By Angela Casco
Imagine having to commute just to get to a mall for a filling meal, or even to get one’s hair or nails done. Not only does it balloon transportation expenses, it also wastes precious time that could’ve been used for rest, or catching up with friends and family.
Residents of Shang Properties’ The Rise, though, need not worry about these inconveniences as their new and nearby community mall offers anything and everything they could ever need.
Aptly called Assembly Grounds at The Rise, this two-story establishment is an amenity integrated into the said residence and features a mix of restaurants, cafes, service shops, and essential stores. It’s located in NOMA or North of Makati, an area which, in the past, has been home to giant factories.
TOAST TO SUCCESS Executives from Shang Properties offer a toast during the launch of Assembly Grounds at The Rise
Today, it’s a bustling area filled with professionals from nearby offices and students from surrounding universities.
“We’re part of that push to make this a hip and happening place,” CJ Jesena, tenant management division head of Shangri-La Plaza Corporation, tells Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Home during the mall’s launch.
ABOVE AVERAGE The new community mall takes malling to new heights with its fresh and hip design
“That is why we have made this into a modern and urban hangout. It’s not your typical mall that looks like a box, as it is designed for the younger market, aged 20 to 39.”
More than food, services, and living essentials, every store inside the mall offers an experience many youngsters enjoy—capturing moments for the ‘gram.
“It’s all about the experience,” Jesena says. “Everything has to be IG-worthy. It can’t be boring.”
He and the rest of a diverse and intergenerational leasing team carefully curates all the stores that opens in the mall. In fact, opportunities to snap photos like food flatlays are among their requirements for merchants.
Jesena puts it this way—the mall is like a blank canvass and the stores provide the shapes and colors. This is why every merchant within Assembly Grounds has at least an artsy wall or theme-based corners.
IN THE DETAILS The mall’s restroom features aesthetically-pleasing design
“The stores need to be IG-worthy so the guidelines are very specific, too,” he says.
Curating stores also mean pooling unique concepts in one place.
“It’s a mix of familiar names but we throw in some that are new. We have more brands here that are not mall-based and we also chose a lot of merchants that would just be here for the first time up north,” he says.
On what is next for Assembly Grounds at The Rise, Jesena says mall visitors should be on the lookout for more offerings.
“We’re opening up other stores in the coming months such as a dental clinic, a medical health facility, and a first-of-its-kind gym in the Philippines,” he says. “We hope to bring in a lot of curiosity value and continue the gentrification of the area.”
See more at: Manila Bulletin
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