U.P. Town Center

U.P. Town Center, also known as the University of the Philippines Town Center and commonly abbreviated as UPTC, is a shopping and dining complex in Quezon City, Metro Manila. The center is associated with the University of the Philippines Diliman campus and is managed by Ayala Malls. It opened on September 30, 2013, on a 7.4-hectare site formerly occupied by the University of the Philippines Integrated School. The development was made possible through a 25-year lease secured by Ayala Land from the University of the Philippines. The project was conceived as a university town center rather than as a conventional enclosed regional mall. Its principal catchment includes students, faculty, staff, and nearby residents connected with the University of the Philippines Diliman, Ateneo de Manila University, Miriam College, and other institutions along Katipunan Avenue. Ayala Malls positioned the property as the Philippines' first and only university town center, with a tenant mix intended to reflect the consumption habits and schedules of a young, education-oriented population. Development proceeded in three phases. The first phase, opened in 2013, covered approximately 4,700 square meters and concentrated on restaurants and retail outlets. It included a two-level Foot Locker store. The second phase added roughly 26,000 square meters of floor area and was completed by May 2015, expanding the selection of fashion, sports, technology, stationery, dining, and service tenants. The final phase, completed in 2016, added about 37,000 square meters and included offices, further retail and food outlets, and a four-screen cinema complex with a 4DX auditorium. A two-storey H&M store was among the retail components associated with the third phase. Food and beverage was particularly important during the center's early operating period. In November 2013, the property reportedly had 30 tenants, 28 of them dining outlets. Ayala Malls initially emphasized newer restaurant and dining concepts rather than simply duplicating the established fast-food and restaurant brands already present along Katipunan Avenue. As later phases came online, the center broadened its offer to include international and local fashion, sports, technology, stationery, entertainment, and personal-service brands. The development was master-planned and architecturally designed by the international firm Benoy. Its site planning retained the trees on the former school property, and approximately 40 percent of the land was designated as open space. This landscape treatment, together with the campus setting and pedestrian-oriented mix of uses, formed part of the center's distinction from more generic commercial developments. U.P. Town Center's facilities have changed over time. A membership-based Landers Superstore opened in 2022, becoming the first Landers branch located in an Ayala mall. The center also formerly housed a Merkado Supermarket operated through an Ayala-Puregold joint venture; the reference material identifies that branch as closing in 2026 after the agreement between the companies expired. The property otherwise remains an active Ayala Malls destination combining dining, shopping, entertainment, and office uses for the Katipunan-area university community.

U.P. Town Center was developed on a 7.4-hectare parcel within the University of the Philippines campus in Quezon City. Before the commercial project, the site was occupied by the University of the Philippines Integrated School. Ayala Land secured a 25-year lease from the University of the Philippines to create a commercial complex serving the university and educational communities along Katipunan Avenue. The project was managed and marketed through Ayala Malls. The development opened on September 30, 2013. Its concept differed from a standard regional shopping mall: it was designed as a university town center with a strong emphasis on convenient food, casual retail, services, and social spaces for students and nearby academic communities. The center was promoted as the first and only university town center in the Philippines. Its intended audience included the University of the Philippines Diliman, Ateneo de Manila University, Miriam College, and other institutions in the Katipunan area. The initial phase covered approximately 4,700 square meters and was weighted heavily toward restaurants and other dining outlets. Early tenant strategy favored emerging or differentiated dining concepts rather than a simple repetition of the established fast-food and restaurant brands already operating along Katipunan Avenue. In November 2013, the property reportedly had 30 tenants, of which 28 were dining outlets and two were retail stores. A two-level Foot Locker store was also part of the early retail offer. Expansion occurred in two further stages. The second phase, completed by May 2015, added approximately 26,000 square meters of floor area and introduced a broader selection of fashion, sports, technology, stationery, dining, and service tenants. The third and final phase, completed in 2016, added approximately 37,000 square meters. It brought offices, additional stores and restaurants, and a four-screen cinema complex that included a 4DX auditorium. A two-storey H&M store was among the major retail elements associated with the completed development. Benoy, an international architectural practice, handled the architectural design and master planning. The site retained its existing trees rather than clearing them, while about 40 percent of the property was allocated to open space. The preservation of greenery and the campus setting helped define the center's physical identity and supported its positioning as a more relaxed, pedestrian-oriented alternative to a conventional enclosed mall. Over time, the property expanded beyond its initial restaurant-led identity. Its tenant mix came to include fashion, sports, consumer technology, stationery, entertainment, personal services, and grocery shopping. In 2022, Landers Superstore opened at the center. The branch was notable as Landers' first location in an Ayala mall and added a membership-club grocery format to the property. U.P. Town Center also formerly housed a Merkado Supermarket operated through an Ayala-Puregold joint venture. According to the supplied reference material, that branch closed in 2026 when the agreement between the two companies expired. U.P. Town Center remains an active mixed-use commercial destination whose identity is closely tied to the university population of northern Quezon City. Its development history reflects a phased expansion from a restaurant-centered campus retail concept into a larger lifestyle, entertainment, office, and grocery complex.

• 2026

  Former Merkado branch closes

  [1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The supplied reference material records the closure of the former Merkado Supermarket branch following the expiration of the Ayala-Puregold agreement.

• 2022

  Landers Superstore opens

  [1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Landers opened a membership-exclusive supermarket at U.P. Town Center, its first branch located in an Ayala mall.

• 2016

  Third phase completes the planned complex

  [1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The final phase added approximately 37,000 square meters, offices, more retail and dining space, and four cinemas, including a 4DX auditorium.

• 2015

  Second phase completed

  [1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The second phase was completed by May 2015, adding approximately 26,000 square meters of floor area and expanding the fashion, sports, technology, stationery, dining, and service offer.

• 2013

  Opening of the first phase

  [1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  U.P. Town Center opened on September 30 with an initial 4,700-square-meter phase focused mainly on food and dining, along with selected retail stores.

A campus-connected lifestyle and shopping center focused on students, young professionals, university communities, and nearby residents along Katipunan Avenue. Its differentiation rests on a university-town-center format, a strong dining orientation, contemporary retail brands, entertainment facilities, and substantial open space.

• Food and beverage · 2013

  Dining and restaurant zone

  Dining was the defining component of the opening phase. The center initially prioritized restaurants and newer food concepts aimed at students and nearby academic communities, rather than reproducing the full set of established chains already present along Katipunan Avenue. Food and beverage remained a central part of the mall's customer proposition as later phases introduced additional retail and entertainment uses.

• Apparel and accessories · 2015

  Fashion and lifestyle retail

  The later phases broadened U.P. Town Center's apparel and lifestyle offer with fashion, accessories, and sports-oriented retail. The center's university-focused positioning made contemporary, accessible brands an important part of its tenant mix, including a two-storey H&M store associated with the third phase.

• Entertainment · 2016

  Cinema complex

  The final development phase added a four-screen cinema complex. Its facilities included a 4DX auditorium, giving the center an entertainment component beyond shopping and dining and strengthening its role as a social destination for the surrounding student population.

• Membership supermarket · 2022

  Landers Superstore

  Landers Superstore is a membership-based grocery and warehouse retail operation. The U.P. Town Center branch opened in 2022 and was the first Landers location situated in an Ayala mall, adding bulk grocery and household shopping to the center's established dining and lifestyle offer.

• Supermarket

  Merkado Supermarket

  Merkado Supermarket formerly operated at U.P. Town Center through an Ayala-Puregold joint venture. The supplied reference material states that the branch closed in 2026 after the agreement between the two companies expired.

• 2022

  Addition of Landers SuperstoreProduct launch

  Background

  U.P. Town Center's offer had expanded beyond dining and discretionary retail, creating room for a large-format grocery and household-shopping operator.

  Action taken

  Landers opened a membership-exclusive supermarket at the center.

  Aftermath

  The opening added a warehouse-club grocery format and represented Landers' first presence in an Ayala mall.

  Source

• 2015

  Expansion into broader lifestyle retailGeneration change

  Background

  The first phase was heavily concentrated on dining, while the university catchment also required fashion, sports, technology, stationery, and service offerings.

  Action taken

  The second phase added approximately 26,000 square meters of floor area and introduced a substantially broader retail and dining tenant mix.

  Aftermath

  U.P. Town Center developed from a primarily restaurant-based center into a more complete lifestyle destination for the Katipunan academic community.

  Source

• 2013

  Prioritization of new dining conceptsStrategy

  Background

  At opening, many established fast-food and restaurant brands already had outlets along Katipunan Avenue. Ayala Malls therefore sought to give U.P. Town Center a distinct university-oriented identity.

  Action taken

  The initial tenant strategy emphasized new restaurant and dining brands, producing a first phase in which most tenants were food and beverage outlets.

  Aftermath

  The dining-led format established the center's early identity before later phases expanded the mix into fashion, sports, technology, stationery, offices, cinemas, and grocery retail.

  Source

• 2026

  Merkado supermarket branch closes after joint-venture agreement expires[1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The reference material states that the former Merkado Supermarket branch at U.P. Town Center closed in 2026 after the Ayala-Puregold agreement supporting the format expired.

• 2022

  Landers opens first store in an Ayala mall at U.P. Town Center[1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  A membership-only Landers Superstore opened at U.P. Town Center, marking the first Landers location in an Ayala mall.

• 2016

  Final phase adds cinemas, offices, and expanded retail[1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The third phase completed the planned development with additional shops and restaurants, offices, and four cinemas, including a 4DX screen.

• 2015

  U.P. Town Center completes second development phase[1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The second phase, adding approximately 26,000 square meters of floor area and a wider range of retail and dining outlets, was completed by May 2015.

• 2013

  U.P. Town Center opens in Quezon City[1]U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The first phase of U.P. Town Center opened on September 30, 2013, introducing an Ayala Malls development aimed at the university communities around Katipunan Avenue.

1. 1U.P. Town Centeren.wikipedia.org