Crystal Lagoons Drives a New Era in Shopping Centers with PAL® Projects

13 December, 2024 / News

Crystal Lagoons enters the Latin American retail market with its Public Access Lagoons® model, also known as PAL® developments, revolutionizing the shopping center industry and contributing to its reinvention, diversification of entertainment offerings, and increased foot traffic. Its first project in the region will be developed in Cartagena de Indias, at Kristal Malls, the largest shopping center in the Colombian Caribbean. It will feature a 5.5-acre monumental crystalline lagoon as its centerpiece. This project will radically transform Colombia’s shopping and entertainment experience, becoming the country’s first Shopping Resort and offering a unique proposition for consumers.

This shopping center, driven by the multinational company with AED and Arquitectura & Concreto, marks a paradigm shift in shopping centers. It will offer a unique experience in one place: enjoying the idyllic beach life, shopping, and entertainment in the heart of Cartagena de Indias, a tourist icon that lacks good beaches. This new turquoise PAL® lagoon, accessible to all through ticketed entry, will complement the mall’s commercial offerings with restaurants, terraces, a hotel, a cinema, healthcare centers, and high-end entertainment infrastructure for activities such as weddings and concerts, among other events.

Francisco Matte, Regional Director of Crystal Lagoons for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlights, “Entering the Colombian retail market confirms that crystalline lagoons are successful in bringing mall experiences to a new generation of entertainment.”

The introduction of PAL® projects to the Colombian retail sector has already been successfully preceded by other complexes in the country (Baia Kristal and Kristal Blue), where developers have valued the sustainable features of Crystal Lagoons® technology, which lowers water use and reduces the transport carbon footprint by bringing beach life to urban centers.

Kristal Malls is part of Latin America’s largest Crystal Lagoons agreements with AED, a prominent Colombian real estate company. The agreement includes 11 projects for the country’s coffee-growing region, the Eje Cafetero, the Andean Region, and the surrounding Bogota area.

Colombia has generally been a fast-growing market for Crystal Lagoons, due to its climate and population, and it has also signed four new PAL® projects with Grupo Proyecta for the Antioquia region, an Andean area far from the coast, where Medellín and Urabá are located.

PAL® complexes stand out for their versatility and are ideal settings for large events such as concerts, fairs, exhibitions, and weddings. They offer unparalleled scenic beauty thanks to their monumental crystalline lagoons with turquoise waters, illuminated at night, creating a magical atmosphere. This projects can also incorporate Eco-Heated Lagoons technology, which allows lagoons to be heated without energy so they can be used year-round, even at night.

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