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Palermo: It was a fashionable promenade, but since the pandemic it has fallen into disrepair and now a project is underway to give it new life - La Nacion
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LA NACION
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July 05, 2024
There is almost no commercial activity today on Paseo del Sol, marked by decline, next to Alto Palermo; an IRSA initiative seeks to recover it with a “young and designer” profile; neighborhood expectations
The abandoned Paseo del Sol is part of the complex located in Beruti, Coronel Díaz, Arenales and Bulnes
By Erica Gonçalves
A long the 90-meter-long path where, not so long ago, Paseo del Sol was located with its 20 stores, on a Thursday during business hours there were almost no people. There were plenty of paper-covered and broken windows, lampposts without shades and closed blinds in that corner of the Palermo neighborhood . The old sound of dishes was also completely absent. The only neighbor who walked there, while walking her dog, pointed out that the same scenario prevailed in recent years, after the pandemic. The most conflictive point, she said, occurred when the stores closed during the quarantine: the place was filled with mattresses and there were security problems.
“Coming soon” and “Soon you will be able to enjoy me again ” could be read on some signs. However, with some regret, the people of the area indicated that they have been stuck there for more than two years. The neighbors hope that the place will return to the glamour it had in the beginning, when it attracted a large number of people. They also hope that none of the future occupants will disturb their sleep again as the pubs have done recently. After several months, a ray of hope has finally come on: three workers are redefining one of the entrances to the property.
The Paseo del Sol, empty and desolateMaria Bessone - THE NATION
Paseo del Sol was part of a large complex that occupies the block bordered by Beruti, Coronel Díaz, Arenales and Bulnes , along with a section of the Alto Palermo shopping center . Within the same space there are two buildings with more than 200 housing units and various amenities , a building occupied by a supermarket chain, more than 350 rental parking spaces and the 20 premises on the promenade that historically belonged to different private entities. The interest in the improvement is directly proportional to the number of residents in the complex.
“We are fixing the stairs,” said one of the workers while working on one of the access stairs. “The next step is to remove the two water fountains,” he added. The rumor that was circulating among them was that the commercial premises would return. Laura, who has lived in one of the adjacent towers for 25 years, said she knew something more: “El Alto bought the premises,” she said. Other consortium members, who preferred to remain anonymous, dared to affirm that they acquired at least 15 premises.
A group of workers were fixing the stairs at the entrance to the propertyMaria Bessone - THE NATION
Alto Palermo is part of a conglomerate of 14 shopping centers owned by IRSA . When consulted by LA NACION , sources from the economic group confirmed that after the pandemic they began a process of purchasing the commercial premises on the promenade. According to them, most of them are currently part of their assets.
“The idea is not to annex it to Alto Palermo, but rather for it to be a project in itself. We are still thinking about the spirit we want it to have. We have not yet defined the project, but the idea is for it to be something young, urban and designer ,” they said. In addition, they said that they are in talks with several companies that could be related to the initiative. As it is an open space, they consider that it would be “desirable” to open it by summer . “We do not know the name, but it will certainly not be called Paseo del Sol,” they indicated.
Places that have been closed for a long timeMaria Bessone - THE NATION
According to them, IRSA had been planning to develop a new project of its own on the site for a long time. Like the neighbors, they maintain that the decline of the promenade began long before the pandemic.
Susana Reznik lived in the complex for 9 years. Her apartment was on the third floor and faced Paseo del Sol, but last year she decided to move . “My view was the roofs of the premises and they were a dump. Those who managed the premises left broken chairs and everything they didn’t use up there. Once, there was even a fire. During the pandemic, it was a nest of rats ,” she said.
She recalled that 20 years ago the place was nice, but the decay of the open gallery and the annoying noises ended up exhausting her: “The state of the promenade was a negative factor. It was hard for me to sell the apartment and, when I did, I got 20% less than what I paid.” She added that, when she left the complex, homeless people were still sleeping there. “It is a shame that, in the middle of a beautiful block –with a movie theater, shopping center, municipal office and prosecutor’s office– this property is like this,” she said.
Two decades ago, Paseo del Sol was a gathering place for groups of young people who gathered at nightMaria Bessone - THE NATION
Laura remembers that when she moved to the fifth floor of one of the buildings in the complex, 25 years ago, the promenade was inhabited by restaurants and gastronomic establishments of “good quality.” It changed until there were even pizzerias on the way. It gradually faded away until it became decaying. For the neighbors, things reached impossible limits: “There were complaints about the annoying noises . We were all in the protest. They stopped making noise for a while and then the pandemic came,” the woman explained.
He said that the residents want the avenue to come back to life , but that they need their rights to be respected: “We wouldn’t be bothered by the commercial premises. The restaurants could come back, but not those that played music outside.” He added: “They told us that the shopping mall bought it and that is the idea.”
"Soon you will be able to enjoy it again," the suggestive message visible on the promenade for some time nowMaria Bessone - THE NATION
Eduardo Barrera has been the complex's manager for 16 years and has known the site even before it was built. “When it opened, there were mainly clothing and design stores. Later, as most visitors came in the afternoon and evening, it turned to gastronomy. Over the years, nightclubs were installed that competed for volume ,” he described.
He said that before the pandemic, most of the premises were occupied and that complaints from neighbours led to closures: “They later reopened, but the pandemic was undoubtedly the final blow.”
The mayor said that, after having seen how mattresses were installed and suffering vandalism in the place, the neighbors are waiting with anticipation for the reopening . According to him, since the decisions made in the complex are subject to voting and 66% of the consortia are housing units, the opinion of the neighbors will be very important. “The new owners of the promenade will be one more consortia member,” said Barrera.
Lowered blinds and broken glass, a constantMaria Bessone - THE NATION
Surviving businesses
One shop had its lights on that Thursday afternoon and hinted at some life. Four men worked inside, but none of them were preparing dishes or rehearsing drinks for customers: they were all sanding and cutting wood. Years ago, that shop was home to the Rock'n Freud record store, a favorite of great musicians. Although Charly García no longer visits it, it is still somehow linked to music: Sentous Guitars, a guitar production workshop , opened there two years ago. “This is one of the few that is occupied,” said Lorenzo Leoni, employee and luthier.
Some areas of the promenade are already under constructionMaria Bessone - THE NATION
“In addition to us and the UCR party headquarters , there is a bar. Until two months ago there was another one, but it closed. They say that they are going to reopen this whole place, but I don't know much. For now, we are going to stay. The comment we heard is that the owner of this place does not want to sell it,” he said.
A few meters away from the bricklayers, some people were opening a gate after 3 p.m. Among them was Valentina Quiroga, owner of La Retrechera, the only bar currently operating on the promenade. At the entrance, three balloons in blue, red and yellow indicate that the business is there. In the midst of so much solitude, however, it would not be difficult to find it, even at night.
La Retrechera, the only bar currently operating on the promenadeMaria Bessone - THE NATION
Quiroga, who moved into the promenade a year and a half ago, confessed that she does not know exactly what the space will be: “I have very little information, but, as they mentioned, they are going to fix everything to reopen it . The consortium does not talk much about it. The little they told us is that they are starting to fix and remodel everything so that it will be as it was before.” The owner of La Retrechera supposes that the place will return to the life she knew eight years ago, when she was a waitress in one of the bars of which today only an old sign covered in dust remains. “We have a contract for two more years,” she indicated.
All doubts will be cleared up when, possibly towards the end of the year, IRSA's "young, urban and designer" project sees the light of day.
