On Thursday, August 3, Multiplan held a ceremony to deliver the keys to the tenants of ParkShopping Canoas. The event took place in the shopping center’s central square, with the store tenants, company employees and municipal authorities in attendance. Rio Grande do Sul’s own Fernanda Lima was the mistress of ceremonies. Shopkeepers had the opportunity to become familiar with the various project areas, in addition to their own spaces, now in advanced stages of construction and finishing. The mall will be inaugurated in November of this year.
ParkShopping Canoas has been transforming the city even before facility was opened. Major road construction was implemented in the vicinity of the project, such as the duplication of Avenida Dr. Sezefredo de Azambuja Vieira and the extension and duplication of Avenida Farroupilha. The BR 116 tunnel is still to be built (carried out by the city of Canoas). These works are promoting a genuine displacement of the region’s development axis.
In September 2016, the expansion of the Getúlio Vargas Municipal Park, located in front of the mall, was opened to the public. Covering 28,000 m² and with an investment of R$13 million, the Park offers a number of attractions for the entire family, with a children's space (for play and exploring), a maze, exercise equipment for adults and a walking path. The Park also features an amphitheater with capacity for 400 people and a 7,000-m² artificial lake with decks and an outdoor terrace with a reflecting pool. The area gained new landscaping and native vegetation. Other sustainable initiatives can be perceived on the site. And all public lighting is by LED lamps.
The main attraction is the dancing fountain show with synchronized sound and lighting, similar to those found in large international parks. The equipment, manufactured in Germany, features 35 fountains, with shoot water jets shooting up to 10 m high, in a rhythm and at a pace linked to the music. In addition, at night, the system adds shafts of colored light to the dancing waters.
"Multiplan’s projects are designed to delight our customers, and please those who visit our malls. In recent years, we have come to realize that this extends beyond the halls of the mall and we are increasingly investing in the projects’ surroundings so that the residents of the area and who come to meet at there have a full experience with their family and friends, both inside and outside the shopping center," explains Jose Isaac Perez, president of the company.
The mall will have 258 stores, with a constructed area of 120,000 m² and 48,000 m² of gross leasable area (GLA). Outside investors also will be putting in about RS$ 440 million into the project. In addition, some R$ 200 million will be invested by retailers, amounting to a total injection of approximately R$ 640 million in Canoas.
The success of ParkShopping translates into its Canoas rentals: only four months before the opening, 88.4% of its gross leasable area (GLA) is already let. The largest national anchor stores are already present, such as Renner, Lojas Americanas, Riachuelo, HotZone, Centaur and Tok & Stok. Among the highlights are the Zaffari Supermarkets, which will have its first operation outside a project in Rio Grande do Sul, and Forever 21, an American fast fashion chain that now has a store in Porto Alegre in BarraShoppingSul and 15 in Brazil.
The new mall will also have restaurants such as BAH, Outback Steak House, Picnic, Las Leñas and Petiskeira. A seven-screen cinema complex will be operated by UCI and there will be a 2,150 m² complete and modern SmartFit athletic facility. ParkShopping Canoas will also have an unprecedented and permanent 750 m² ice skating rink, in a convenience area with a number of dining options.
"We decided to invest in Canoas because it is an important municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in an area with a great demand but few options. There is a confluence of cities in the metropolitan region and the Vale dos Sinos, with not just a shortage of consumption options, but also leisure options. We are building a mall that will be much more than just a shopping center, but a place where people go to meet one another and have fun," says Perez.
The project was fully developed with a focus on sustainability and on achieving a low condominium cost with an emphasis on:
· Trees with solar energy panels in the parking lot and photovoltaic generators on the roof, with generating capacity of 1.3 megawatts of clean energy.
· A system of recycled rainwater.
· An artesian well for irrigation and air-conditioning cooling towers for the system.
· A sewage treatment station (ETE) for water recycling.
· Public lighting using LED bulbs, featuring maximum energy efficiency.
· The use of "low-e," high-performance glass, providing a significant reduction in energy consumption and air conditioning.
This is the 19th Multiplan Shopping Mall project and the first in Rio Grande do Sul outside of Porto Alegre. The company chose Canoas for a variety of reasons that combine to make the municipality highly strategic for the group. The city has the second largest GDP of the state and is the third most populous.
Its location is strategic to meet not only the local residents, but also the entire metropolitan region and of Vale dos Sinos - ParkShopping Canoas is located 10.8 km from the Salgado Filho airport, 26 km from São Leopoldo and 30 km from Novo Hamburgo, and is high traffic point for thousands of people in the regions due to the town being located close to Highway BR-116. Another key point is the support that the city of Canoas is coming giving the viability of the project.
"We want to return the warmth and hospitality of the municipal region with a commitment to contribute to local trade and commerce and to the modernization of the city radiating from from ParkShopping Canoes. This represents Multiplan's commitment to the municipalities that have welcomed us," said Peres.
In addition to a significant investment, the construction of the mall will generate about 1,000 direct jobs and will produce more than 2,000 direct and indirect 3,000 jobs after after its inauguration.
The Mall
Land area (site): 93,600 m2
Construction area: 120,200 m2
GLA (gross leasable area): 48,000 m2
Number of stores 258
Number of anchor stores: 8
Number of Megastores: 7 Megastores
Supermarkets: 1
2,500 parking places, of which 1,500 are covered
Movies: 7 theater complex
Restaurants: 6 operations
Fast Food stores: 28 locations with 1,100 seats
Event Center: 2,300 m2 with a capacity for up to 1,200 people
Escalator
