Greenbelt is a shopping mall in Makati, Philippines, and part of the Ayala Centre complex, which hosts stores ranging from high streets retail to expensive boutiques, in addition to entertainment and dining facilities. More than just a mall, it is a shopper’s paradise, artistically designed, culturally orientated and full of innovative, original features, making a visit to Greenbelt a uniquely captivating experience. Five sections divide the mall, each with its own distinct design, including open-air centres, enclosed buildings, a sprawling garden, entertainment areas and spaces for community events.
The central purpose of Greenbelt is shopping, and it sells a range of products, from hardware to books in section one, to international brands in section three, expensive labels in section four and local, Filipino designers in section five. Restaurants and cafes are scattered around the mall, providing fine dining or fast food facilities for tired shoppers or visitors can relax in a unique, green space surrounded by trees and water in the gardened centre of the mall. There is even a chapel inside the complex, an open domed building and Catholic place of worship called Santo Nino de Paz, which holds daily services. In the third section, Greenbelt 3, there is a cinema where visitors can take a break from shopping by watching a film.
There is an MRT stop called Ayala Station beside the mall, or visitors travelling by public transport can also take a jeepney, which runs like a local bus service, and head in the direction of Greenbelt, usually bound for Ayala-Pateros. Drivers can reach Greenbelt along Ayala Avenue, although the traffic of the Makati business district can be chaotic, and visitors can always take a taxi or one of the local buses.
The construction of Greenbelt began with the first section in the 1979s, which acted as the principal building of the Glorietta Mall complex, with cinemas and a few retail shops, in a small and intimate space. In 2000, the Ayala organisation renovated the building, and it adopted the laid back, relaxed atmosphere it holds today, with the construction of the wide and open green gardens. The final two sections, Greenbelt 4 and 5, opened in 2004 and 2007.