixed-use retail and leisure complex inside Megaworld’s Northill Gateway township.
“We are excited to introduce Northill Parade as our redesigned commercial development in Northill Gateway. This free-standing commercial concept is similar to the stopovers in the United States located along highways going to and from the airport. Aside from serving guests and tourists driving along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road, Northill Parade will also offer great convenience to residents of Forbes Hill, Fountain Grove, and other nearby villages,” according to Graham Coates, head, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls.
Among the first tenants that will soon have free-standing restaurant outlets each in Northill Parade include five first-in-Bacolod international casual dining brands from The Bistro Group. These brands include Denny’s, TGI Friday’s Randy’s Donuts, Texas Roadhouse, and Olive Garden. This will be the first branches of Randy’s Donuts and Olive Garden outside Metro Manila, with the upcoming Randy’s Donuts establishment featuring a dedicated drive-thru lane.
“Northill Parade perfectly fits the concept of Northill Gateway as a township surrounded by a residential community and highlighted by an outdoor leisure setting that delights visitors with panoramic views of the Negros mountains and the amazing sunset at twilight. Aside from those from The Bistro Group, there will be several other food and retail tenants that will be part of this development,” Coates said.
In 2021, Megaworld opened McDonald’s Forbes Hill, the first-ever McDonald’s NXTGen store in Negros Occidental, just beside the iconic Bacolod City Welcome Marker. The store is only a few steps away from the Megaworld’s 15-hectare residential village Forbes Hill and about a minute’s drive from the 24.5-hectare Fountain Grove community by Megaworld’s subsidiary Suntrust Properties, Inc.
A fully air-conditioned chapel that can accommodate up to 250 people, as well as leisure and institutional components will also rise soon inside Northill Gateway, to further complement the vibrant lifestyle taking shape in the area.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
Coates said construction of all of these developments will begin before the end of this year, and they expect to open Northill Parade by second half of next year.
“Megaworld Lifestyle Malls is thrilled to bring this unique concept of commercial development here in Northill Gateway. Since this township is just along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road, and the Bacolod Welcome Marker is just right here, we expect our Northill Parade to be another new tourist destination in this part of Bacolod. simultaneously, we are also excited to announce that The Upper East Mall, which we announced in 2019, is finally starting its construction next year,” he said.
“This follows the tremendous success that we had with Landers. The membership was a record high of about 60,000 and we also had the biggest opening day sales in the history of Landers. On that fact, we realized that Bacolod is really ready for further retail experience. So, we will start the planning of our mall which will complement Landers early next year,” Coates said.
“So look forward to more exciting brands, look forward to more exciting innovations with Megaworld Lifestyle Malls as we develop Northill and we further develop The Upper East,” he added.
Set to open next year, Northill Parade is the latest development in Bacolod from Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, the retail and commercial development arm of Megaworld known for pioneering the concept of lifestyle malls in the Philippines. Currently, there are 20 Megaworld Lifestyle Malls spread across the country, spearheaded by its flagship developments Eastwood Mall in Quezon City, Uptown Mall and Venice Grand Canal both in Taguig City, and Newport Mall in Pasay City.*
