Bullish on Ilocos: Sy family plans new hotel in Laoag after opening 88th SM mall
MANILA, Philippines – The country’s biggest real estate developers are bullish about Ilocos Norte.
Seven months after billionaire Kevin Tan of Megaworld announced a new township in Laoag City, the Sy family’s SM Prime disclosed on Wednesday, May 28, that it was eyeing a new hotel in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s home province.
In a press release announcing the opening on Friday of its 88th mall in the Philippines, SM City Laoag, SM Prime said it was “studying a complementary hotel development in Laoag” as it aims “to tap into the area’s growing tourism and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) potential.”
Most digital travel platforms list Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel as the only 5-star hotel in Laoag City. Majority of the accommodations there are three stars plus a few four-star places.
But the 77-hectare Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel, a project of former first lady Imelda Marcos, is already more than 40 years old and was reportedly last renovated in 1995. It was privatized after the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, and daily broadsheet Philippine Daily Inquirer reported in October 2024 that it was up for sale.
Growth corridor
SM Prime, the Philippines’ largest mall developer, said SM City Laoag is its “latest push into high-growth regional corridors.”
“The opening of SM City Laoag reinforces our commitment to bring modern, accessible and community-oriented retail experiences to underserved but fast-growing areas,” said SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim on Wednesday. “We’re excited to support the region’s economic momentum.”
SM Prime cited Ilocos Norte’s 8.6% economic growth in 2024, “driven by gains in services, accommodation and transport.”
Ilocos Norte registered the highest growth among the four provinces in the region that includes Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan.
SM City Laoag along Airport Road is just minutes from the city center and near Laoag International Airport. SM Prime said “the mall is poised to become a new urban anchor for Northern Luzon.”
The P2.4 billion three-level mall has 51,000 square meters of gross leasable space, of which 90% is already awarded. The mall is expected to generate 4,000 jobs for Ilocanos in retail and support services.
Aside from the SM Group’s retail brands like SM Supermarket and Ace Hardware, other retailers that will have shops in SM City Laoag are Levi’s, Plains & Prints, Columbia (sports wear), Adidas, Watsons, and Parfois.
For food, the mall will have a Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Shakey’s, Pancake House, Balai: Taste of Home, Max’s, Little Saigon, TGI Fridays, Kenny Rogers, Vikings, Marugame Udon, Kyu Kyu Ramen, Botejyu, Yugo Japanese Fusion, Nabe (Japanese hotpot), Tokyo Tokyo, Trattoria Altrov’e (brick oven pizza), among others.
For cafés, desserts and snacks: J.CO Donuts and Coffee, After Tree Dessert Café, Swirls Ice Cream, Macao Imperial Tea, Tealive, Matcha Tokyo, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Maw Yoghurt House, Milk Pot, Taho Klasiko, Dunkin Donuts, Taters snacks, etc.
For entertainment, it will have SM Cinemas (with a Director’s Club), a Fantasy World (an indoor amusement park), and Quantum.
Among the homegrown brands in the mall are: Amian Coffee, Lanie’s Empanada, Old Soul Bean and Bar, Sentro Café.
“A central open-air park, ‘Dap-ayan,’ named after the Ilocano word for gathering place, will serve as a community space for events and leisure,” SM Prime said.
Wish 107.5’s Wish Bus will be at the Dap-ayan Park at 4 pm on Friday, May 30.
The ongoing Palarong Pambansa 2025 3×3 Basketball-Secondary Girls and Boys Division games are being held outside the mall.
Ilocandia Coastown
Billionaire Andrew Tan’s real estate firm Megaworld Corporation annnounced in October 2024 that it would build Ilocandia Coastown adjacent to Fort Ilocandia in the next 10 years.
Megaworld said it would be spending P15 billion to develop the 84-hectare Ilocandia Coastown, its 34th township in the Philippines. It “will feature upscale residential developments, a shophouse district, and a commercial district, as well as its own town center that will serve as an iconic focal point of the entire development.”
Like Fort Ilocandia, the township’s architectural design is inspired by Filipino and Spanish heritage. It will also have its own 1.4-kilometer beach line, including a sand dunes area for which Ilocos Norte is famous for.
“This is a wonderful start for our group’s investment in the Ilocos Region, particularly in the capital city of Laoag. We see a lot of opportunities in this part of the country especially ontourism, and we hope to unlock these opportunities through this development,” Kevin Tan, president and CEO of Alliance Global Group, the parent company of Megaworld, said in October.
Megaworld cited a study conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in April 2024 which said that Ilocos Region was the third fastest growing economy in the Philippines, next to Central Visayas and Western Visayas.
Senator Imee Marcos’ son, Matthew Marcos Manotoc, was reelected governor in the May 2025 midterm elections, and Team Marcos’ candidate for mayor of Laoag City, Bryan Alcid, defeated Matthew’s uncle, incumbent Mayor Michael Marcos Keon. “The sun will shine again in Laoag,” said Matthew after Team Marcos’ victory.
– Rappler.com