Distrito Arcos
Outlet shopping center in Buenos Aires, Argentina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Distrito Arcos (known formally as Distrito Arcos Premium Outlet) is an open-air outlet shopping center in Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, owned by IRSA and managed by Arcos del Gourmet S.A.[4][2]
 | |
| Location | Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
|---|---|
| Address | Paraguay 4979 |
| Opened | December 18, 2014[1] |
| Developer | APSA Centros Comerciales / Arcos del Gourmet S.A. |
| Management | Arcos del Gourmet S.A.[2] |
| Owner | IRSA[2] |
| Architect | Seggiaro Arquitectos and IRSA Department of Architecture[3] |
| Stores | 60[4] |
| Floor area | 11,170 m2 (120,200 sq ft) (gross leasable area)[4] |
| Parking | 115 spaces[4] |
| Website | www |
The center sits on former railway land bounded by Juan B. Justo Avenue, Santa Fe Avenue, Godoy Cruz Street and Paraguay Street. Brick railway structures and old warehouses were kept rather than demolished, and retail units were built around them, facing an open-air pedestrian corridor.[3] It opened on 18 December 2014.[1]
Background
The site once belonged to the Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway, later absorbed into the San Martín Railway network. Brick structures from that period still stand on the property.
The state agency then in charge of railway property, the Ente Nacional de Administración de Bienes Ferroviarios (ENABIEF), granted Arcos del Gourmet S.A. a concession in 2003 to develop food and beverage businesses there.[2] ENABIEF was later dissolved. Responsibility for the site passed first to the Organismo Nacional de Administración de Bienes del Estado (ONABE), then to the Agencia de Administración de Bienes del Estado (AABE).[2]
Administración de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF) and Arcos del Gourmet S.A. signed a new contract on 7 September 2011, readjusting the terms of use and operation. It set the concession to run through 31 December 2025, with room for a further extension.[5]
History
The project began in the early 2010s. The original plan leaned heavily on gastronomy; it was later reworked into an open-air premium outlet instead. Seggiaro Arquitectos handled the architectural design, working alongside IRSA's in-house architecture department.[3][6]
The Buenos Aires City Legislature passed Law No. 4477 in December 2012. It rezoned former railway properties in Palermo and set new urban planning rules for the area.[7]
APSA Centros Comerciales presented Distrito Arcos at a pre-opening event on 12 December 2013. Actors Guillermo Francella and Adrián Suar attended, and IRSA chairman Eduardo Elsztain hosted the event.[8][9]
The Federación de Comercio e Industria de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (FECOBA) obtained an injunction blocking the center from opening to the public.[8][10] The injunction stood until December 2014, when Chamber II of the Buenos Aires administrative and tax appeals court rejected FECOBA's case on the grounds that the organization lacked legal standing. The court also found that the project already had the environmental authorization it needed.[11] Distrito Arcos opened to the public on 18 December 2014.[1] The AABE moved to end the concession in 2019 and reclaim the land for a larger urban development project covering former railway property in Palermo — by then, litigation over the concession had already dragged on for years.[2]
Argentina began easing COVID-19 restrictions in August 2020. Distrito Arcos was among the first major commercial centers in Buenos Aires allowed to reopen; its open-air layout was cited as the reason, while enclosed shopping centers remained closed.[12]
Architecture and layout
The complex is laid out as an open-air pedestrian shopping area.[13] The land was previously used as a marshalling yard for the San Martín railway line and as storage sheds for Bodegas Giol.[14]
Old railway buildings became commercial premises facing a central walkway; circulation between them mostly stays outdoors.[3] Seggiaro Arquitectos carried out the architectural work with IRSA's architecture department, while Grupo Landscape handled the landscape design. That landscaping project covers around 14,700 m2 (158,000 sq ft), according to ARQA.[3]
Underground tanks originally built for other purposes were repurposed to collect rainwater for irrigation — one of several ways the landscape design worked around the site's existing infrastructure.[3]