Signal #5 ~ D' Durian Daily

Go where the breeze takes you..... & bring your credit card with you.

THE news spread swiftly and everyone in the city was fired up. More so, as each day it quickly rose from the ground and the activity around was almost hysteric.

Finally it happened. Far from the breeze like its name conveys, it entered the city with a magnitude of a storm. Davao signaled the #5 on the list of local malls.

And the mass exodus began (think: Noah’s Ark) and you knew it was happening, the heavy traffic proved it. Just about every Dabawenyo was heading to one direction- the Abreeza Mall.

This was the most-awaited development in the city for months now, a very welcome investment from two of the well-respected names in commercial development, the Ayala’s of Ayala Land Inc, and Floirendo’s of the Anflo Group of Companies. To the hundreds of guests, merchants and investors present in Abreeza Mall’s launching rites, Mayor Sarah Duterte welcomed their trust in Davao City, and Vice-Mayor Rody Duterte expressed his gratitude for the employment opportunities for the locals.

It wasn’t surprising how much of the people showed up on day one- just the entire city. The mall was a madhouse. Picture this: the subway, metro, MRT or LRT on rush hour. Suffice to say, the flow was torrential from opening hour to closing. With a partner as builder of the most successful malls in the country, expectations on Abreeza were high. Every single soul was eager to see what this new destination has in store for them, scouring every corner of the expanse and scoring on celebrity sightings. Abreeza Mall got thumbs up on first impression.

Thirsty for coffee.
Record-breaking opening day for Starbucks Davao! (Photo from Starbucks FB)

Sixty-three percent of the promised 300 concept stores rolled out their welcome carpets and the few that chased the opening day incentive were quite not decent enough to receive shoppers at all. Nevertheless, the inaugural salvo triumphed over these blemishes.

I believe the spectacle of Abreeza is yet to come- when fully operational. Abreeza will showcase 118 specialty labels new to Davao in its roster of shopping and dining must-tries among the hundreds of popular local, national and foreign brands, an art-filled lush landscaping very distinctive of Ayala Malls will shine in its emerald glory, and most of all, the traffic will be managed and a VERY SAFE and ample parking will be made available to the mall rats.

Madayaw Abreeza! You will make a very dangerous playmate to my credit card.

Published in Sun.Star Davao newspaper in May 22, 2011.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/weekend-davao/signal-5