Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. is generally known as a developer with an impressive portfolio of thoughtfully developed residential estates and towers, as well as golf and country clubs, in different parts of the country.

But in portions of Cainta, Rizal and Marikina City, it is also recognized as a developer of a leisure icon — the Sta. Lucia Mall, a huge shopping complex near the intersection of Marcos Highway and Felix Avenue that has become a central part of life for many people living and working nearby.

The mall, which opened its doors in 1991, comprises four buildings, with the fourth called il CENTRO. This particular structure is located within the developer’s residential towers collectively known as Sta. Lucia’s Residenze.

Sta. Lucia Mall is home to a wide array of stores — clothing, electronics, food, you name it. It has its own department store, which is at par with most other department stores found in other malls. Early this month, Sta. Lucia Department Store was recently awarded the Bagwis Gold Seal of Excellence by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Rizal. Under the DTI-Bagwis program, establishments that uphold the rights of consumers while practicing responsible business are given recognition.

The Bagwis Gold Seal of Excellence that Sta. Lucia Department Store received is a proof that the establishment is compliant with fair trade laws, has set up a consumer welfare desk or an equivalent customer relations office, is socially responsible and has met quality management system requirements set out by ISO 9001.

It is the goal of the mall’s management to make shoppers feel satisfied. One of the ways it achieves this is by having a team that the shoppers can turn to whenever they need assistance.

The management also organizes different events. “We make sure that our shoppers feel home whenever they visit our mall by holding special events that are family friendly because we believe that we don’t just draw customers,” Sta. Lucia Mall’s management said. “Who we serve are part of our family.”

There’s also an annual program for the elderly. “We also have our annual corporate social responsibility program for our lolos and lolas — “Grandparent’s Day” celebration — wherein we honor our senior citizens all over Rizal by giving them free services and gifts with renewal of vows as highlight of the program,” the management said.

Besides the heart-warming renewal of wedding vows, shoppers of Sta. Lucia Mall witness a more solemn religious event every year — the Senakulo, the dramatization of the life, sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, which the mall organizes.

Showing that it is attuned to the latest cultural obsessions, especially of the millennials, the management of the mall started ArtEAST last year. The management’s visual display department puts up three-dimensional art installations that shoppers can not only interact with but also take a selfie with.

In addition to making the shopping experience at Sta. Lucia Mall as fun and as pleasant as possible, the management makes sure that the shoppers feel safe and secure.

“We have a 24-hour security and a fast response to any issues and matters that may arise,” the management said, adding that closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are installed in strategic spots around the mall.

“We also hold quarterly fire and earthquake drills in which shoppers participate,” the management said.

The mall’s security and emergency response team undergoes regular training in how to attend to different contingency and emergency incidents that require medical solutions. The management added that all newly hired security personnel go through a basic security orientation training that aims to familiarize them with the hazards that may threaten the mall and its shoppers and other basic guarding concepts.

“On a daily basis, before security personnel are dispatched to their respective assignments, they are given thorough instructions and guidelines,” the management said. And in cases of emergency, there are ambulance units, stretchers and wheelchairs that are readily available.

Soon, denizens of Davao City will have their own Sta. Lucia Mall. “A second Sta. Lucia Mall is rising in Ponte Verde, Davao City. This mall will be more modern to cope with the fast-changing generation of shoppers,” the management said.

“But rest assured that it will still be supportive of the arts, family-friendly and ecologically amiable.”

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