Ciudadela opened in January 2009 at the corner of Avenida Patria and Moctezuma on the site of the former Motorola plant. Neighbors with environmental concerns waged a fierce battle to nix the project, but the developers won out in the end, although they abandoned their original plan to build several apartment blocks within the complex.
That project has now been resuscitated by new developers, largely due to the poor performance of the mall, which is anchored by Walmart and a Best Buy store. Design flaws were evident from the beginning and dozens of outlets have since closed their doors. The food court is virtually abandoned and while the mall contains several unique draws – a bowling alley, an upmarket gym and Ikea clone called Idea among them – it falls well below the standards of its closest rivals in the municipality: Galerias, Andares, Gran Plaza and even the city’s first commercial mall, Plaza del Sol.
Ownership of Ciudadela changed hands last December, with Planigrupo, operators of 30 malls throughout Mexico, taking the reins. As well as its name, the company plans to change the concept of the mall and will inject 120 million pesos in a major overhaul scheduled to begin later this month.
Meanwhile, two companies, SSC Inmobiliaria and Invex Activos, have announced plans to start work this year on the first of an undisclosed number of tower blocks adjacent to the mall. The entire Ciudadela space, including the parking area, covers 25,000 square meters, of which 10,000 will be allocated for the real estate development.
The firms have not revealed the height of the apartment blocks, nor the number of units. They promise the project will include green areas and underground parking.
Despite the mall’s lack of clients, two U.S. restaurant chains, Chili’s and IHop, have maintained a presence in Ciudadela.