In Photos: Opening of Ayala Malls Central Bloc

On December 6, 2019, the Ayala Malls Central Bloc was finally opened. The new mall, located in the heart of the Cebu IT Park, is the Ayala’s second mall in Cebu City. Ayala Malls Central Bloc is now standing on the lot once occupied by a call center company. Before news of the development started spreading online years ago, I heard several rumors about the possible projects being planned for such a prime lot. Some of them include a pocket forest, a multi-story parking building, and a high-rise BPO tower.

Cebu City’s Newest Mall

Fast-forward to December 2019. Cebu is now a very changed city. The population has grown tremendously and heavy traffic has become a daily occurrence. The once very quick commute from Cebu IT Park to Ayala Center Cebu now takes about half an hour on a ‘normal’ day. And a trip to and from SM City Cebu would eat up at least an hour of your time.

And this is exactly why I wasn’t very surprised when I heard the news that Ayala was actually building another mall in the area. I mean, if you look at it from a businessman’s point of view, it was definitely the best thing to do. People in the area (and there are thousands of them with cash to spend), wouldn’t want to leave because of the traffic. Instead of braving the bumper-to-bumper situation, a good number of them would rather kill their time within the area and be content with whatever they could find. So, instead of luring these people to leave the IT Park and travel to the mall, Ayala decided to bring the mall to them.

The Ayala Malls Central Bloc Opens

True enough, the opening of Ayala Malls Central Bloc on December 6, 2019 was met with so much interest and enthusiasm. Take a look!

The Ayala Malls Central Bloc occupies one full block at Cebu IT Park. While the mall isn’t as big as Ayala Center Cebu, it is also definitely not small.

This is the scene in the area at around 2:00 pm. The mall was scheduled to open an hour later.

Sitting atop the mall is the second Seda Hotel. Seda’s first hotel is located at Cebu Business Park occupying the building once held by Marriott Hotel.

As the opening time drew closer, more and more people started flocking towards the mall’s different entry points.

Exploring Central Bloc

Unlike its older sister, Ayala Malls Central Bloc features a more solid shape and design with glass and steel elements on its facade.

As expected, a lot of stalls remain empty on opening day. There is nothing to worry about, however, as this is pretty normal. A lot of malls don’t even get completely filled up several years after its opening.

If there’s one thing commendable able the new mall, I would have to say it’s the relaxed and very green atmosphere, especially at the entry points. It’s always refreshing and cool to see natural greens with structures like this.

By 2:30, a huge crowd had already gathered outside this entrance facing the Skyrise building.

Look at that crowd. A lot of them have been here since 1:00 pm.

Finally, just a few minutes before the mall officially opened, the crowd was instructed to get ready.

And Ayala Malls Central Bloc is now open!

Immediately, the curious mall-goers filled all 5 of the mall’s floors.

These ladies at the information counter are all smiles as they welcome the mall’s very first customers.

Adding to the buzz created by Ayala for the grand opening, a lot of brands (tenants) also decided to do their own promotional activities. Some of them, like the Aerophone store, even decided to invite celebrity guests during the opening day. So it was only understandable to see that the mall was filled to the rafters within minutes.