Greenhills, formerly and still commonly known as the Greenhills Shopping Center, is a mixed-use shopping, residential, and leisure development located in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, the Philippines.
Established by Ortigas and Company as the centerpiece shopping center of the Greenhills development in the 1970s, it is a mall complex containing more than 2,000 stores and is one of the oldest shopping malls in the country.
History
Conception
In 1966, the plans for building the Greenhills Shopping Center began which followed a two-year study of community development projects in various parts around the world. The concept was presented by Filipino architect Juan Nakpil.
1970s to 1980s
The Greenhills Shopping Center opened in the early 1970s and was among the first shopping centers to be established in the Philippines. The shopping complex housed shopping malls, the Virra Mall and Shoppesville, the Manilabank, PCIB (now BDO), Padilla, and Crossroads arcades, Greenhills Theater, Greenhills Bowling Alley, and a supermarket by the name of Unimart. All of these facilities were leased out to other companies except the theater. These companies in turn leased out space to small retailers.
In the 1980s, Greenhills was a place to hang out during the weekends, especially for the youth who often frequented the Virra Mall, to shop, watch movies, dine, visit the video arcades and to go to hobby stores at Shoppesville. Music Hall and Annapolis Live is also frequented. Later tiangges or small stalls began to sprout in Greenhills. They started out in annual bazaars during the Christmas season and eventually increased in numbers and their operations became all-year-round.
Redevelopment
Most of the lease were expired by 2002, and most of the companies which the facilities were leased to did not make any significant improvements or renovations since their lease contracts were about to expire. Greenhills lost tenants and visitors as other shopping centers opened in other parts of Metro Manila. Ortigas & Company, initially planned to sell the complex but decided against it and started to redevelop the complex themselves. A new management team was set up in late 2001 to facilitate the complex's redevelopment.
Among the first redevelopments was the renovation of the Greenhills Theater into the Greenhills Theatre Mall. The Greenhills Theatre Mall was reopened to the public on January 27, 2002. Previously the facility which houses two theaters, had fallen to near-disuse, occasionally opening only for special event of corporations and Christian fellowships.
The Virra Mall was also renovated from January to December 2005. The former Virra Mall, built in 1975 and sculptural design done by architect José María Zaragoza, was demolished in January 2005.
Another redevelopment project composed of two phase costing around was started in 2010. The first phase was completed in 2013, with the introduction of more parking and retail space, cinemas and The Viridian, a 53-storey residential condominium, with turnover to residents made in April 2016. The new relocated Unimart, occupying the first two levels (including Anson's) of the new Greenhills Carpark Building built next to the one-storey Unimart site, opened on July 2, 2017. The latter is now the site of the expansion of Greenhills' Main Mall.
The Annapolis carpark has been demolished to give way for the construction of The Connor, its 2nd residential tower in the complex. V-Mall's foodcourt has been closed and is now converted into a new zone with restaurants.
Expansion of main mall
A new 7-level ( GFA) integrated regional mall with a hybrid lifestyle and budget retail format, rising at the former Unimart building, will be built to accommodate 150 global brands in addition to 2,000 new tiangge stalls. The new mall will play host to six new cinemas (4 prestige + 2 regular) in addition to eight digital cinemas at Greenhills Promenade and Theater Mall and two new foodcourts (budget-friendly and upscale Food Hall). It will have 3 levels of basement parking with 1,300 slots. The said expansion also serves as the podium of GH Tower, the first office and BPO tower in the area. The North Wing is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Another annex was built at the former Greenhills Lifestyle Center wing. The three-storey mall will host 120 tenants along with new attractions and lifestyle options that will connect to the rest of the mall area. Originally known as the annex wing, the South Wing of the new Greenhills Mall soft opened on October 11, 2023.