SM North EDSA

History

SM North EDSA was built on 40 acre of marshland in a relatively remote location amidst a political crisis that saw interest rates rise as high as 45 percent. According to the 1941 Frost Plan for Quezon City, the area was supposed to be the site of the 46 ha National Exposition Grounds when the city was designated as the capital of the Philippines. In the 1970s, the area became a U.S. Navy Transmitter Station Naval Reservation. The lot was also owned by the Government Service Insurance System and was intended to host houses for public school teachers. The mall opened on November 8, 1985, as The SM Center North EDSA. It was the first mall built by SM Prime Holdings Inc., with the initial tenants being SM's fifth department store and first supermarket. At that time, it had a gross floor area of 23 sqm. It was later renamed The SM City North EDSA in 1986, becoming the first SM mall with the "City" branding.

As more tenants and entertainment venues were added, The SM City North EDSA then came to be known as the mall that institutionalized the "one-stop" shopping concept in the Philippines. It was the first to introduce "malling" as a pastime in the Philippines. A four-level carpark, also known as Annex 1, was constructed in February 1988. The lower ground floor was converted into an enclosed retail space. Another level was also added to the main mall. On July 28, 1989, a two-floor annex, also known as the original "Annex 2", was built providing more leasable space, a bowling alley, and four additional movie houses. The main building and the annexes were expanded with a lower ground level, and the first level of The Carpark Plaza was converted into a Cyberzone, a section reserved mainly for technology and gadget retail. It was renamed as SM City North EDSA in 2002.

Over the years, SM North EDSA had seen many expansions and redevelopments, including the construction of Annex 3, which opened in 2006. On July 28, 2006, Annex 3, also known as The Block, was opened featuring a hypermarket, its flagship toy store, additional four movie theaters, retail shops, and restaurants. On February 8, 2007, as part of its massive redevelopment plan, the original Annex 2 was completely demolished and construction of a new building started. The current Annex 2 was reopened on December 12, 2008. In May 2009, The Sky Garden was opened to the public, featuring its linear park garden and a 1,500-seater Sky Dome. In 2011, the six-story structure Annex 4, known as the Northlink, was completed, housing BPO companies and retail stores.

For two years (2014–2016), SM North EDSA was the largest solar-powered shopping mall in Southeast Asia after installing 5,760 solar panels until that record was surpassed in May 2016 by the Robinsons Starmills in San Fernando, Pampanga. In 2022, the mall's "City" branding was dropped, officially renaming it simply as SM North EDSA.

SM North EDSA Complex

Since its inception in 1985, and the construction of the original Car Park Plaza in February 1988 and the second Annex Building in July 1989, SM North EDSA Complex's current edifice within the complex is composed of the City Center, Interior Zone (including the Car Park Plaza), The Annex, The Block, The Sky Garden, The Northlink, and The North Towers. The complex has further expanded beyond which is interconnected by a series of footbridges linked to different sides of the main mall structure.

Main mall complex

City Center (Main Building)

Opened on November 8, 1985, the original building consisted of only three floors. Its original structure has evolved through the years. The City Center has a total of 190000 m2 gross floor area. Its fourth floor has recently been added to keep up with demand. The newly renovated city center has spherical skylights. As the hub of the retail complex, the City Center has various retail establishments, including the mall's main anchors: SM Store (formerly The SM Store, and SM Department Store) and SM Supermarket. It is also the hub of leisure anchors such as SM Food court, an entertainment center, and a newly modernized cineplex that incorporated the country's second IMAX Theater. The main dining establishments of the City Center are situated on the second level where they break through the frontage in a sequence of linear casements which overlook the Sky Garden.

The building had undergone several changes since 2019, with the renovation of the west wing cinema area, conversion of east wing cinemas to tenant spaces, and the construction of a new Go-Kart facility in the portioned area formerly occupied by SM Store at the 3rd Level. The go-kart facility and the new four digital cinemas at the West Wing (replacing Cinemas 9 & 10) opened on May 1 and 4, 2022, respectively. A new facility named Dino Land will open at the former eastern entrance of SM Store.

SM Cinema

The City Center originally featured 8 cinemas in 1985. In 1989, Cinemas 1 to 4 were renamed to Cinemas 9 to 12, upon the opening of the cinemas in the Annex 2 building.

In 2019, Cinemas 9 and 10 were closed for renovation and redevelopment, followed by Cinemas 7 and 8 in January 2020.

The cinemas in the East Wing, Cinemas 5 to 8, were converted as tenant and retail spaces in 2022. The new Cinemas 4 to 7 opened on May 4, 2022.

In 2022, the original Cinema 11 was temporarily operated as a filler for blockbuster films if the other cinemas were occupied or fully reserved. However, in 2023, it closed and was replaced by a Paris Baguette bakeshop.

IMAX

The IMAX opened on July 14, 2009, at the former Cinema 12, and it is the second IMAX theater in the country after SM Mall of Asia. It is the first IMAX location in the country that uses digital projection.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, the IMAX was closed on March 14, 2020. It was supposed to be permanently closed in that situation, however, following the successful negotiation between SM Cinema and IMAX Corporation, the IMAX re-opened on May 4, 2022.

By January 2022 until April 2022, the IMAX temporarily operated as LSF or "Large Screen Format" with films shown in non-IMAX DMR releases, following the ongoing negotiation.

In September 2024, the IMAX was temporarily closed for renovation and IMAX with Laser upgrade, following the expanded partnership between SM Cinema and IMAX Corporation that will bring IMAX with Laser upgrades to existing IMAX locations. The IMAX with Laser opened on October 23, 2024.

Interior Zone (Annex 1)

The Car Park Plaza or Annex 1, the first building, was built in February 1988. The original structure was a four-level parking building. In the early 2000s, the open-parking area beside it was built and made into its horizontal expansion to accommodate more vehicles and to integrate the building to the newly constructed The Block. In the 2010s, the building was expanded vertically by adding two floors via a steel structure with integrated rooftop solar panels. The Car Park Plaza features the first outlet of the Cyberzone, which later moved to The Annex building to make way for an additional 8,000 parking slots. The building is connected to the main mall via a footbridge at the second floor.

Today, the former Cyberzone have been transformed into a "lifestyle center" named the Interior Zone which opened on November 16, 2009, and planned by Architects EAT from Australia. The 300 m "lifestyle center" is a shop for furniture, houseware, décor, upholstery, wallpaper, tiles and lighting fixtures. The total gross floor area of Interior Zone is 30,000 m2. Also on the Annex 1 is a solar power plant made up of 5,760 solar panels and located on the seventh level. The plant can generate up to 1.5 megawatts of power, which made SM North EDSA the world's largest solar-powered shopping mall from 2014 to 2016, when it was overtaken by Robinsons Starmills in San Fernando, Pampanga.

The Annex (Annex 2)

The original Annex 2 (formerly The SM City Annex) was built on July 28, 1989. It consisted of three floors as an expansion to the City Center and featured close to 200 shops and restaurants. On top of the four additional movie houses, it also catered a bingo hall, an amusement center and a bowling alley. The lower ground floor (or basement) also served as the former administration office of SM North EDSA along with a few beauty clinics and a junior anchor, Hardware Workshop. A footbridge was constructed at the left side of the City Center that provided easy access to the mall. On February 20, 2002, the four movie houses were closed and on February 8, 2007, the original Annex 2 was closed and demolished as part of SM North EDSA's redevelopment plan.

On December 12, 2008, it reopened with high-end retail stores, specialty restaurants, a Cyberzone, a game arcade and a new bowling center. The current Annex 2 measures 140,000 m2. Like The Block, The Annex has an exterior with undulating aquamarine ribbon consisting of perforated metal panels. The Annex has a curvilinear atrium, which stretches its length. In June 2009, SM North EDSA reopened its bowling center located on the lower ground floor.

The Block (Annex 3)

The Block, formerly one of the wide-open parking areas to the right of the main building, was opened on July 29, 2006. This 95,000 m2 mall has five levels of retail shops and restaurants, five digital cinemas (originally four, which was closed for renovation works in 2020, now reopened with 3 digital + 2 Director's Club on November 24, 2021), and a 10,000 m2 SM Hypermarket on the ground level. The Block's architectural design is centered on a large oval courtyard that hosted events and products launches. This is crisscrossed by multiple bridges on several levels and is lit through large circular skylights. The Block contains most of the high-end anchor stores owned or operated by SM which includes but is not limited to H&M, Uniqlo, Sports Central, Watsons and Vikings. It is also home to the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Chapel, a Roman Catholic chapel located at the fourth level. The building has since been renovated in 2023, adding a new biophilic look, an escalator connected to SM Hypermarket, relocation and renovation of stores, a new floor layout and tiles, and a brand new Food Hall located on the 4th floor, akin to the MOA Food Hall and Mega Food Hall of SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall, respectively. Disney Store has opened at the 3rd floor after their Mall of Asia branch in September 2025.

Several bridge connections integrated The Block to the existing mall, carpark areas, Sky Garden and the North Towers.

The Northlink (Annex 4)

The Northlink (also known as North Link) is the fourth addition to the complex and was opened on May 22, 2010. It is a six-story structure primarily hosting BPO companies, other office tenants and a few retail stores. It is connected to other parts of the mall through Bridgeway's. The Northlink has an open deck at its top which is used for private use of the mall.

The North Towers (Annex 5)

A panoramic building with five cascading towers named the North Towers is located in the former site of the Super Sale Club warehouse beside The Block. The shortest tower facing North Avenue is Park Inn by Radisson Blu Hotel North EDSA while the remaining towers will be used as office spaces. The official opening of the mall component named The North Towers Mall happened on December 7, 2018. The building will be done in two phases. The first involves the North Tower Mall and the three front buildings while the second phase involves the completion of the two remaining and tallest buildings. The overall gross floor area of the North Towers Mall is 33,000 m2.

Sky Garden

The Sky Garden is a long, elevated curvilinear park which opened on May 24, 2009. The Sky Garden's water features include two bubblers, a simulated river flowing at the central part of the park, and waterfalls at the end of the second floor which can also be used as a screen where promotional materials can be projected. The main feature of the Sky Garden is the Sky Dome, a 1,500-seat events venue with a floor area of 1,155 m2. The ground floor of the structure is used for vehicle parking and also serves a transport terminal for UV Express, jeepneys, and city buses. It is also used by Premium Point-to-Point (P2P) Buses for trips to various destinations in Bulacan.

Other features outside the main mall complex

SM Cyber West Avenue

The SM Cyber West Avenue is a 15-level structure that covers more than 42,000 sqm and around 22,700 sqm for office space. The building is linked via Bridgeway to the SM North EDSA complex as well as the future nearby North Triangle Common Station. It is targeted primarily for business process outsourcing companies, which include Emerson Electric, Concentrix and Convergys. It sits on a 2,910 sqm property at the corner of the main EDSA thoroughfare and West Avenue. The remaining leasable area mostly found on the ground and second levels feature a Savemore supermarket and other retail and commercial establishments.

Grass Residences

A 43-floor, three-tower condominium complex, known as the Grass Residences, was developed by SM Development Corporation (SMDC). The Towers 4 (called Wilmington) and 5 (called Berkshire), known as the Fern Residences, opened on the fourth quarter of 2017 and second quarter of 2018, respectively.

EDSA Busway Station

In 2024, SM Prime and Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista inaugurated the SM North EDSA busway station along the EDSA Busway serving the EDSA Carousel line. It is one of three stations of the EDSA Busway Concourse Project, each having a concierge, ticketing booths and turnstiles for the automatic fare collection system. The existing SM North EDSA-Cyber West footbridge was closed in January 2024 and later demolished to make way for the project. The SM North EDSA Busway Station was partially opened in early 2025 with only a new pedestrian bridgeway connecting the mall with SM Cyber West across EDSA, replacing the old footbridge. The station was later formally opened on March 13, 2025.{{cite news |last=Taguines |first=Andrea |work=ABS-CBN News|title=SM North EDSA busway station, concourse now open to the public

Former buildings

Super Sale Club

There was a warehouse building situated on a 2 ha lot within the SM North EDSA Complex that housed the former Super Sale Club. Sometime in 2008, it was leased to its junior anchors, Ace Hardware and Bingo Bonanza, both of which later moved to The Annex when it opened. After that, Kotse Network leased a portion of the warehouse building. Part of the building was converted into a parking lot for valet service until its subsequent demolition to give way for the North Towers.

Gallery

A View of SM North EDSA.jpg| The Sky Garden in 2009 09426jfNorth Avenue SM West Trinoma Quezon Cityfvf 12.jpg|Sky Garden Walkway SM Logo taken in Sky Garden.jpg|SM North EDSA's 2010–23 logo from Sky Garden SM North EDSA Terminal COVID-19 quarantine.jpg|Transport terminal beneath Sky Garden SM Hypermarket North EDSA new logo 2023.jpg|SM Hypermarket North EDSA SMNotrthjf1943 06.JPG| A panorama of SM North EDSA (2013)

Old mall

SM North 21.jpg|Old City Center Atrium SM North 18.jpg|Old SM Department Store SM North 16.jpg|The former Entertainment Plaza SM North 06.jpg|SM Hypermarket at The Block, now part of Food Circuit. SM North 07.jpg|Old Appliance Center at The Block (now occupied by Uniqlo and relocated at the 4th floor) SM North 14.jpg|Old SM Cinema 09564jfSM_City_North_EDSAfvf_11.jpg|IMAX Theater (old entrance)

New mall=== -->

Incidents and accidents

City Center

• September 14, 2011: Two persons were shot, Police Officer 2 Jonathan Diva of the Quezon City Police District Station 2 said that initial information on the shooting incident stated that a woman shot two persons past 7:00 PM.
• December 15, 2013: A holdup and shootout occurred when the Martilyo Gang, a notorious local criminal group specializing in robbing stores by smashing and stealing valuables using hammers, robbed a jewelry store in The SM Store North EDSA on the first floor.
• July 16, 2017: A fire broke out at the department store on Sunday evening around 8:45PM and has already reached the 3rd alarm.

The Annex

• May 6, 2015: A 25-year-old man, who reportedly had depression, fell to his death reportedly from the building's third floor.
• April 5, 2018: A customer of the PC Home Service Center at the Cyberzone of the building's fifth floor who wanted to claim his laptop despite not holding a claim stub succumbs to stab wounds on various parts of the body after being stabbed nine times by the suspect who was the store manager and head technician of the said store.
• April 16, 2018: A woman jumped to her death from the building's fourth level at around 12:00 noon.
• October 5, 2019: A senior high school student of the nearby San Francisco High School fell to his death from the building's fifth floor.

The Block

• January 8, 2010: Two men were reportedly injured after a portion of the sunroof of the building was collapsed. One person was brought to the emergency room of the Capitol Medical Center for treatment.
• January 16, 2016: An elevator operator died after falling from the fifth floor at around 7:00 am PST.

The Footbridge

• July 12, 2023: A security guard deployed was captured on video hurling a puppy from a nearby footbridge while shooing away children. The puppy was later rushed to a nearby veterinary clinic but succumbed to its injuries. Subsequently, the guard was dismissed from his post.

Commercial

SM North EDSA's first commercial was dubbed in 1992 from SM Prime Holdings Inc.

Bibliography

References

References

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