Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/109754
SHOPPING CENTERS TODAY C E N T E R S T A G E +1 646 728 3800 Fax: +1 732 694 1730 www.icsc.org Editor in Chief EDMUND MANDER +1 646 728 3487 The incredible expanding mall EDIT O R IA L PANAMA CITY'S MULTIPLAZA PACIFIC IS A GROWTH ENGINE Managing Editor BRANNON BOSWELL +1 646 728 3488 By María Bird Picó Copy Chief DAVID S. ORTIZ Copy Editor VALERIE DAVID Art Director JOHN D. LEWIS Contributing Editors MARÍA BIRD PICÓ STEVE BERGSMAN JOEL GROOVER MATT HUDGINS BEN JOHNSON BETH MATTSON-TEIG STEVE M c LINDEN MISTY MILIOTO ELIZABETH SCOTT ADVE RTI SI NG & M A R K E T I N G AMIE LEIBOVITZ +1 773 360 1179 aleibovitz@icsc.org SUZANNE TANGUAY +1 646 728 3475 stanguay@icsc.org SALLY STEPHENSON +1 847 835 1617 sstephenson@icsc.org Production Coordinator DAVID STACKHOUSE +1 646 728 3482 dstackhouse@icsc.org ICS C O FFIC E R S Chairman BRAD M. HUTENSKY President and CEO MICHAEL P. KERCHEVAL Vice Presidents GAR HERRING, SCDP DANIEL B. HURWITZ ADAM W. IFSHIN JOHN MORRISON, CDP BRUCE POMEROY, CDP Secretary-Treasurer KENNETH A. M c INTYRE JR. For article reprints, call (866) 879-9144 or contact sales@fostereprints.com SCT (ISSN 0885-9841) is published monthly. VOLUME 35, ISSUE 3 © 2013, International Council of Shopping Centers, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099; phone, +1 (646) 728 3800; fax, +1 732 694 1730. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions $70 per year; Canada and other foreign $99. Single-copy price $20 (May issue $30). For subscription information call +1 727 784 2000. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shopping Centers Today, Yizeth Vergara, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099. Publications mail agreement No. 41482022, return undeliverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6. G RUPO ROBLEíS UNVEILING of a third expansion of Multiplaza Pacific last December in Panama City coincided with the announcement of yet a fourth one to follow soon after, though the news was probably no surprise to anyone with any knowledge of either the mall or the market. The 9-year-old Multiplaza, a tourist magnet located in the affluent neighborhood of Punta Pacífica, is considered one of Latin Americaís most successful malls. This latest expansion added some 40,000 square meters (about 430,000 square feet) to the gross leasable area, which now totals 100,000 square meters comprising 310 stores. The original master plan anticipated several expansions, including a high-end wing called Road of the Sun, which opened in 2006, according to architect Jeffrey Gunning, senior vice president of Dallas, Texas–based RTKL Associates, which designed the mall. A multilevel plaza in that section is used for public events, and a café terrace offers an ocean view. "Multiplaza Pacific has become a standard for thoughtful, market-driven retail design and development and is among the most successful mixed-use developments in Central America," said Gunning. Demand for space on Road of the Sun is high; the mall is breaking ground this year on a nearly 2,000-square-meter expansion that is slated to open next March. Unlike the floor plans favored in U.S. malls, where department stores cap the end of each wing, Multiplaza features a "pinwheel" configuration inspired in part by the streets and squares of the historic city center of Panama City. The mall connects to the 248-room Courtyard by Marriott Panama Multiplaza hotel. Though Multiplaza is best known for its roster of international and high-end retailers, it made its name early on with strong Panamanian retailers such as the Felix B. Maduro and Stevenís department stores, and specialized chains like Doit Center and Cocos, says Álvaro Antadillas, general manager of Colliers International in Panama. This tenant mix helped woo the affluent, including a growing number of foreigners who have retired to Panama or who work for any of the dozens of multinational corporations with branches there. Retailers coming to the mall this year include Thomas Pink and Versace, while Dior, Dolce and Gabbana are among those on the waiting list. But Multiplaza has also drawn some U.S. retailers with strong appeal to the middle class, and these include Banana Republic, Brooks Bros., Express, Forever 21 and Gap. Some Panamanian retail experts hold Multiplaza up as a model retail development. "Multiplaza boasts an unparalleled tenant mix of international retailers, for all types of consumers, in all of Latin America," said Jack Eskenazy, vice president of Grupo Tova, which owns several Panamanian retail chains. "It also has two of the most important tenants for a Panamanian mall: Stevenís, a department store chain aimed at the upper middle class, and Felix B. Maduro, for the affluent class." SCT M ARC H 20 13 / SC T 5