Officials and executives from Araneta Group led the ceremonial groundbreaking and time capsule laying at the site of the new Gateway Mall 2 to accommodate rising demand for more spaces.

Araneta Center SVP-Operations Antonio Mardo said the new mall complements its predecessor. “We needed more space to accommodate more of the retail and F&B (food and beverage) operators in the country,” he said.

In his opening speech, Senior Management Consultant Rowell Recinto pointed out that Gateway Mall 2 is the latest project in the Center’s redevelopments, and with it, “The Center continues to build on its pioneering heritage in shopping and entertainment developments.”

Recinto added, “We are still committed to continue to enhance Araneta Center to become a more vibrant community” and that Gateway Mall 2 enhances the Center’s position as a leading edge lifestyle hub with its welcoming design, extensive shopping and dining offerings and pampering public spaces.

Aside from offering vast spaces for retail and F&B operators, the new mall will also feature a state-of-the-art Cineplex, an organic vegetable garden where shoppers can have the farm-to-table experience, a spacious activity area, a unique food hall and a 500-seater, fully air-conditioned iconic chapel.

The mall, which will be connected to the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Farmers Plaza, is expected to open in the third quarter of 2020.

Adjacent to the new mall will be the first Ibis Styles hotel in the country. It will be operated by AccorHotels, the same team behind the Novotel Manila Araneta Center and is expected to attract guests with its charming design and topnotch service.