Davao says goodbye to its first shopping mall
DAVAO CITY—People here from across generations were swept in nostalgia just before the turn of a new year as a 32-year story came to an end with the closure on Wednesday of Victoria Plaza (VP), the first mall of this premier city of Mindanao.
Hearing about the last hours of the mall, people from different parts of the city went out of their way to catch up with the 5 p.m. closing time just to get the last glimpse of a cultural icon that evoked memories of happy times.
“I came here to get a glimpse of my childhood,” said Dexter Digal, 25, who was with his mother and sister, holding a photo of him as a child taken at the mall’s play area.
His happiest time, he reminisced, was riding the carousel on the ground floor, where a photographer they called a “Kodaker” was assigned to take their photos in that predigital era. He also remembered the movie house on the second floor where he saw his first movie.
Jalel Cadunan, 38, a village councilor of Barangay Waan, dropped by to take pictures, feeling emotional as he recalled the time his mother and father used to bring him here when he was still a 7-year-old child and later, in his teenage years, this was where he hang around with friends.
Cadunan, who still kept the photo of him with his then 12-year-old sibling, remembered the fountain that held them in awe all through the days of December, the variety shows that attracted crowds, the carousel.
Place of childhood joy
On Tuesday, local journalist Aimee Guinita brought her father and mother to the mall “to reminisce, say thank you and bid goodbye.”
“My father was among its pioneer employees, and one of his most meaningful works was the carousel. Together with three other propsmen, he painted it carefully, filling it with color and life,” she recalled.
“To many, it was a place of childhood joy; to us, it was a quiet reminder of my father’s hard work, creativity and pride—something he helped build that would bring smiles to countless children,” Guinita added.
“It’s the end of an era, yet the memories, like the carousel, will keep turning,” she said.
Built by the late businessman Robert Alan Limso, the three-story mall was first opened in March 1993, when mall-going was still a novelty in the city.
The property was later garnished by the Philippine National Bank from whom the Lim family, who own the NCCC Group that operates another homegrown chain of malls, took over ownership in 2019. Hence, it was renamed NCCC Mall VP.
Lafayette Lim, president and chief operating officer of the NCCC Group, said they already planned for the mall’s redevelopment when they overhauled the mall’s air conditioning system in 2018, and found “more than a few” partners interested in pursuing their dream for Victoria Plaza.
But the COVID-19 pandemic came, forever changing the entire retail landscape.
“As one year after another passed, it was clear we can no longer pursue our original dream for VP. So we made sure that it would still get the iconic redevelopment it deserves,” he said, referring to the family’s decision to sell the 9.6-hectare property to Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC).
RLC is reportedly setting the area—along JP Laurel Avenue, a prized commercial stretch of the city—to be redeveloped into an upscale office complex.
The venture is expected to redefine the course of property development within its immediate vicinity, and bring the city’s realty sector to new heights.
As Victoria Plaza’s door was shut for good on Wednesday afternoon, a chapter of the city’s economic history ended, and the countdown to a new one began.
