SM CITY Baguio's Sky Park will be tourist and eco-friendly.
Defending the Sky Park project, which made noise last week after people woke up to 60 trees cut Saturday, SM Baguio clarified the project will have many benefits to the city in terms of job generation, tourism and environment.
In a press release, the supermall stated they secured all approved permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the City Government of Baguio and other agencies.
"SM City Baguio's Sky Park will allow the mall to further serve its customers in the city by bringing in more shopping and leisure excitement, as well as more business and employment opportunities, especially for qualified residents," the statement stressed.
"It will also be an attraction for the increasing number of tourists in the city because it will incorporate the so-called 'green architecture'," it added.
While it was earlier acknowledged by SM Vice President for Operations Engr. Bien Mateo that indeed they had to compromise trees for the project, the statement assures SM will hold on to its efforts towards the preservation and protection of the environment.
The additional 68,123.75 square meters will feature eco-friendly and energy efficient facilities, according to the statement.
An underground rainwater harvesting facility with a capacity of catching 7,432.54 cubic meters will be put and used in mall operations as well as in the city's supply of non-potable water.
Below Basement 3 of the mall expansion will be a sewerage treatment plant (STP) with a capacity of at least 1,200 cubic meters of waste water discharge per day.
The sewer and waste water will undergo treatment in the STP for non-potable uses.
Natural lighting and LED lights will also be used in some areas of the building as one of the mall's energy efficient efforts.
Moreover, the expansion's green walls also consists of live plants to help improve the air quality in the mall.
On the third floor of the mall's expansion is a green space that will have a landscape area, a park and a view deck.
It will have a green foliage and other water features are as well considered in the design of the mall's expansion "to mitigate heat island effect and absorb rain water".
An approximate 4,333 square meter elevated garden will have 53 species of trees and plants to be placed in pots, canopied walkways, ponds and waterscapes.
While the city has not yet identified a massive parking space in the city, SM assures a total of 652 additional parking slots will be established increasing the mall's capacity to around 1,419.
SM also plans to add pedestrian and vehicle entrances along the Gov. Pack Road to help decongest Session Road.
