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15 April 2016 – Expansión
Located opposite the Matadero, the shopping centre will open in October 2017 and will be directly accessible from the M-30.
The Plaza Río 2 shopping centre will open in October 2017 with a new design that will include an access road between Calle Matilde Gayo and the Manzanares river, as demanded by Carmena’s Government. “At the request of the Town Hall, there will be a wider than planned street connecting (the shopping centre) with the river. In addition, the façade will be more modern and less palatial, in order to better blend in with the environment”, said Bertrand Chevallereau yesterday, the CEO of Sociedad General Inmobiliaria de España (LGSIE), the property developer behind the new shopping centre.
Located in Usera, next to the Matedero Madrid, Plaza Río 2 will have three parking levels, three shopping floors and a terrace with eight restaurants. The lowest floor will be 7m below the level of the river. According to José Solana, Commercial Director of Sociedad de Centros Comerciales de España (SCCE), the project will comprise 150 stores including an Alcampo hypermarket, all of the Inditex brands, electrical appliance shops and a few sports stores “such as, for example, Décimas”.
Of the 150 stores, 30 will be large brands and the rest, 120, will be small and medium-sized retailers. “We have given priority to local retailers wanting to move in or open a second store in the shopping centre, but in general they do not want to move in as they cannot afford the investment or because they have concerns about moving here”, said Solana.
The shopping centre will be opened on a surface area measuring 40,000 m2, but there will not be any leisure facilities such as cinemas, bowling allies or recreational shops as there is not enough space, given that the shopping centre alone will take up 75% of the site. “What’s more, Matadero Madrid already organises lots of cultural events”, added Chevallereau.
Besides the obstacle to access the river directly, the main complaint lodged by Madrid Río’s neighbourhood associations relates to concerns that the construction of a new shopping centre will harm local retailers in the area and may cause transport problems. In this sense, Chevallereau said that local retailers have concerns that “are unfounded, at least in part”
By way of example, he referred to La Vaguada shopping centre – also built by the LSGI investment and development group – where he says that “many businesses have been generated around the building because it is an attraction for the public”. For Chevallereau, “the new shopping centre will not represent competition to small businesses but rather a dialogue”.
In terms of the disruption that traffic may cause in the area, he stressed that the shopping centre will be connected directly to the M-30, where the road exits the Manzanares tunnel, which means that “many cars will access it that way, without having to drive around the streets bordering the shopping centre”.
Original story: Expansión (by Noelia Marín)
Translation: Carmel Drake