Fashion
It’s the first and only university town center in the Philippines,” says Rowena Tomeldan, vice president and head of operations at Ayala Land. Since it opened two years ago, the UP Town Center has served as a vibrant hub of leisure activity for the large student population and academic community from the premier schools along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City, such as the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and Miriam College.
This May, just in time for school opening, more retail stores and casual dining outlets opened their doors, as well as a department store and supermarket on 26,000 sq. m. floor plan, as part of its second phase development. The first phase, covering 4,700 sq. m, consists primarily of restaurants and a couple of retail stores. The last phase, covering 37,000 sqm, which will house more retail stores, restaurants, four cinemas as well as offices, is expected to be completed in 2016.
“Ayala Land first entered into a lease agreement with the UP to develop the 7.4 hectares located within the campus grounds, and to build the shopping complex where the UP Integrated School formerly stood,” Ayala Land director Antonio Aquino, noted. “We kept the trees that were there. At least 40 percent of the total land area is preserved as open space. The buildings are low rises.”
The place is secure and parents can feel that their children are safe in the mall.”
For its young target market, popular fashion brands which have opened shop at the UP Town Center include Bench, Penshoppe, Bratpack, Birkenstock, Rookie USA, Artwork, Bambu, Claire’s, Tickles, Shoe Salon, Flying Dutchman, Just G., Bucket Feet, and Coalitions. While for sports apparel, gear and equipment, which they need for their active lifestyle, there’s Planet Sports, Arena, Grind, Saucony, Urbangiz, Titan and Urban Athletics.
Gadgets and accessories are part and parcel of millennials’ lives and at UP Town Center, there are stores to meet every techie’s needs, such as Digital Walker, Datablitz, Wonder Photo Shop, and Take Your Pic. And for good old-fashioned stationeries, there’s National Book Store, Paper Stone, and Papemelroti.
For personal grooming and head-to-toe pampering, there’s Nail Tropics, Hey Sugar, and Sports Barber. Even pets get special treatment in this pet-friendly mall, at Uptown Animal Center. There’s Qualimed, the mall-based health care center as well as shops to cater to lifestyle needs such as Visions Expression and Sewing Room. Kids will also be glad to find Toys R Us among the newly opened stores.
Of course, the UP Town Center is not only for students and faculty but also for their families as well as residents in the area, and even visitors coming from other parts of the metro. It offers a number of affordable dining options as well as new dining concepts such as Pepper Lunch, Recovery Food, Jamba Juice, Sbarro, Rita’s, Wing Stop, Crisostomo, Ramen Nagi, and The Clean Plate.
Time was when students could count with their fingers the number of places they could go to nearby at lunch break or after school, to grab a bite or simply relax after long hours inside the classroom. There was the ordinary school cafeteria which left much to be desired, and one or two restaurants outside the campus that served predictable meals. Not anymore. UP Town Center changes all that. More than a destination, UP Town Center promotes a thriving community where its denizens gather to learn, play, and live.
