ALSONS Development and Investment Corporation (Alsons Dev) just made shopping, dining, and entertainment a bit more exciting for Davaoeños with the launch of the Poblacion Market Central.
In a place where heritage meets hip, Alsons Dev hopes to draw crowds from across the Philippines to Davao and make them experience that fertile middle ground where traditions are celebrated and contemporary takes on art, retail, and gastronomy are more than welcomed.
Alsons Dev first opened the doors of Poblacion late last year. It hosted over 300 seasoned and up-and-coming artists during the Mindanao Art Fair in October 2021; gathered adventurous foodpreneurs, artists and artisans during the month-long Christmas Bazaar; and moved Aldevinco Shopping Center’s most loved and long-standing tenants to a new space with upgraded facilities in January of 2022.
It has been less than a year since the first customers walked into this new hub with almost a hectare of gross floor space, and so far, Alsons Dev has delivered a well-curated merchant mix of art, antiques, and souvenir shops, restaurant concepts, and convenience retailers with a convenient parking level. To date, Poblacion has over 70 merchants, with more opening in the fourth quarter.
Creativity runs deep in the South
As Davao City welcomes local and international visitors in time for the Kadayawan Festival, Poblacion also bares its food hall, Kukun, which is short for Kusina at Kultura ng Dabaw.
Kukun offers value, variety, and experience, serving everything from Persian food by Majid’s Kabab, Pinoy grilled favorites by Yassi's Siargao BBQ, lechon meals by Porky Best, and seafood bento boxes by Claribel Restaurant. It also houses AMCG Farm, which sells fresh produce; Hootsa, which has a full menu of milk and fruit teas; and Myami Vyce Resto Bar, which serves mocktails and cocktails. Popular coffeehouse chain Bo’s Coffee is also there to serve its single-origin beans from across the Philippines.
There is, however, more to Kukun than southern flavors and aromas. Enter the food hall and customers would also be greeted by a visual display of Davao’s art and cultural fair–okir wood carvings by Maranao artists, murals by Davao-based creatives Ghamar Kanda and Makro Aquino, and lighting designed to highlight all the floor-to-ceiling elements woven together.
Outside the food hall, at the Atrium area, a massive mural by Mindanaoan contemporary artist Kublai Millan stands to welcome customers. Millan is the sculptor, painter, and digital artist behind the giant durian monument at the Davao International Airport and the giant eagle and Bagobo children sculptures in People’s Park.
“Alsons Dev is happy to host and showcase the work of Davao’s best creatives. Whether they make food, sculptures, weaves and textiles, or handicrafts, we believe that testing their concepts in a place like Poblacion Market Central contributes to a retail and cultural scene that is meant to gain national recognition. Poblacion, true to its tagline, is a place where the heritage of Davao meets the possibilities of a hip and ever-evolving market,” says Miguel A. Dominguez, Alsons Dev Director.
Enabling Davao’s transformation
Alsons Development and Investment Corporation first made its mark upon the creation of the Aldevinco Shopping Center in 1965, then Davao’s first commercial shopping center, followed by multiple residential projects that are now home to generations of Davaoeños. For more than five decades, Aldevinco housed Mindanaoan textiles, antiques, and pearl shops; it welcomed both locals and tourists, and it enabled entrepreneurs to start and flourish.
Early in 2022, Alsons Dev closed the old shopping center and relocated its tenants to Poblacion, providing better facilities, marketing support, and the foot traffic necessary for commercial success.
In the next four months, Poblacion will open more concept stores and experiences in time for the holidays. Follow @OfficialPoblacionMarketCentral on Facebook and Instagram.