Plaza del Atlántico

Plaza del Atlántico

File:Plaza del Atlántico logo.jpg Current mall logo
Location	Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Coordinates	18°28′43″N 66°45′24″W
Address	1400 Av. Miramar, Arecibo, 00612
Opening date	14 November 1980
Developer	K-Real Management, Inc.
Architect	Martorell, Borgos & Associates
No. of stores and services	40+ (at peak)
No. of anchor tenants	3 (2 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area	225,000 sq ft (20,900 m2)
No. of floors	1
Parking	1,100+

Plaza del Atlántico is an enclosed shopping mall located in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Anchor stores for the mall is a Tiendas Capri and a Grand Stores, other main stores in the mall consists of All Ways 99, Me Salve, Rainbow, Exentrix, La Nueva Era, and others. It was formerly anchored by a Kmart store which was announced to close in November 2019.

History

Development and opening: 1970s-1980s

On May 12, 1979, it was reported that the construction of Arecibo's first enclosed shopping mall had been announced that week by the firm Plaza del Atlántico Associates, which intended to develop the 225,000 square foot center on a 16.8-acre property in Arecibo, at a cost of more than $10 million. Plaza del Atlántico would house between 35 and 40 commercial establishments in a total of 197,000 square feet of stores connected by an impressive central corridor (mall) of more than 22,000 square feet. It was anticipated that the new shopping center would attract businesses that have never been established in Arecibo before, but at the same time it will include numerous local businesses helping to decongest traffic in the center of that town. Of the businesses that were already confirmed to be in the shopping mall once opened at the time included anchors Barkers, Grand Union, and in addition, a Franklins store. Other businesses with which there were negotiations included Walgreens, Madison Shop, Kinney Shoes, Rahola Photography, Gordon’s Jewelers, Thom McAnn, Lerner Shops, Almacenes Rodríguez and others. The commercial spaces in Plaza del Atlántico ranged from stores of about 75,000 square feet to small spaces, with numerous medium-sized establishments between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. The shopping center would have parking spaces for about 1,100 cars, in addition to 15 spaces for commercial cargo. Plaza del Atlántico Mall, being the first to be built on the north coast from Bayamón to Mayagüez, would be enclosed, with air conditioning, skylights for natural light and seating, with permanent kiosks and numerous "planters." The mall was designed by the consulting firm of Martorell, Borgos & Associates, whose experience in shopping centers included the designs of the Señorial Plaza, Ponce Mall, Rexville, the Barkers and Velasco stores in Plaza Carolina, and others. EAG, Architects and Engineers which would be in charge of construction, estimated that the mall would be completed in one year, from the beginning of the work that they hoped to begin within those next 30 days. Plaza del Atlántico Associates would be the owner of the project, whose parent company, Cornwall Equities, also operated the Señorial Plaza and Rexville shopping centers in Bayamón in Puerto Rico. The firm was also the main owner of the chain of Barkers and Franklins stores that operated on the island. Barkers would be the largest store in Plaza del Atlántico with a capacity of almost 75,000 square feet, which would make it one of the largest stores of the chain in Puerto Rico.

On November 14, 1980, the Plaza del Atlántico shopping mall would be reported to open that day at 5:30 PM, it would be classified as the largest development project that had been carried out in the Arecibo area during those last 15 years. Plaza del Atlántico Associates, then owners and operators of the shopping mall, invited the Puerto Rican public to join the center's official opening activities when most of the 40 commercial establishments in the mall would be open. The simple ceremony would consist of a symbolic opening by the management of the shopping center and representatives of the different stores in the mall, as well as personalities from the community and the local government. One of the very first businesses to open its doors to the public in Plaza del Atlántico was the Barkers department store, one of its anchor tenants. One of the other establishments that closely followed the opening of the Barkers store was Land of Oz, an arcade. The first of these establishments to open its doors in Plaza del Atlántico, that last August, was the Burger King chain, whose establishment on the parking area of the mall reported a large amount of public traffic throughout that week. A Church’s Fried Chicken establishment was also in an advanced stage of construction during this time, which would also be located in the parking area of the mall. Among other establishments that had been opening to the public during that month of October in Plaza del Atlántico included Almacenes Karlo, Madison Shops, Marianne, Kinney Shoes, Thom McAn, Almacenes Rodríguez, Bakers Shoes, La Favorita, Butler Shoes, Zales Jewelers and Gordon's Jewelers. Another group of important stores were advancing in their construction and decoration to open their establishments during that month of November during this time, this included Almacenes Kress, Valú Slacks, Galo Corporation, Rahola, Centro Disco and Central Federal Savings. The opening of a 9,000 square foot Walgreens pharmacy was also expected during that month of November. In addition, a Pearle Vision Center and a Génesis store were also under construction, whose opening date had not been determined, but were expected to open before that Christmas. At an advanced stage of construction during this time in Plaza del Atlántico was the first Grand Union supermarket for the Arecibo area. Its location would be the second largest in Plaza del Atlántico, with more than 26,000 square feet of space, the opening of the Grand Union location had not been announced by this point. Plaza del Atlántico would be a commercial development of the company K-Real Management, Inc., which operated different other shopping centers in Puerto Rico at the time. Its subsidiary in Puerto Rico, K-Real Management of Puerto Rico, Inc., would be in charge of the construction administration of the shopping mall, with the firm Gerrits de Puerto Rico, Inc., acting as general contractors. More than 30 subcontractors and suppliers would participate in the construction of Plaza del Atlántico. The rental of the shopping mall would be in charge of the firm Wilder Manley.