SM Aura Premier

SM Aura Premier[2] is a large upscale shopping mall located along McKinley Parkway and C5 Road cor. 26th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig[3] Metro Manila, Philippines, owned by SM Prime Holdings, the country's largest mall developer. It is the 13th SM Supermall in Metro Manila and 47th SM Prime mall in the Philippines. Its is the 2nd SM Supermall to be called "Premier" After SM Lanang Premier. The shopping center is situated near its rival mall Market! Market!, owned by Ayala Malls, a real estate subsidiary of Ayala Land, and affiliate of Ayala Corporation. It is designed by EDGE Interior Designers and Arquitectonica.

SM Aura Premier
View of SM Aura Premier - Office Tower
LocationBonifacio Global City, Taguig, Philippines
Coordinates14°32′46″N 121°03′16″E
Address26th Street Corner McKinley Parkway
Opening dateMay 17, 2013 (2013-05-17)
DeveloperSM Prime Holdings
ManagementSM Prime Holdings
No. of stores and services300+
No. of anchor tenants8
Total retail floor area198,257 sq.m.[1]
Public transit access  EX02  Market! Market!
 C01  Market! Market!
 NR11  Market! Market!
Websitesm-aura.com

Etymology

The name of SM Aura Premier derived from the two elements gold (which has the chemical symbol Au) and radium.[4] According to SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the name defines “luxury and elegance that emanates from within.”[5]

History

The mall had its inaugural blessing on May 16, 2013; a day before the grand opening. Numerous celebrities, government officials including Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, company officials, and VIP guests graced the blessing, including SM Prime's Henry Sy and Hans Sy. Hollywood celebrity Sarah Jessica Parker also graced the blessing.[6] She also cut the ribbon for The SM Store, as well as being the newest endorser for their "Love to Shop" campaign.[7][8]

Mall Features
Interior of the SM Aura Premier.

The development includes the Skypark, a multi-level green roof. It has al fresco bars & restaurants, sculptures and botanical gardens, a 1,000-seat performance hall called Samsung Hall and the 250-seat Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod.

Designed by Miami-based architectural firm Arquitectonica, the structure will be a basic “dumbbell” arrangement determined by the narrow site, with the main entry at the north corner, and the office tower located at the southern end. The main vehicular drop-off is provided on the western side, with taxi stations on the first basement, accessed from the lower, eastern road.

The high-end mall consists high-end and international fashion brands such as Stuart Weitzman, Joseph (UK), Calvin Klein, Bershka, Stradivarius, Uniqlo, Forever 21, Topman, and Topshop. Other tenants include Crate & Barrel, Ramen Nagi, Todd English Food Hall Manila and Fitness First Platinum.

It also featured two regular cinemas equipped with Dolby Atmos sound system, two Director's Club Cinemas, and an IMAX digital theater at the fourth floor.[9] It also features an SMX Convention Center at the third and fourth floors.[10]

Samsung Hall

Samsung Hall, located at the 6th level of SM Aura Premier, is a 1,000-seat performance theater that has been graced by multiple international acts such as Sungha Jung, Mayday Parade, Charli XCX, Metric, Before You Exit, Oh Wonder, Why Don’t We and iKon.

SM Aura Office Tower

The mall is connected to a 29-storey office tower which has an area of 40,424 square metres. The SM Aura Office Tower is built according to international green standards, with efficient use of energy and sustainable operation features. [11] The Office Tower is also home to one of the largest serviced offices in the Philippines, with 400 seats in a 20,000-square ft. office space.[12] As part of Bonifacio Civic Center, the tower also houses several government offices such as Social Security System, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG Fund (Home Development Mutual Fund), Philippine Postal Corporation, and Taguig City local government.[13] The Aura Tower also houses corporate offices such as Uber, Regent Foods Corp., and Ezaki Glico International.

Awards and recognition

SM Aura Premier is also the first and sole mall to be certified Gold under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for its green features in the retail sector in the Philippines.[14][15][16] The LEED Certification is an internationally recognized standard awarded to institutions that follow the strict regulations governing green architecture and construction. It is a citation awarded to a distinct few by the US Green Building Council.

Controversies

There is a legal battle between the Bases Conversion Development Authority and the SM Aura Premier. The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), in a statement, refuted the claim of SM Prime Holdings Inc. that the controversial SM Aura mall in Taguig City was legally built based on a deed of conveyance (DOC) between the local government and BCDA.[17]

During his term, former Taguig Mayor Sigfrido Tinga initially went into discussions with the Ayala Group on the use of land. “Instead of just building a civic center, it was suggested to intend the property for a mixed use facility to generate funds for the city, [with a] 2,000 to 4,000 square meter space to be appropriated for government offices. City government should also have a percentage on rentals,” the Office of now Congressman SigfridoTinga said in a statement. However, the discussions on land use was carried over to the term of Taguig's current mayor, Ma. Laarni “Lani” Cayetano. “After Tinga's term as mayor, he had no idea anymore on what came out of the talks. SM Aura has started construction during Lani Cayetano's term in 2010 and they issued the occupancy permit to SM,” the office of the congressman said.[17]

See also

References
  1. "SM Prime Holdings |" (PDF). SM Prime. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  2. "SM PRIME CREATES NEW LANDMARK WITH SM AURA; SETS NEW STANDARD IN GREEN DEVELOPMENT". SM Prime Press Release. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  4. "Andrew Petch - adoboLIVE: Behind the SM Aura brand". adoboLIVE on YouTube. Sanserif Inc. May 17, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  5. "SM now spans 5.9M sq.m." SunStar Cebu. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  6. "Sarah Jessica Parker in Manila for SM Aura Premier opening". BusinessMirror. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  7. "Hollywood star Sarah Jessica Parker attends blessing of The SM Store in Taguig City". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  8. "Sarah Jessica Parker finds Manila exciting, interesting". Inquirer Lifestyle. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  9. "Ready your eyes for the IMAX experience at SM Aura". GMA News.
  10. "SM puts up 3rd SMX Convention Center in Taguig City". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  11. "SM Aura Premier launches Office Tower". Manila Bulletin Online. Retrieved Sep 16, 2014.
  12. "KMC Solutions Launches One of the Largest Serviced Offices in the Philippines". PR Newswire. Retrieved Sep 16, 2014.
  14. "SM Aura gets award for green features". Philstar.com. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  15. "SM Aura Premier wins LEED Gold certification". Manilatimes.net. 2017-02-11. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  16. "SM Aura receives LEED Gold Designation". Primer.com.ph. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  17. "Deed for SM Aura construction misinterpreted - BCDA". Gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
Preceded by
SM Lanang Premier		 47th SM Supermall
2013		 Succeeded by
SM City BF Parañaque
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