CdO developers push retail growth uptown

CAGAYAN DE ORO (CdO) is entering a new phase of retail expansion as developers accelerate commercial and township projects in the city’s uptown corridor, where market activity is beginning to spread beyond the saturated downtown area.

In its first-quarter special market report, PRIME Philippines said retail growth is increasingly being driven by mixed-use township developments in uptown Cagayan de Oro.

“Unlike the densely clustered downtown malls, the uptown district is expected to form a wider spread as the pipeline of retail will be embedded in townships,” the property consultancy said.

PRIME Philippines identified SM Prime Holdings, Inc.’s SM City CDO Uptown and DSG Sons Group’s Gaisano malls as the primary retail anchors in the uptown corridor, with Gaisano City Uptown opening in 2024.

The consultancy said additional projects are expected to expand retail activity in the area.

Cebu Landmasters, Inc. is scheduled to launch Manresa Town in the fourth quarter, a 14.6-hectare university township being developed in partnership with Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan.

The project includes plans for Xavier University’s future Masterson campus alongside commercial and residential developments within the township. 

Meanwhile, Pueblo de Oro Development Corp., the real estate arm of ICCP Group, is planning to establish the 23-hectare Pueblo Business Park in the uptown district.

PRIME Philippines noted that the city’s downtown corridor has become increasingly competitive, with major developers operating retail properties along Claro M. Recto Avenue.

These include Ayala Land, Inc.’s Centrio Mall, DSG Sons Group’s Gaisano City Mall, Robinsons Land Corp.’s Robinsons Cagayan de Oro, AllValue Holdings Corp.’s AllHome Cagayan de Oro, and SM Prime’s SM CDO Downtown.

The Limketkai Center mixed-use development, which has more than 102,000 square meters of gross leasable area, also remains a major commercial hub in the downtown area.

The property consultancy said major infrastructure projects are expected to further support commercial growth and logistics connectivity in Cagayan de Oro.

These include the expansion of Laguindingan Airport, which is expected to increase annual passenger capacity from 1.6 million to 3.9 million in the first phase and eventually to 6.3 million. Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. was awarded the airport expansion project.

PRIME Philippines also cited the proposed Northern Mindanao Railway project, a planned 54.8-kilometer transit system connecting Laguindingan Airport to Villanueva through several Northern Mindanao cities and municipalities, including Cagayan de Oro.

The consultancy said the railway project’s pre-feasibility study was completed in October 2025, while the full feasibility study is expected to begin by mid-2026.

Cagayan de Oro remains the most fiscally productive highly urbanized city in Mindanao, with revenues per capita reaching P4.31 million as of 2024, according to PRIME Philippines.

The city also accounts for 28.3% of Northern Mindanao’s regional gross domestic product (GDP) and ranks second in GDP per capita among highly urbanized cities outside Metro Manila, the consultancy said. — Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales