Marikina Town Center's new beat

Tamaraw Food Park opens

- By IAN MAGBANUA

I grew up in SSS Village, just a short drive from where Marikina Town Center now stands along Sumulong Highway, right beside Toyota Marikina, and near Gil Fernando Avenue. Back then, this part of the city was mostly open space, the kind of area I'd only pass when heading out to the main roads or visiting classmates who lived closer to the river. Seeing it now, with lights, crowds, and a sense of movement, feels like coming back to a familiar story that suddenly added a few new chapters.

Standing there, I found myself thinking about how different this area used to be when I was younger. It was mostly open ground in the 1990s and was the kind of place you'd barely notice unless you lived nearby. By the 2000s, small commercial spots began to appear.

Toyota Marikina eventually settled in, the Marikina Blue Wave commercial area popped up, and then right across, Jollibee and Chowking soon after. Little by little, the place took shape. Seeing it on Nov. 26, with a proper football field and a lively food park, makes the city's steady progress easy to appreciate.