Dos nuevos proyectos que pueden general una injección de $850 millones a la economia de la isla y la creación de 4,500 empleos permanentes y 3,500 empleos temporeros durante la construcción. Como ven, Fortuño a logrado que inversionistas y desarrolladores se sientan confiados en invertir en la isla.
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Is Puerto Rico ready for more shopping centers?
Edition: February 17, 2011 | Volume: 39 | No: 6
With annual retail sales topping $35 billion, Puerto Rico is often referred to as retail heaven by its own community of shopping-center owners and retail executives. Yet, for many stateside and Latin American investors, it has remained a best-kept secret. That is about to change.
Just when most retailers and shopping-center developers thought Puerto Rico had reached a saturation point with nearly 32 million square feet of shopping space, along comes Michigan-based Taubman and South American Constructora Sambil of Venezuela with plans to develop over 1.5 million square feet during the next three years.
The proposed investment from Sambil and Taubman in Puerto Rico marks two important milestones for the island’s shopping-center industry. First, theirs will be the first major shopping-center construction on the island in a decade. And, most importantly, both projects signal the arrival of one of the hottest global industry trends around, shopping-tourism.
In Sambil’s case, there will be the creation of a 200-guestroom hotel to be developed by the Lido Hotels chain from Venezuela. Taubman, which has already secured signed letters of intent from such renowned stateside chains as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, will complement its shopping center with a 264-guestroom hotel and casino.
The combined investment from these two new developments would represent an estimated $850 million economic injection into the local economy, including the creation of 4,500 new permanent jobs plus another 3,500 jobs during construction—not to mention the diversification of the local shopping-center and retail sectors.
For many Latin American developers like Sambil, the Puerto Rico market represents a strategic entry into the mainland U.S. As for stateside developers and retailers, Puerto Rico could be seen as an important testing ground prior to expanding into Latin America. Competition, will ultimately benefit the local economy and Puerto Rican consumers.
For Puerto Rico’s own Plaza Las Américas, the island’s premier shopping center and one of the top-20 largest malls in the U.S., the development of new shopping centers is not such a straightforward argument. For starters, Plaza Las Américas argues that after five years of economic recession, the local market is in no condition to support another shopping center. Moreover, mall officials would argue that as part of Plaza’s responsibility to its tenants, its management will continue to evaluate all public matters that could impact mall operations and those of its tenants, ranging from legislation, regulations and permits to economic parameters and changes within the competitive arena.
Established in 1968, Plaza Las Américas’ 2.1 million-square-foot shopping center supports nearly 9,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes an estimated $303 million to the local economy. Management in the past 10 years has also invested $110 million in expansions and improvements at Plaza.
Plaza Las Américas, is not about to roll over and welcome new competition without putting up a fight. Shortly after Sambil received its construction permits from the Planning Board, Plaza Las Américas filed a lawsuit to derail construction of their project, arguing the local market can’t support yet another large shopping center, and that such an initiative would have an adverse impact on the area’s environmental footprint.
Meanwhile, Plaza Las Américas’ legal action prompted New Century Development, local developer of the future Plaza Internacional, to file its own lawsuit in local court alleging a pattern of harassment by Plaza Las Américas against potential new competitors and, specifically, for trying to derail Plaza Internacional’s development.
Shopping-center battle lines have been drawn. Both Sambil and Taubman have vowed to fight for their right to develop their centers. Only time will tell which of the two developments have the capital and stamina to wage what many deem could be a long battle with Plaza Las Américas.
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news02_free.php?nw_id=4786&ct_id=10
