Honduran company plans mega-mall for Alajuela

In 2014, the city of Alajuela, northwest of San José, will inaugurate one of the largest shopping malls in the country. The design of the 185,000-square-meter City Mall project will rival the gigantic Mall Multiplaza Escazú, southwest of the city.

The City Mall will include 280 stores and 2,400 parking spaces, according to El Financiero. Honduran company Lady Lee plans to start construction in October, once permits are issued. The structure is expected to be as large as the five-story Mall Multiplaza Escazú.

The business did not release the price of the investment, but based on the amount of land acquired, El Financiero estimated that already $13.7 million could be invested in the project.

The mall will include the department stores Aliss, Universal and Carrion and a 10-screen movie theater. Foreign brands from Europe, Israel and the United States are looking to open stores, including Gap, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger and restaurant Chili’s.

The mall also will include an arcade with a “ferris wheel, bumper cars and a nursery.”

El Financiero also noted that in time for the holiday season, two new malls will open, and Mall Multiplaza Escazú will be remodeled. The Lincoln Plaza in Moravia, northeast of San José, and Paseo Metrópoli in Cartago, east of San José, debut in November. The refurbished Mall Multiplaza Escazú includes U.S. brands new to the country, such as Gap, Banana Republic and Forever 21, and also U.S. eateries Chili’s and Cosi.