Shoppers around Guadalajara will soon have more options as some of the plazas in the metropolitan area are seeing big new construction projects.
At the Plaza Ciudadela Lifestyle Center, at avenidas Patria and Moctezuma, an 8,000-square-meter Idea Interior is under construction and set to open around November 15, said José Angel Topete Hernández, the plaza’s marketing manager.
Much like Ikea, the Swedish furniture company with massive stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, Idea Interior sells unassembled home and office furniture and decorations. The location at Plaza Ciudadela will be the first in Western Mexico, Topete Hernández said.The store will have a 6,500-square-meter showroom and Topete Hernández said the arrival of the Mexican-owned company would help attract other designer brands to the plaza. The construction underway reflects an investment of 118 million pesos, or roughly nine million dollars, Topete Hernández said.
The store, which is going in right next to a Best Buy, has been rising rapidly from the plaza’s parking lot.
Further expansion at the shopping center is always a possibility, but Topete Hernández said he couldn’t talk more about any specifics.
And Plaza Ciudadela isn’t the only retail property that’s undergoing a noticeable expansion.
Galerías Guadalajara, on Avenida Rafael Sanzio near Avenida Vallarta, is building a new three-story structure with 15,000 square meters of commercial space, said Adriana Rivera, spokeswoman for the shopping center.
More than 15 retailers already have plans to occupy the space, according to an email from Rivera. The new occupants include clothing stores like Aeropostale and American Eagle Outfitters, athletics apparel supplier Adidas Original, women’s stores Bebe and Forever 21, and shoe retailers Steve Madden and Aldo.
Rivera said commercial activity at the shopping center—which is often packed on weekends—has been increasing and there’s very little empty space within the mall. For that reason, the only way to bring in new tenants is with new construction and Galerías Guadalajara already has plans for further expansion.
“We have a second main entrance, which will have corporate space and a commercial area that will include new restaurants,” Rivera said.