DAVAO CITY — Homegrown retail and shopping mall operator New City Commercial Corp. (NCCC) has acquired Victoria Plaza Mall, the first mall in the city.
In a press statement on Tuesday, NCCC Chair Helen A. Lim said an agreement for the takeover of the mall will be signed before the end of March.
“This is a historic and strategic acquisition for NCCC. As a local, we are very confident in the city’s participation in our country’s growing economy,” said Ms. Lim.
Sharlene Faye A. Lim, NCCC Malls president, added that it is a “privilege for a homegrown company like ours to have the opportunity to develop this property that is very much a part of Davao’s culture. We will strive to preserve this history while rewriting it to respond to the future.”
The company did not disclose the amount it paid for the property, but said it will present its plan for development before the end of the month.
The Philippine National Bank (PNB), which took possession of Victoria Plaza following failed mortgage payments, did not respond to BusinessWorld’s request for comment.
Built in the early 1990s by the late businessman Robert Alan L. Limso through his Davao Sunrise Investment and Development Corp., the three-storey Victoria Plaza became a local icon as the first shopping mall in Davao City.
Mr. Limso mortgaged the mall to PNB.
NCCC recently opened a new mall in the northeastern side of the city. The company partnered with DMCI Homes to develop an eight-hectare mixed-use project on the site of its previous mall that was burned down in Dec. 2017. The project includes a mall, a convention center and a residential component. — Carmelito Q. Francisco
