Limketkai Mall (LKK) is a landmark in Cagayan de Oro not because that it is now modern and huge but it has always been identified as a homegrown commercial destination in the city. Before the major facelift a few years ago, it is open air and has that certain regional charm in it: not too boxed up and alienating compared with the mega mall structures in most urban cities. Or like its counterpart, Gaisano City located just a few hundred meters away from it or Ororama which is just a stone’s throw and seems to have long lost its luster, it has retained its own grace.

LKK Mall then was inviting. Never mind if it doesn’t offer all the things that you need but I just liked it. Until Henry Sy’s SM empire reached this part of Mindanao.

LKK started its transformation in 2005. Maybe the owners had felt the threats of modern malls at its periphery or that the mall itself is way past its prime and long needed a shot in the arm that there was a need to modernize it, to bring it to the new century in line with the speed and phenomenal growth that Cagayan de Oro is developing. In fact, this city of golden friendship, as what the locals proudly say, is adjudged the fastest developing city in Mindanao if not in the country. And really, what a transformation it has undergone!

Its fully enclosed. Its huge. Its airconditioned. Its spanking spic and span. Its cavernous. New tenants and new stores are making this mall home. What you can find in most malls in Metro Manila and Cebu, you can encounter it here. It is now connected with a Robinson’s Mall just behind it. It is now connected with the new Mullberry Hotel.

The original layout of the mall has been retained, especially the crossing at the center where car displays and other promos have always been held. A new activity area, bigger than the one found in SM City Cebu rivals that of the new Trinoma Mall or Glorietta in Metro Manila.

Now, it attracts the most people compared with its peers. It got a new lease on life. While it might have become another boxed up, enclosed structure, it’s so spacious inside that you don’t feel claustrophobic at all. Despite its becoming a modern structure, it did still retain its charm.

Estan Cabigas is a multiawarded blogger, freelance photographer and writer based in Makati City, the Philippines. A true blue Cebuano, he makes stunning images and meaningful photo stories. He has contributed to local and international publications including CNN Go, National Geographic Magazine, Geo (Germany), Sunday Times Magazine (London) and other publications.

To know more about him and his photography, visit estancabigas.com.