For the first time in Spain, Carrefour Property is leading an innovative project involving the complete transformation of the Puerta de Alicante shopping centre into a mixed-use space. With a surface area of 40,000 square metres, this renovation will contribute to the economic, demographic and urban revitalisation of the nearby Alicante districts, home to more than 55,000 inhabitants. In addition, the project will also address a great need in the city by providing a new flexible office and coworking space that will accommodate some 1,800 workers per day.
As Lola Bañón, general manager of Carrefour Property Spain, explains, "the project represents a paradigm shift in the shopping centre sector in our country. It is the first of this scale to be launched under the new 'Work City' concept, which combines new uses and services and adds value to existing retailers who will have a disruptive experience of added value for consumers and the community".
Work City, the project that will turn Puerta de Alicante into an "urban centre"
Work City is a project that reproduces an urban centre with all its facilities and services, offering office and coworking spaces. The space is structured as a city with streets and squares, street furniture, green areas and reproductions of Alicante's landmarks. It includes a market, restaurants, toy library, gym, cinema, shops and offices, simulating the complete city experience.
The Puerta de Alicante shopping centre has a gross rentable area of almost 22,000 square metres distributed over three floors. Of this, 10,900 square metres are for retail space, 7,500 square metres for flexible office and coworking space, and 3,500 square metres for food and beverage.
The renovation will include a children's play centre and gymnasium, in addition to the existing Carrefour hypermarket and cinemas. With ample parking available, users will be able to easily move around and park on the premises, enhancing their personalised shopping centre experience.
"We want to bring added value to retailers and food and beverage businesses that want to join the project"
"The implementation of 'Work City' will make Puerta de Alicante a place of reference for companies and visitors. With this innovative project we want to attract the inhabitants of Alicante and Elche, and meet their needs by providing them with a wide variety of services to enjoy a unique experience. But we also want to bring added value to retailers and catering businesses that want to join the project," says Auxiliadora Martínez de Salazar, director of commercial management and business development at Carrefour Property.
Work City is an innovative workspace concept that aims to solve the inconveniences of working in the city centre, offering a complete and enriching work experience. With complementary services of multinational level, it will be a suitable ecosystem for the 1,800 users who will work in its office areas, encouraging socialisation and conciliation. In addition, it will generate intense work and networking activity in Puerta de Alicante.
"The purpose is to add value to the structure that already had the asset and innovate in the services and design of the space"
According to the founder of Custom Suits, Javier Reina, and creator of the Work City model: "the alliance between Carrefour Property and Custom Suits, both for this and future projects, is based on creating value in assets susceptible to implementing our Work City business model. The aim is to add value to the existing structure of the asset and to innovate in the services and design of the space. To do this, the teams of both companies have worked for more than a year to design a model that meets the demands of a market in constant evolution, with the integration of the hypermarket, users, consumers and the concept of city of the Work City model".
Puerta de Alicante Work City: a mixed-use and sustainable commercial space
Puerta de Alicante Work City will also be a sustainable and healthy commercial space, with WELL certification. It will have measures such as air quality monitoring, access to natural light and improved quality of artificial light, and will offer valuable services, such as city centres, with offices, coworking and a full range of services.
This restructuring is part of Carrefour Property's strategy to transform commercial assets and offer a complete, innovative and sustainable experience in shopping, leisure, work, health, culture and catering.
