Known as the "Millenium Mall" project, a planned 7-storey mall adjacent to the Araneta Coliseum in the early stages of planning, along with the "Manhattan Mall", a mixed use development consisting retail and residential components, as part of the Araneta Center Master Plan in the year 2000, under a ₱66.25 Billion budget. The Araneta Group tapped Felino Palafox of Palafox Associates and Sudhakar Thakurdesai of RTKL Associates as the main architects and urban planners of the project, along with the Deshazo Starek and Tang, Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated and Colliers International as main consultants of the master plan. The plans for the mall contains a large part of the Araneta City, spanning from the Araneta Center–Cubao Line 2 station, around the west side of the Smart Araneta Coliseum, to Farmer's Market, up to the current Farmer's Garden and Araneta City Cyberpark. Among the plans for the development include the "Manila Tower", a planned mixed-use tower. The planned mall will have of retail spaces, with plans including an additional of entertainment spaces, a full scale skating rink, cineplexes, an IMAX Theater, a bowling alley, and a children and family entertainment center, aimed to have a total of of overall retail space in the Araneta City. The master plan commenced with the construction of the Gateway Mall in 2002, and the Gateway Mall 2 in 2017, with future expansion plans including the Gateway Mall 3. The Gateway Mall, along with the New Gateway, the Gateway Tower the Araneta Coliseum, the Araneta Coliseum Parking Garage, the Novotel Manila Araneta City, and the Ibis Styles Hotel are situated within the Gateway Square complex, offering retail, offices, dining, leisure, lodging, and entertainment facilities, having over 3,000 parking spaces, and ensuring connectivity via sky bridges and walk paths.
Development
Gateway Mall
Dubbed "Like No Other Mall in the World", the ₱2.5 Billion Complex commenced construction and broke ground in October 2002 and was opened in October 2004, as part of the Metro Centro Project of then Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr.. The mall has five levels above ground primarily for retail use and three levels of basement parking space. It has a total floor area of and is connected to the Smart Araneta Coliseum and Farmers Plaza by a walkway. The mall hosts more than 200 shops for dining and retail, including 5 anchor tenants, a 10-cinema cineplex which includes the 500-seater Cinema 5 and the Platinum Cinema which is touted by the mall owners as the "first La-Z-Boy theater" in the Philippines. The mall also houses Automatic Centre Digital Plaza, Rustan's, H&M, Uniqlo, Miniso, Apple Store, Lacoste, Xiaomi, Robinsons Supermarket and other shops, along with The Oasis, The Topiary Garden, an open-air rooftop garden, The Food Express food court, and the Gateway Food Park, where events as well as Fresh Grilled Foods are being served. The mall is directly connected to the lower six retail levels of the adjacent Gateway Tower, adding of retail space, which was constructed in 2013; the 2nd floor of the New Frontier Theater and the Manhattan Parkview via elevated bridge, the LRT 2 Cubao Station, and an 11-storey BPO Building occupied by Accenture located adjacent to the Cubao Station Concourse.
New Gateway (Gateway Mall 2)
The New Gateway is an 8-storey under-construction expansion project of the Gateway Mall. Designed to be an indoor oasis with contemporary architecture once completed, Gateway Mall 2 will contain a 9-cinema cineplex, a 3,500 square meter "European Market" inspired Gourmet Hall, a designated roof deck activity area linking to Gateway Mall 1, a 700 square meter activity area atrium, an organic vegetable garden, an island restaurant-food court, a museum, and a "Paper Hat" inspired, 500-seater chapel, featuring high ceilings and modern church glass windows emphasizing natural light. Construction commenced in 2017 at a cost of ₱6.5 Billion and a planned completion in the 4th quarter of 2020, to commemorate the 60th anniversary opening of the Araneta Coliseum. Gateway Mall 2 is a part of the Araneta Center Redevelopment Plan aimed to "Redefine" the mall experience in the country. It is to be built at the west side of the Smart Araneta Coliseum, adjacent to the Ibis Styles Araneta City, As of second quarter of 2017, the part linking to Farmers Plaza is under construction, and in August 2017, the former Food Park, as well as the former parking space in front of the coliseum, along with the coliseum's Red Gate facade, were excavated to give way for the construction of the main building of the mall. When completed, the development will have of retail space, with Megawide Construction Corporation serving as the general contractor of the project, and will also comply with basic LEED development standards. The mall has over 400 shops attracting 100 food and beverage shops and restaurants, retail, dining, nightlife, leisure, and a supermarket, with Shopwise planning to occupy the basement section of the mall, as the supermarket transfers in a new location in the mall. The area occupied by Shopwise will soon be redeveloped for the City Plaza, a 5-tower mixed-use complex consisting a 4-star hotel, retail spaces, premium grade offices, premium residential units, and green civic spaces. The new mall will soon also be connected to the nearby Gateway Mall 3 located at the Cyberpark. The New Gateway Mall is officially topped off on February 11, 2020.
Planned expansion
Gateway Mall 3
A planned 2-storey expansion project of the Gateway Mall will add of retail space, and currently on the conceptual stage, which is planned at the Cyberpark, connecting all 5 office towers and includes an outdoor park Once completed, Gateway Malls 1, 2 and 3 will have an overall GFA of and will have more than 800-1000 shops upon completion.
Reception
Gateway Mall received critical acclaimed from the retail and developer industries. The Philippine Retailers Association named the shopping mall as the Shopping Center of the Year twice, in 2006 and 2007. At the 30th Innovative Design and Development Awards of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ the mall is a recipient of a Merit Award. It was also a finalist for the 2008 Urban Land InstituteAwards for Excellence.
