Business View Caribbean | Volume 8, Issue 6

26 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 S an Patricio Plaza is one of the largest and most impressive shopping centers on the island of Puerto Rico. Located in Guaynabo on the northern coast, it comprises over 600,000 square feet of retail space across three floors, and more than 120 stores catering to all demographics of shoppers. In addition to its striking physical presence, San Patricio Plaza also has a rich history: Empresas Caparra, the company who owns the mall, has longstanding community ties and a legacy that has been carried forward by the current President & CEO, Adolfo González. Known as “Tito” to his friends and colleagues, González takes us back nearly a century to give historical context to its San Patricio Plaza’s origins. In the 1930s, the González family purchased nearly 600 acres of property outside of metropolitan San Juan, with the primary intention of raising cattle and having dairy farms. By the early 1960s, an American company, Interstate General Properties, signed a long-term lease with the González family to develop what was then the largest shopping center in Puerto Rico, and the first on the island to house iconic businesses such as Walgreens, Kmart (then S.S. Kresge), and a Pueblo Supermarket. However, the 1970s ushered in a new era of rising interest rates and soaring oil prices, prompting Interstate General Properties to sell the lease back to the González family. Over the coming years, many developments were brought to the area by the González family. The shopping center became enclosed and it went through extensive expansions over the next three decades, re-establishing San Patricio Plaza as one of the primary retail centers in Puerto parra REDEF I N I NG THE RETA I L EXPER I ENCE