In August 2022 a lot changed for Punta del Este. A raging fire that started in the supermarket premises English Store consumed the entire building Shopping Tip. They were months of anguish for the department, which “paid” with the impact on thousands of jobs who had to wait more than a year for the long-awaited reopening of the shopping center, which took place this December.
Ambit spoke with the manager of the venture, Uri Ivanier, which gave details of the million-dollar investment that allowed the recovery of shopping and announced the different stages of the reopening that will have its final stage in the second half of 2024.
What has this entire process meant since the fire on August 6, 2022 until the definitive recovery of the shopping center?
– It was a year of great sacrifice. No one was prepared for a job of this nature after the fire that broke out at Tienda Inglesa and that “infected” the entire shopping center. As someone told me, rather than managing a crisis, we manage chaos. The reality is that the fire changed the lives of many people. As a reference, unemployment in Maldonado it grew more than a point and a half after the incident. The other reality is that joint work made it possible to reach the situation today with an open, new, modern and safe shopping center.
What did this mean in terms of losses and then in investment for its recovery and definitive start-up?
– The investment was higher than what was established by the insurance. Basically, a contribution had to be made by the shareholders and also obtain financing to be able to carry out a work of these characteristics. There was a need to do a quick job, work on triple schedules, up to 20 hours a day, sometimes even budgeting badly, as a result of that speed and maelstrom that we had. The final investment is around $48 million, which included part of cleaning, demolition, reconstruction and new construction. In terms of sources of employment, 2,000 jobs are practically being recovered. We have not yet reached this figure because there are stores that are still in the process of opening, but it is a figure that will be reached in the short term.
How does the shopping reopen, with how many stores and with what characteristics?
– Reopens with a proposal of close to 150 operators, at this moment about 130 must already be operating. There are very diverse proposals. Basically 95% of the operators are returning and about 30 new stores are being added. In the summer season we will have several stages of openings. The first will be the gastronomic market, we estimate in the first days of January. Then the ViaAqua sports center, in about a month, and then the cinema complex for the area around the Tourism Week. The new Tienda Inglesa supermarket, which according to the architect will be the best in South Americawill be completed by the second half of 2024. We are talking about 10,000 m2.
What impact do you think the reopening of Punta Shopping will have on the local economy and what do you expect the season to be like?
– It’s been a while since we thought in terms of the season. Punta del Este and Maldonado They have become year-round destinations. It is the department that is growing the most according to data from the last census. In terms of attendance and sales, they far exceeded expectations at the reopening.
New shops and cultural space
The new shopping center will also have new commercial premises, mainly based on international franchises. Under Armour, Sportline, Kicks, New Balance and The Candle Shop (Argentine franchise that opens its first location in the country).
Likewise, Ivanier announced the premiere of a cultural, immersive and interactive exhibition of the renowned Spanish painter Salvador Dali which consists of about 1,400 square meters.
Source: Ambito
