SM City Cebu, also known locally as SM Mabolo, is a large shopping mall located in Mabolo, Cebu City, Philippines. It is the 4th shopping mall owned and developed by SM Prime Holdings, the country's largest shopping mall owner and developer. It is the company's first shopping mall outside Metro Manila and the third largest shopping mall in the Philippines. (As of 2025) [2][3] It has a land area of 18 hectares (44 acres) and a gross floor area of 495,000m2 (5,330,000sqft).[4][5] As of 2025, It reclaimed the title of being the largest SM Supermall (and all other malls) in Cebu and in Visayas, surpassing SM Seaside City Cebu. It is the first SM Supermall to use the 2022 logo in the facades.
On an average day, more than 150,000 people visit SM City Cebu, with the figure increasing to 180,000 to 200,000 on weekends.[6] Due to Cebu City's position as a transshipment point for the Visayas and Mindanao, and SM City Cebu's location close to the city's port area, the mall attracts a significant number of transient shoppers.[6]
History
Development
The mall is the first SM Supermall to be built outside of Metro Manila. Construction began in 1991, and was eventually opened on November 27, 1993 with a gross floor area of 161,562 square metres (1,739,040sqft). It was seen as catering to the broad low and middle-class shoppers, in contrast to its upscale competitor, the Ayala Corporation-owned Ayala Center Cebu which opened a year later.
Located in Cebu City's North Reclamation Area, then a quiet and relatively remote part of the city, the mall had Manila-based movie and television stars and entertainers perform free concerts at the mall to attract shoppers. Free jeepney rides to the mall were also offered to fulfill the lack of available public transportation within the area.[6]
From 1993 - 2004, the mall's exterior colors were painted in blue and white stripes. They symbolized the sea, beach, and the sky. And the interiors of the mall originally had sea and underwater themes. Around 2005, the exterior facade was renovated and the walls were painted in beige, 2 years prior to the construction of the Northwing.
Northwing
Construction on SM City Cebu's expansion building, dubbed the Northwing, began in 2006.[7] The expansion was developed at a cost of ₱1.3 billion Pesos (US$30.5 million). It was built on the parking lot to the north of the existing building, temporarily decreasing the number of parking spaces by more than 30%.[7][8] Construction of the Northwing started in March 2006, and opened on November 30, 2007.[8] It increased the total gross floor area of SM City Cebu by 107,049m2 (1,152,270sqft), for a total of 268,611m2 (2,891,300sqft).[3] The first 2 floors are for the mall's expansion of tenant spaces, while the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors are for the indoor carpark including the roof deck.
Northwing Expansion
Interior of the Northwing Expansion, July 2025
An expansion project for the Northwing area of SM City Cebu is partly completed and continues to undergo development. The project occupies on what was previously an open parking area. The expansion features more tenant spaces on the 1st two floors, more parking spaces for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th levels, two 20-storey office towers designed to accommodate business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, as well as a 9-storey academic building that will house the Cebu campus of National University.[9]
The mall's total gross floor area (GFA) reached approximately 495,000m2 (5,330,000sqft), surpassing that of SM Seaside City Cebu. The project also includes a major interior renovation of the existing mall, beginning with areas near Ace Hardware and SM Appliance Center, along with the addition of new retail spaces and dining establishments.
Design
SM City Cebu is a seven-level complex namely lower ground floor, upper ground floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor, and roof deck. It also features a 4-level department store, a supermarket, has a total of six cinemas with three regular cinemas, two Director's Club, and one IMAX theater. [10] It also has 2 food courts, a fully computerized bowling center, an 8,000-square meter amusement center (now closed), and a 2,000-square meter trade hall (now leased by Ace Hardware). Prior to the addition of the Northwing, it had a car park capacity of 1,629.[11]
An expansion of the mall dubbed the Northwing, features two floors of retail stores, restaurants, and cafes. It houses more than 200 tenants and caters to a more upscale clientele.[5] The expansion also added three levels of covered parking, and a one level of roof deck parking.[5] In 2008, the interiors of the main mall had its 1st major renovation, in order to match the Northwing's newly updated interior at the time.
The Northwing Expansion, which began construction in 2022, will add more retail spaces to the existing Northwing, more parking spaces, a National University branch, and BPO office spaces. Around this time, the mall also had its 2nd major interior renovation.
In 2023, some tenant spaces on parts of the 3rd floor of the main mall were demolished, and were converted into the new Food Hall, which opened in 2024. This is the 2nd Food Hall in Cebu after the one in SM J Mall, which will co-exist alongside the old Foodcourt located on the lower ground floor.
As of 2025, the mall's overall interior is still under renovation, while portions of the Northwing expansion and the National University campus were already opened. However, construction of the BPO towers are still ongoing.
Transport
The mall complex has 4 transport terminals. These are the Jeepney terminal, the UV Express terminal, the MyBus terminal, and the Cebu North Bus Terminal.
The Jeepney terminal is located on the left side of the of the main mall near the Radisson Blu Hotel, the UV Express terminal is found at the right side of the main mall, while the MyBus and the Cebu North Bus Terminals are situated inside the mall compound at the back, which used to be an open parking area.
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