The Viva brand and its malls They achieved the carbon neutral certificate and are structuring new projects to resume expansion this year.
Thus begins the 2023 for this network of complexes, according to Juan Lucas Vega, Vice President of Real Estate Success Group.
(See: In January 2024 they will open Mallplaza Cali with another Ikea).
What do they achieve in sustainability?
It is very satisfying for us to be able to communicate that we are the first shopping center park in the country to be certified carbon neutral. This certification is delivered by Icontec.
It extends to Viva, the shopping center brand of Viva Malls, the largest real estate vehicle in Colombia, made up of Grupo Éxito and the Colombia Real Estate Fund (FIC), as well as the operation of these 14 shopping centers.
They reduce their CO2 emissions, but they are also mitigating or compensating for those they emit with different actions. This means that the footprint that is being left on the planet is zero.
What are the most relevant actions to achieve this?
For example, there is the renewable energy system. Viva has more than 15,000 installed solar panels that supply 21% of the energy consumption of the assets.
With this generated energy, 977 tons of CO2 are not emitted into the environment per year, equivalent to planting 4,653 trees and with which energy could be supplied to almost 4,000 Colombian homes in one year.
100% of the consumption of the common areas in two assets (Viva Envigado and Viva Laureles) comes from I-REC certified green energy that guarantees its origin from renewable sources. The brand has implemented pilots for the generation of electrical energy through the wind, which means that it does not depend solely on solar energy generation as an alternative energy source.
Today, Viva Envigado has two coworking areas that work through wind energy.
How did shopping malls do last year?
In mid-2021 the recovery began and I think that in 2022 the consolidation of this process took place. It was a positive year for commerce in general and shopping centers benefited.
People have returned, traffic has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, but we understand that it is a gradual issue.
However, the merchants did achieve sales levels similar to those of 2019. The traffic figure for the shopping centers was 12 million per month.
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Juan Lucas Vega, Vice President of Grupo Éxito Real Estate.
Courtesy
How does 2023 look?
It looks good, it is a year with challenges, without a doubt, but so far in January, consumers continue to visit shopping centers.
Obviously we are in a time of school season. There are challenges because, first, we have higher bases than last year because there was already a recovery from the first months and, second, there are some economic issues that can be more challenging for the trader. However, for the moment sales are going well and traders are optimistic about what is to come in the year.
How is the occupancy level going?
Our occupancy is close to 97% and that is a good indicator of a return to pre-pandemic levels.
In addition, our shopping centers are, more than just points of commerce, centers of experience and that allows interest in attending Viva shopping centers throughout the year. The offer covers entertainment, gastronomy, cultural and sports topics that are not very frequent in shopping centers.
This makes the brands favor us and want to be with us, it generates the recovery of the portfolio and many of the brands want to have a presence.
Will the new projects resume this year?
Yes, the first one we have under construction, inclusive, is the second Ikea store in the country (because the first one will be in Bogotá) which is in our Viva Envigado, in Medellín. It is a store that will have about 18,000 square meters.
It is a project that is currently under construction, it is the largest store in the Aburrá Valley in terms of area and it will complement the home offer of our shopping center.
We have also been studying other projects that we will mention as the year progresses because after the pandemic many of them were suspended or frozen and now we are resuming them.
Can you cite any?
For example, where our Éxito en Suba is located, we want to develop a shopping center to accompany the operation of the supermarket. Work should start at the end of this year.
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Do you have a number of projects to resume?
The portfolio of our shopping centers is throughout the national geography but we also want to be in the big cities and that is our strategy. Obviously, with Suba’s would be our presence in Bogotá. We have a small bet called Viva Fontibón that only serves that area, but the one in Suba would aim for a regional presence.
(See: Household spending breaks trend and goes into negative territory).
Do you have any amount of investment?
Not for now, because to the extent that they are structured, they are projects of 2 and 3 years. So, they are just being redesigned to budget and have defined investments.
CONSTANCE GOMEZ GUASCA
PORTFOLIO JOURNALIST
