Just three years ago, the Valpark Shopping Plaza was reporting major losses amounting to millions.
Now, having re-emerged as a social hub in the East-West Corridor, it is in the midst of a major renaissance sparked by a $60 million investment in renovations.
Last week, Nube Nueve became the latest restaurant to open its doors at the property.
At the launch of the new restaurant, Nube Nueve’s owner, Arvinder Rampersad, hailed Valpark’s commitment to pushing new boundaries in the entertainment and hospitality sector.
“I think it will be a great partnership in terms of their vision of the mall, it is a good initiative in terms of providing a lot of entertainment in the East-West Corridor in one spot. You have various bars and restaurants and it is creating an entertainment hub which I think is great because Trinidad is such a social culture,” Rampersad said at the restaurant’s launch event last Sunday.
The restaurant opened just about two months after the Xscape Lounge opened for business at the plaza, joining hangouts that had become popular at Valpark; Mini Bar and the Flamingle Café and Bodega; all of which have established themselves post-pandemic.
It has been a major turnaround for the plaza as Capital Holdings Ltd, the owners of Valpark as well as other plazas around the country including Atlantic Plaza in Couva, Maraval Plaza and Shoppes of Arima, had incurred losses as a result of inactivity during COVID-19.
Executive chairman of Capital Holdings Ltd Travis Ali explained that following a commitment to renovate, positive change began to come.
The group has now sought to build on that momentum.
“It has been tough since COVID and the COVID recovery. I think all real estate operators would have gone through a significantly challenging period but coming out of it, we recovered slowly, and we’ve invested I think close to $60 million in the renovation works. It’s going to be a complete overhaul, internal and external. We’ve seen a recovery in tenants as well too. We’ve had a surge in requests for office space, for restaurants, entertainment, retail and services,” Ali said in an interview with the Sunday Business Guardian.
He noted that the plaza’s decision to take on entertainment spots proved decisive in the turnaround as these spots have brought significant traffic back to Valpark.
“There’s a lot of traffic flow for the restaurants and the bars. I was surprised when I looked at the cameras at night and I saw the number of customers that come there in the evening after work for drinks, for food. And it goes on sometimes to 4 am. To the point where I think we have four or five restaurants and bars now in the plaza,” Ali said.
General manager for the group, Candice Bejai, believed Valpark benefited from the increased demand for social activities after the relaxation of COVID restrictions.
She also noted increased demand for new attractions in the area.
“I think as well, coming out of COVID after being locked in what was two years ago, a lot of people are now anxious to go outside to you know, come outside, have dinner with the family even have a couple of drinks after work. That has been the trend that we have been seeing as well,” Bejai said, adding that the Valpark’s social media campaigning also caught the attention of new clients who felt they could contribute to Valpark’s new vision.
Ali, however, stressed that the group was also on the lookout for diverse entertainment to ensure it appealed to a wider cross-section of society.
He explained that the bar and restaurants were often quicker to establish their business faster than retailers.
“They don’t really rely on US dollars as much. We all know the challenge of US dollars in the local market. So, these service providers and entertainment don’t necessarily require US dollars as a retailer. So, for some reason, they seem to be doing well. I guess people will want to have you know something we want to evening right on a Friday or on a weekend. So we will want to blend in with some family entertainment. I think it’s important not just for adults but also family entertainment,” Ali added.
This quest for diverse entertainment has seen them give younger owners like Rampersad a chance, and he vowed to bring something new to the scene with Nube Nueve.
“You will see belly dancers, you will see saxophone violin, there will be a lot of entertainment while you dine, but right now, we are settling down with the food drinks and service and a lot of things will be added. This is phase one of the project. We also have a courtyard and a rooftop coming in a couple of weeks,” Rampersad stated.
Valpark’s turnaround in fortunes, he said, started as far back as 2022 and the group has seen a surge in interest in the property since.
“In 2022, when we really started to see the difference but the renovation, we started on the highway because that part of the renovation did not interfere with tenants. Then slowly came around to the inside. But we have air-conditioned the courtyards, redone all the washrooms. I think no more people are visiting the plaza we’re getting more interest. In fact, we don’t have enough space. So we’re sort of balancing what tenant we want, how much space we want to give this tenant, so it’s been, you know, that’s been meaning or challenge balancing the tenant requirements, the request that we get,” Ali said.
He explained that the requests were not limited to entertainment.
“Strangely enough, you know, we have some offices seem to be dying in real estate as people say but for some reason, we do have interest in smaller offices and we like diversity,” Ali said, noting that a gym was set to open shortly while spas and salon were also expected to be added to the space.
While new spots have been a major driver of new business at the Plaza, Ali said some of the cornerstones of the plaza are also expected to be renovated and upgraded to be a part of the upgraded Valpark.
Mario’s, which opened its first restaurant at the Valsayn property was among them.
“Mario’s is renovating the entire facility. And when we have completed another renovation, we want to try to encourage tenants (to follow suit) right now we’re working with them to the existing tenants to renovate their own facilities to match the newly renovated Plaza,” Ali added.
Valpark’s renovation, Ali said, was expected to be completed by December. However, he said Capital Holding would continue to look to improve its investments in Trinidad and the region, as it has also owned The Dome Mall in Barbados and was looking towards expansions in Guyana.