Araneta City
Araneta City, formerly and still commonly known as Araneta Center, is a transit oriented, commercial mixed-use urban development in Quezon City, Philippines. Situated in Barangay Socorro in Cubao, and at the intersection of two major roads, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and Aurora Boulevard, the area offers a mixture of retail, dining, entertainment, residential, office, lodging and parking facilities throughout the complex and hosts over 1 million people daily, due to its close proximity residential areas and transport terminals, including the railway stations of the MRT Line 3 and the LRT Line 2 stations.
Located within the complex are key structures such as the Gateway Malls, the Araneta Coliseum, the New Frontier Theater, Ali Mall, Farmers Market, and Farmers Plaza. The entire complex is owned by ACI, Inc., a subsidiary of the Araneta Group, who also serves as the developer and manager of the commercial area. ACI, Inc. is also currently in charge of spearheading the complex's redevelopment master plan after years of delays and issues, which aims to transform the area into a "garden city", and will consist of additional office, residential and mixed-use buildings, shopping malls, and other high-rise facilities within the complex. RTKL Associates and Palafox Associates designed the redevelopment master plan of the complex and was launched in 2002 for the construction of the Gateway Mall 1 and led rise to renovation projects of the complex's entertainment venues and malls, and the construction of other newer properties throughout the area under the first phase, such as the residential towers, office towers, hotels, and the expansion project of the Gateway Mall named the Gateway Mall 2.
Newer developments are also set to rise and begin construction within the next few years as part of the second phase of the redevelopment master plan. The redevelopment plan for the complex is set to be completed within 2030.
History
Early history
The property where the Araneta City, formerly named Araneta Center, is located in Quezon City, and was purchased by J. Amado Araneta in 1952, after the family's mansion in Taft Avenue, Manila was destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945. The land stood on bedrock, and has an elevation level of 43 meters, which is the highest point of the Metro Manila, located between Highway 54, Aurora Boulevard, and P. Tuazon Boulevard; and along Gen. Romulo Avenue. As of 1959, the area was remote and located in an area designated for suburban mass housing and frequented by Hukbalahap rebels. The original owner of the property was the Radio Corporation of America.Development
In 1953, Araneta initially only purchased of land from RCA, where he built his residence, which would become known as the "Bahay na Puti". It was in 1955 that Araneta purchased the remaining from the RCA. After purchasing the land, Araneta envisioned the area as a potential mixed-use area.In 1956, Araneta sold a portion of the property to the Philippine National Bank which proceeded to set up a branch in the area. On the same year, the first Aguinaldo Department Store, a well-known retailer established its first branch beyond Manila. Araneta's Progressive Development Corporation relocated its offices from Plaza Cervantes in Binondo, Manila to the Araneta Enterprise Building along Aurora Avenue. PDC would be later tasked to develop the Araneta Coliseum.
In the following years after the opening of the Araneta Coliseum in 1960, rapid development took place in the area. From the 1960s until the 1980s, there was a construction boom around the complex, and the area became a bustling entertainment and leisure hub, with the creation of the first strip mall in the country composed of 147 stores, located along Aurora Boulevard, and the creation of Ali Mall, SM Cubao, Fiesta Carnival, Plaza Fair, New Frontier Theater, Rustan's Superstore, National Book Store Superbranch, COD Department Store, Matsuzakaya Department Store and Matsuzakaya House, Uniwide Cubao, Farmers Plaza, Farmer's Market, and the Aurora Tower. The developments around the complex caused the area to prosper over the years and competed with other business districts in the Metro, such as Manila, the Makati Central Business District, the Greenhills Center, and the Ortigas Center.
The Araneta City and the surrounding areas also served as the home of many movie theaters such as the Nation Cinerama, Quezon Theater, Cinema 21, Sampaguita Theater, ACT Theater, Ocean Theater, Diamond Theater, Remar Theater, Alta Cinema, and Coronet Theater, all of which were constructed and completed between the years 1969–1974. Many of these establishments however have been closed by the end of the 1990s, with the buildings either repurposed for commercial purposes or demolished to give way to future developments due to the introduction of the home entertainment systems, supported with the rising usage of compact discs from the 1990s to the 2000s, and the creation of in-house movie theaters inside the shopping malls in the Metro that led to lesser patronage to these movie theaters.
The complex began losing steam during the late 1980s and encountered numerous problems within its properties, from the Farmers Plaza fire to the coups against the Presidency of Corazon Aquino, the Araneta Group also faced numerous uncertainties and rising competition from newer mixed-use developments with more advantageous locations within Manila and Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The following problems created an urban decay within the area, a capital slump within the Araneta Group's finances, and neglect on their buildings, causing rising crime rates and low business opportunities, prompting the Araneta group to temporarily use their capital to maintain the properties within the area, and halt their future plans and proposals to upgrade the area's potential and other big-scale redevelopment plans within the area. One noted planned development is the "Manhattan Tower" project, a mixed-use, high-rise development with retail and residential facilities. The problem also caused the Araneta Group to strengthen its key subsidiaries to finance the company's future projects.
Redevelopment
During the construction of the MRT Line 3 along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in 1996, the Araneta Group saw the potential opportunity to revamp the complex and proposed plans to once again begin its redevelopment plans and push the company's plans for long-term development. The redevelopment dream was further titillated in the aftermath of the construction of the LRT Line 2 a year later, and prompted J. Amado's son, Jorge L. Araneta to launch a multi-phase master plan to reinvigorate their long-waited vision. In January 1997, plans were also laid out to create a joint venture partnership with Ayala Land and Atok-Big Wedge Co. to push for the area's revival and redevelopment, which is expected to be worth ₱140 billion. After a series of negotiations, and along the uncertainties caused by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Araneta Group decided to drop the proposal in order to push their own redevelopment plan using the company's own finances assisted by various bank loans.With the ambition of regaining its former glory, a 20-year redevelopment project, known as the Araneta Center Master Plan, was formulated in 1999 and was unveiled in 2000, with an estimated budget of over ₱80 billion, and began its implementation in 1999 with the renovation of the Araneta Coliseum and the Farmers Plaza, which was completed in 2001. The redevelopment master plan is envisioned to turn the complex into an inter-connected, transit oriented "Garden City" concept, promoting connectivity, green architecture and open spaces within its buildings. Araneta also hired the international architectural firm RTKL Associates, along with local architectural firm Palafox Associates, owned by Felino Palafox for designing the redevelopment master plan and the first properties set to rise within the complex. Araneta also tapped Deshazo Starek and Tang, Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated and Colliers International to serve as the main consultants of the master plan. The plans for the master plan include additional malls, towers and renovated facilities within the complex, including the "Millenium Mall" project, a planned 7-storey mall which is interconnected to the Araneta Coliseum, the "Manila Tower", a planned mixed-use tower with communications facilities, and the modernization of the complex's entertainment venues, the Araneta Coliseum and the New Frontier Theater. The redevelopment is also envisioned to have a of total retail floor area.
File:Araneta Coliseum.jpg|thumb|The Araneta Coliseum and Gateway Complex in Araneta City
The first phase of the redevelopment plan was expected to cost over ₱30 billion and began its implementation in 2002 with the construction of the Gateway Mall, completed in 2004, which was followed by the construction of the Gateway Office in 2005, a major renovation of the Araneta Coliseum, as well as the rehabilitation of the New Frontier Theater, which were completed in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Also included in the redevelopment project is the renovations of Ali Mall and SM Cubao in 2010, Shopwise in 2012, and the Farmers Plaza in 2014, as well as the construction of the first 12 towers of the Manhattan Gardens complex, the Gateway Tower, and the Novotel Manila Araneta City. The Araneta Group also tapped ASYA Design for designing the master plan and the architectural design the Araneta City Cyberpark Towers 1 and 2 and the entire Cyberpark complex, with both towers being completed in 2016 and 2018, respectively. The first phase of the redevelopment master plan was completed on 2024, with the completion of the Manhattan Plaza Tower 2 and opening of the Gateway Mall 2, which serves as the Gateway Mall's expansion project, and the Ibis Styles Araneta City, wherein both properties were designed by local architectural firm Aidea.
The second phase, which is set to cost over ₱50 billion is set to begin in the next few years, and will include the development of 3 additional Cyberpark Towers; 6 additional Manhattan Gardens Towers, which included the Laurent Park; and the Gateway Mall 3. The phase will also include the construction of the City Plaza, a mixed-use development, and the Icon Tower, a planned 40+ storey tower, connected from the Manhattan Plaza. The master plan will also include a multi-billion dollar, Integrated resort complex consisting hotels, dining, entertainment, gaming, conventions and conferences, luxurious retail shops, and a modernised Farmer's Market, spanning from the Farmer's Market and its surrounding buildings, up to the Farmer's Garden area. Additional plans were also laid out within the complex, such as the planned construction of a heritage area located at the Araneta White House complex and a planned expansion of Ali Mall, which includes a 4-tower mixed-use development located along the northern area of the mall. The overall redevelopment master-plan covers square meters of gross floor area and are set within the target completion date of 2030, as part of the company's Vision 2030 plan within the area. On September 24, 2019, the Araneta Center was renamed as Araneta City after a brand relaunch, which is primarily connected to the complex's continuous developments through the years while reflecting its historic "firsts" and cultural heritage within the country.