DALY CITY, California (The Adobo Chronicles ®) – Daly City is about to lay claim to a Guinness record for the world’s largest ethnic-specific community center, and it’s going to be a Filipino community center.

The Daly City Council this week approved the 200,000 square-foot expansion and redevelopment of Serramonte Center, an 895,438 square-foot shopping mall on Highway 280, just south of San Francisco.

The proposed community center, when completed, will have a total area of over 1 Million square feet.  It will house a boxing arena, a basketball court, a 2,000-seat capacity Karaoke bar, and a high-tech theater specifically designed for beauty pageants. Jollibee, the famous Filipino fast food restaurant has won the bid to be the exclusive food place in the center.

The current businesses and occupants of the mall — including giant retailers like Target and Macy’s — have been given a 30-day notice to vacate so that construction of the community center can begin immediately.

Daly City has a population of more than 100,000, with Filipinos accounting for more than a third of the residents.  The city is often referred to as the San Francisco Bay Area’s “Little Manila,” although “little” is considered an understatement.

Informed sources tell The Adobo Chronicles®  that the community center project is funded by private investors, including Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

It’s more fun in the Philippines, but so are the Filipinos – anywhere they are in the world. Especially in Daly City.