The Mall of San Juan

The Mall of San Juan is a 650,000 sq ft (60,000 m2) upscale shopping mall located across from the San José Lagoon at the south end of the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge, near the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It opened its doors on March 26, 2015 and it was anchored by Nordstrom, being the first store in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The mall also had a Saks Fifth Avenue until September 20, 2017 when it was destroyed by Hurricane Maria and on October 30, 2019, Saks announced that it would not reopen at the mall.[1] Original plans included the construction of an office tower and a hotel and casino and was originally set to begin construction later in 2015 and to be completed by 2017. However, it was never built.[2][3] The mall was constructed at a cost of $475 million by Taubman Centers.[4]

The Mall of San Juan
LocationSan Juan, Puerto Rico
Coordinates18.4121°N 66.0254°W / 18.4121; -66.0254
Address1000 The Mall of San Juan Blvd
Opening dateMarch 26, 2015 (March 26, 2015)
DeveloperTaubman Centers
No. of stores and services100
No. of anchor tenants2
Total retail floor area650,000 sq ft
No. of floors3
Parking3,000 spaces
Websitethemallofsanjuan.com

History
View of the Grand Court towards Nordstrom
Interior of The Mall of San Juan, with the Porsche 911 Targa 4S on display

The land where the mall now is was once a building complex which originally served as housing for the 1979 Pan American Games. The buildings were demolished in 1998 in what was a world record for most buildings to be demolished simultaneously with explosives.[5]

Originally, the project was called Nueva Puerta de San Juan[6] when it was first planned in the 90s. In the 2000s, it was renamed Plaza Internacional.[7] Construction of the mall had been paralyzed for several years due to financing issues and a lawsuit by the owners of the nearby Plaza Las Americas. New Century Development would later file a lawsuit of their own when Plaza Las Americas announced plans for an expansion.[8] The project was later given its current name and finally broke ground in 2012.

Hurricane Maria hit the island of Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, severely damaging anchor stores Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. Nordstrom reopened on November 9, 2018, while Saks Fifth Avenue announced on October 30, 2018 that it would not reopen at the mall.

In March 2020, the mall closed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico. On May 7, 2020, Nordstrom announced that it would not reopen at the mall. The mall reopened in June 2020, with limited capacity as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The second floor of the former Nordstrom store is now a children's entertainment center called Brincoteo.

On December 8, 2021, local station WLII-DT announced that they would be occupying one of the empty anchors as their new studio facility beginning in 2022. The facility was unveiled to the public during the stations upfront presentation where it was announced that the station's new show La Boveda de Mr. Cash will begin broadcasting from the facility later in 2022. La Boveda de Mr. Cash premiered on March 1, 2022 live from the mall. The new TeleOnce facility occupies the space of the former Saks Fifth Avenue store and has been divided into 7 different possible studio spaces on the first floor along with a large lobby area with space to load up audiences, La Bóveda de Mr. Cash occupies the last available space on the first floor with work on the second floor expected to begin later on[9][10][11]

Anchor stores

Current Anchors

Former Anchors

See also

References
  1. "Saks Fifth Avenue's Exit Underscores Puerto Rico Retail Woes". news.bloomberglaw.com.
  2. "Datos curiosos de The Mall of San Juan". 26 March 2015.
  3. "The Mall of San Juan | Puerto Rico's Premier Shopping Destination". themallofsanjuan.com.
  4. Pleven, Liam. "Mall Owners, Retailers Bullish on Debt-Ridden Puerto Rico". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  5. "Villa Panamericana & Las Orquideas". Controlled Demolition.
  6. "Comienza una nueva era comercial". 22 March 2015.
  7. admin (17 May 2012). "Construction starts on $ 405M 'The Mall of San Juan,' formerly known as Plaza Internacional". newsismybusiness.com.
  8. "News - Caribbean Business". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  9. "TeleOnce adelanta su oferta para el 2022". El Vocero. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  10. "Llega Mr. Cash y regresa "Tu mañana" a TeleOnce". Primera Hora. 9 December 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  11. "Adelanto 2022: TeleOnce revela detalles de su nueva programación". TVBoricua USA. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
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