Davao’s Victoria Plaza closes after 32 years
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 31 December) — Nostalgia swept through Dabawenyos as NCCC Mall VP (formerly Victoria Plaza), the city’s first mall, closed its doors on Wednesday, 32 years after it started operations.
It opened in 1993 with the claim that it was “built for the utmost shopping comfort and convenience of the people of Davao City.”
Gilda P. Naran, 59, made one final visit to the mall with her friends just hours before the mall’s closure on New Year’s Eve, reminiscing about the memories they had shared there.
The mall, Naran said, had been an integral part of her daily life.
“Grabe ang akong memory. Sakit gyud, mas labaw pa sa nawala nakong bana (My memories are overwhelming. It’s more painful than losing my husband),” she said.
Naran was particularly saddened upon hearing of Victoria Plaza’s closure, as she had spent nearly every afternoon there for several years while waiting for her four children, who attended classes at the nearby Elpidio Quirino Elementary School in the Poblacion District, located just behind the mall.
Naran’s eldest child is now 38, while her youngest is 26. Her third child is the same age as Victoria Plaza.
As a single mother, she supported her children by selling kakanin or native delicacies like biko and maja blanca, with weekly trips to the supermarket inside Victoria Plaza to buy all her ingredients.
The closure of the mall was announced in September 2025, following the acquisition of the 9.6-hectare mall complex by the Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) from Great Earth Marketing & Development Corporation (GEMDC), majority-owned by the Lim family.
The buyout of Victoria Plaza took place more than six years after Davao’s Lim family, owner of homegrown NCCC Mall, acquired the property from Philippine National Bank (PNB) in 2019.
In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) released on September 8, 2025, the RLC plans to redevelop the property, starting with a nine-story world-class multi-story office building.
According to the company, the new office tower, targeted for completion in the first half of 2027, “will showcase a modern and iconic façade, complemented by a premium lobby design that redefines office space standards in the region.”
Over the years, Dabawenyos had not seen a major renovation to revitalize the aging mall aside from the yearly giant Christmas tree outside, which became a regular fixture during the holiday season.
But Naran said that unlike other malls, Victoria Plaza is “simple and not overcrowded.”
“Dire kay dali lang man gud sya hanapon. Naa dayon imong paliton sa grocery, palit kag gatas, ingredients (Here, it’s easy to find what you need. You can immediately buy what you’re looking for at the grocery, like milk and other ingredients),” she said.
The mall, located at a prime property within the city’s central district along JP Laurel Avenue, was inaugurated on March 16, 1993.
A marker affixed to the façade of the mall indicates that it was “owned and managed by the Davao Sunrise Investment & Development Corporation, built for the utmost shopping comfort and convenience of the people of Davao City and dedicated to their continuing progress and prosperity.”
It also bore the name of the late businessman Robert Alan Limso as the corporation’s president. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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