Villa del Parque shopping centre closing...

20 stores? its really more like a galleria than a real shopping, and the loss of a Kevingston or a Grimoldi, when there are others all over town, doesnt tell us the sky is falling. It was never a real destination shopping, it was in a funky neighborhood. If Alcorta closes, that would mean something. The economy may be in trouble, but this isnt a big indicator.
 
in case you missed it, the economy IS in big F***G trouble

They call it denial and false optimism as to create a image that is not true or verificable . The closing of Villa del Parque is a indication of a failing economy where most small businesses are struggling to survive . This is just the beginning of a long recession .
 
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The VdP Shopping closure is all to do with the upgrade of the Linea San Martin railway system. Apart from VdP having become the defacto terminus for the LSM during the construction work which has lead to a completely different character of footfall in the locality, the construction plan involves digging a ditch under the railway track exactly at the entrance to the Shopping so that Cuenca can pass under the tracks. All the businesses on both sides of the tracks might as well give up hope now and move out since that locality is just going to become one giant underpass. VdP Shopping is just being wise and moving out before the changes bankrupt them.

There's lots more about this on local Facebook groups and the like and in the local news pages on line. I'm rather busy in Vancouver right now and don't have much time but if you are interested, you can find out all about it if you look.
 
The San Martin construction is causing all kinds of disruption. It is a separate issue from the economy. I have seen mostly smaller, less well capitalized stores closing, not big chains like Kevingston. And, even though the economy is crappy, construction on new residential buildings is at a fever pitch, with new projects starting all the time. And locally owned chains are expanding at a pretty fast clip, too.
The people who have money are building apartment buildings, opening Kentucky's and Havannas and Burger places and Artesenal beer bars seemingly on every block. Its the working people who are suffering, and they are not the ones who bought Lancome in this Shopping.
 
I don't think too many people here frequent this mall or area.

Villa Del Parque shopping has been a ghost town for years, stretching back well beyond the current economical situation. It is a small and poorly laid out mall that had mostly chain stores, not independent retailers. It was game over for the mall when McDonalds decided to leave (there's another one two blocks away), which I think was in 2014. That was the only reason people were going there in any numbers. Since then it has been dead, and was dead before in terms of people buying things. I am surprised it lasted this long.

If stores were closing consistently along Cuenca between Nogoya and Beiro, I would say yep, that's the economy. However, that's not really the case as that retail area seems to be operating similar to any other.
 
Btw (too late to edit my first post), a better representation of the economic situation may be Devoto Shopping. I frequent there too and it is always dead around the stores. The food court, coffee shops, and cinema seem to be busy most the time, but there is never anyone in the shops even on Saturday's (occaisions being an exception).
 
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