Eton sells Novaliches property to SM Prime

by Miguel R. Camus
BusinessMirror | May 1, 2010

THE Lucio Tan Group of Companies concluded its latest deal with a major property developer since the start of the year, this time with the parent company of the SM Group’s shopping malls, the SM Prime Holdings Inc.

In a statement on Thursday, listed real estate firm Eton Properties Philippines Inc. and Philippine National Bank (PNB) announced the sale of a three-hectare property in Novaliches, Quezon City to SM Prime.


“SM will construct a commercial shopping complex within two years from execution of the memorandum of agreement,” Eton said in the statement. SM Prime officials were not available for comment yesterday.

The property forms part of Eton’s 13.8 -hectare mixed-use township development project, North Belton Communities, in Quezon City through a joint-venture agreement with PNB as the land owner.

“Our partnership with SM in North Belton Communities is all part of the masterplan to give the best value to our homebuyers. The presence of a mall, within the project, brings in convenience and adds value to the community and its neighborhood” says Danilo Ignacio, Eton president and chief operating officer.

The deal marks the second tie-up between Eton and the SM Group which in 2009 added an SM Hypermarket in Eton’s two-level commercial center, the Centris Station, on Quezon Avenue in Quezon City.

Earlier this month, Eton signed a joint venture agreement with Ayala Land Inc.’s low-cost housing subsidiary Amaia Land Corp. to develop a four-hectare property in Calamba, Laguna. The property is owned by affiliate companies of the Tan Group with Eton as the development manager representing the landowners.

A separate deal saw PNB inking a separate partnership with Ayala Land’s affordable housing brand Avida Land to develop a P6-billion venture in a 2.3-hectare property in Mandaluyong City.

Eton Properties has launched a total of 29 projects since it entered the real estate scene three years ago.

In a separate statement, SM Prime said it is opening today the first of four shopping centers scheduled this year.
The company told the stock exchange that SM City Tarlac will be opened to public making it the 37th mall of SM Prime and the first in central Luzon province.

“We warmly welcome all our valued customers to our newest shopping mall, SM City Tarlac. Our new mall eagerly anticipates the arrival of its customerscoming in from the progressive city of Tarlac and other nearby areas and provinces in Central and Northern Luzon. We are ready to provide them a first-rate, integrated shopping, dining and entertainment experience, for which SM Prime is known,” SM Prime president Hans Sy said in a statement.

SM City Tarlac is a four-level mall with a gross floor area of 103,340 square meters (sqm) and 39,219 sqm of leasable areas. The company said 70 percent has already been rented out to clients, including anchor tenants SM Supermarket, SM Department Store, Ace Hardware, SM Appliance and personal-care products distributor Watsons.

SM City Tarlac also features a 1,194-sqm food court, four cinemas, a Cyberzone and parking for over 900 vehicles.

The company is also set to open SM City in Novaliches, Quezon City, SM City Calamba and SM City San Pablo this year. SM Prime will also open its fourth mall in China in Suzhou province in the fourth quarter.

By the end of the year, SM Prime will have 40 malls in the country, of which 16 are in Metro Manila and others spread nationwide with an estimated gross floor area 4.7 million square meters.