For the first time ever, Mexico made this year’s list of top 10 countries with LEED-certified construction projects. This designation, issued by the U.S. Green Building Council, is the most widely used green-building rating system in the world. But though such projects are becoming more common, Centro Comercial Altacia, in the city of León, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, can boast that it is the very first LEED-certified shopping mall in Mexico. The 65,600-square-meter, semi-enclosed mall is anchored by an aquarium and a Liverpool department store. Among the 146 retailers leasing space are Bershka, Cinépolis, Forever 21, H&M, Lefties, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Zara.
The Altacia shopping center was Mexico’s first LEED-certified mall
This 5-year-old regional fashion mall — part of the seven-mall portfolio of Grupo Aryba — sports a Gold LEED core-and-shell certification, which essentially covers the design and construction of the entire mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire-protection system, but excludes the design and construction of the tenants’ spaces.
“When we conceived Altacia, we were conscious of the importance of creating sustainable projects that benefit the environment and society,” said David Lozano, Grupo Aryba’s operations manager. During the construction, recyclable materials from the region were used. The dust and mud stirred up by trucks entering and leaving the site were kept to a minimum. An on-site wastewater treatment plant provides water for plantings and for low-flow toilets. The mall’s recycling program collects about 140 cubic meters of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metals every month, mall executives say. Altacia uses solar-powered LED lighting for its common areas. Tenants, for their part, were required to follow LEED rules when preparing their shops — by using ecologically sustainable materials and energy-saving technology, and by adopting recycling practices, according to Lozano. Altacia’s water consumption level is between 10 percent and 25 percent less than the levels at the landlord’s other properties, he says, and energy savings can be as much as 40 percent less.
“What’s exciting about this project and the changes we’re seeing in the retail market in Mexico and across Latin America is the number of commercial spaces using LEED that represent national brands or retail developments in a metropolitan region”
Altacia is one of 157 shops and retail centers in Latin America that had achieved a LEED certification by the end of 2017. There are 744 LEED-certified office buildings and 133 LEED warehouse and distribution projects in the region, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Today Altacia is one of 37 LEED-certified retail projects in Mexico.
“What’s exciting about this project and the changes we’re seeing in the retail market in Mexico and across Latin America is the number of commercial spaces using LEED that represent national brands or retail developments in a metropolitan region,” said Nicolette Mueller, the U.S. Green Building Council’s global market development director for the Latin American region.
An accelerator in the region has been the public commitment to be sustainable on the part of such global retailers as Starbucks and Nike, she says. “They have been using LEED in Mexico for years as part of their overall strategy to achieve these goals,” said Mueller. “As tenants in commercial buildings or malls, they can drive better investment and create stronger market demand.”
Mexico now has 305 LEED buildings with an aggregate of nearly 5.2 million square meters of space, placing the country ninth globally.
By María Bird Picó
Contributor, Shopping Centers Today
