The mall was opened to the public on 28 September 1990, and was the second SM Supermall to open after the then-largest SM Supermall in the country, SM City North EDSA. It was initially named SM Centerpoint as it is located very near the tripoint of the City of Manila, Quezon City and what was then the municipality of San Juan. The mall featured several amusement venues, namely Quantum, Worlds of Fun and a two-storey annex building. To celebrate its 15th anniversary, the mall was rebranded SM City Sta. Mesa since it borders the Santa Mesa district of Manila despite being under the territorial jurisdiction of Barangay Doña Imelda, Quezon City. On September 26, 2009, the basement level was flooded when Typhoon Ondoy battered the capital. The appliance center, supermarket, food court and other retail stores located at the basement level were heavily damaged. The basement level was temporarily closed for several days. From late 2008 to early 2009, the four-tower apartment complex called Mezza Residences was constructed by SM Residences in the corner lot across the mall. Cinemas 1-4 and 7-10 of the mall were closed for renovation works as part of SM Cinema's plans to upgrade these cinemas into stadium seating. The mall's developers were criticized for not following the building guidelines during construction of the carpark building, which was built on the banks of the San Juan River.
Amenities
The Mall is the main structure of SM City Sta. Mesa, the second of SM Supermall constructed. It features and houses most anchors, the department store, all the amusement venues, the main atrium, all the theater houses, most of the restaurants, all the retail stores and most of the entertainment venues and other services. All the major anchors are located within the vicinity of the structure. The mall has undergone several renovations for better guest accommodations and serves the daily foot traffic of about 200,000 people. The Carpark Building is a four-story structure which serves thousands of vehicles daily and is adjacent to the mall. The two-storey Annex Building of the mall was one of the first annex buildings built and constructed by SM Prime Holdings. Its operations began at the opening of the mall. The Annex Building houses several junior anchors and is located east of the main mall.
Mezza Residences
The quadruplet residential towers of Mezza Residences was constructed at the front of the Central Colleges of the Philippines Campus and beside the Mall. The Mezza Residences 1 & 2 was one of the major projects of SM Developments, Inc., whose parent company is SM Prime Holdings.
