With the core of the commercial district of Fort Bonifacio (AKA the Bonifacio Global City) now almost fully developed, development activities have started to go beyond the core and pretty much develop every corner of the vast former military complex. For developer Megaworld, it concentrated on developing the northern part of Fort Bonifacio into one of their townships called Uptown Bonifacio.
At this time of writing, development is in full swing as residential and commercial buildings are being built in the area. But if there is one thing going for it, it’s that it will directly benefit with the planned bridge that will connect Fort Bonifacio to Ortigas Center, which is expected to be completed by 2020.
For the meantime, the key components of Uptown Bonifacio have been completed in 2016: Uptown Parade and its bigger twin Uptown Mall.
Uptown Parade
Uptown Parade is known as the lifestyle hub of Uptown Bonifacio and the greater North Fort Bonifacio area, where a number of restaurants and some stores are located. If you have not heard about it, you may be familiar with the 3 establishments that are based there. One is Denny’s, the American restaurant famous for its pancakes and breakfast fare (not to mention rival to IHOP).
The other 2 happen to be one of the most prominent clubs in the metropolis. One is Valkyrie, the large traditional club and the other is the Palace Pool Club, the outdoor club with a large swimming pool for a party venue.
Uptown Mall
Right across Uptown Parade and connected by a bridgeway is Uptown Mall, the commercial hub of Uptown Bonifacio and the greater North Fort Bonifacio. And it’s hard to miss it with its towering presence in the area, literally and figuratively.
Like many of Megaworld’s malls, Uptown Mall was conceived to have the appearance of class and elegance. And it shows in its interiors. No matter what you think about Megaworld and its malls, you have to admit they at least have some classy interiors for a shopping mall.
Uptown Mall combines both retail and office space with the mall forming the base to the two office towers. This has invited comparisons with another mall in the Fort Bonifacio area that also combines retail and office space in one structure, SM Aura Premier. It’s been said that Megaworld built Uptown Mall as an answer to SM Aura, though if you believe some critics, Megaworld did some “emulating” along the way.
Nevertheless, Uptown Mall is at least enjoying its status as the commercial hub of Uptown Bonifacio so it does not lack foot traffic each day. Especially for people in North Fort Bonifacio and the surrounding neighborhoods who are far from the main commercial hub of Fort Bonifacio, Uptown Mall is serving their needs at the moment.
