Plaza Satélite

Plaza Satélite is a large shopping center in Ciudad Satélite, Naucalpan, in the State of Mexico, on the northwestern side of Greater Mexico City. Located beside the Anillo Periférico ring road, it serves as a regional retail, dining, entertainment, and services destination for residents of the metropolitan area. The center opened on October 13, 1971, and is widely described as Mexico’s first American-style shopping mall, reflecting the period’s growing adoption of enclosed, anchor-led retail formats modeled partly on shopping centers in the United States. Construction began in 1968, based on architectural plans by Juan Sordo Madaleno. At opening, Plaza Satélite had four principal department-store anchors: Sears, Liverpool, Sanborn’s, and París-Londres. Its initial tenant mix contained approximately 150 commercial units, including shops, restaurants, banks, and other services. The original complex also included a 1,400-seat cinema described at the time as the largest movie theater in Latin America, together with parking for approximately 3,000 vehicles. These features positioned the project as more than a conventional retail arcade: it was designed as a destination combining department stores, everyday shopping, food, leisure, and automobile-oriented access. The center underwent a major expansion during the 1990s. By 1995, the enlargement had approximately doubled the number of commercial spaces to 240, while adding a fast-food area and renovating the cinema facilities. The movie operation was subsequently expanded into a 15-screen Cinépolis multiplex. The broader redevelopment was completed in 1998 with the arrival of El Palacio de Hierro, adding a luxury department-store component to the tenant mix. Parking capacity was increased to 5,472 spaces, which at that time was described as the largest shopping-mall parking facility in Mexico. Another substantial redesign and expansion was completed in 2018. The resulting complex was reported at approximately 548,000 square metres of total area, including about 180,000 square metres of retail space. The project changed the architectural character of the mall, replacing its earlier orange-centered visual identity and orange-tinted roof with a more contemporary palette using stone, wood, and steel. The redesign also introduced a more open interior arrangement and a large atrium. A roughly 40,000-square-metre park with a lake was added, broadening the site’s function from enclosed retail space to a mixed indoor-outdoor destination. In 2021, Plaza Satélite converted 900 parking spaces into a green rooftop area, an intervention that further emphasized the center’s landscaping and public-space functions. Following the 2018 redevelopment, the mall was described as the third-busiest shopping center in Greater Mexico City, behind Multiplaza Aragón and Centro Santa Fe. Its long operating history, department-store anchors, entertainment facilities, dining offer, extensive parking, and successive architectural updates have made Plaza Satélite one of the established retail landmarks of the Mexico City metropolitan region.

Plaza Satélite was developed in Ciudad Satélite, a planned suburban community in the State of Mexico northwest of Mexico City. Construction began in 1968 according to plans by architect Juan Sordo Madaleno. The project reflected the expansion of automobile-oriented suburban development and the emergence of modern enclosed shopping centers in Mexico. Its location beside the Anillo Periférico provided direct road access and supported a large parking-oriented format. The center opened on October 13, 1971. Its initial configuration included Sears, Liverpool, Sanborn’s, and París-Londres as anchor tenants, together with around 150 smaller commercial units. Restaurants, banks, and other services complemented the retail offer. The opening complex also contained a 1,400-seat cinema, described in contemporary accounts as the largest movie theater in Latin America, and parking for approximately 3,000 cars. The combination of department stores, specialty shops, services, dining, cinema, and extensive parking helped establish Plaza Satélite as a destination shopping center rather than a simple collection of neighborhood stores. During the 1990s, Plaza Satélite underwent a major physical and commercial expansion. By 1995, the project had approximately doubled its commercial capacity to 240 spaces. The work included a fast-food section and a comprehensive renovation of the cinema facilities. The cinema operation was expanded into a 15-screen Cinépolis multiplex, strengthening the mall’s entertainment role. The redevelopment was completed in 1998 with the addition of an El Palacio de Hierro branch, extending the center’s department-store offer into the luxury segment. Parking was expanded to 5,472 spaces, a capacity reported at the time as the largest among Mexican shopping centers. A further expansion and redesign was completed in 2018. The enlarged complex was reported to cover approximately 548,000 square metres in total, including about 180,000 square metres of retail space. The architectural intervention changed the center’s visual identity: the earlier orange-colored theme and orange-tinted roof with glass blocks were replaced by a more neutral contemporary treatment based on stone, wood, and steel. The interior was made more open, with a large atrium, while a 40,000-square-metre park and lake added an outdoor recreational component. The project positioned Plaza Satélite as a mixed retail, dining, entertainment, and public-space destination. In 2021, the center repurposed 900 parking spaces as a green rooftop area. This change reduced a portion of the site’s conventional parking provision while adding landscaped space to the complex. After the 2018 redevelopment, Plaza Satélite was described as the third-busiest shopping mall in Greater Mexico City, behind Multiplaza Aragón and Centro Santa Fe. The mall remains an active regional retail destination with more than 240 stores and services reported in reference material.

• 2021

  Green rooftop conversion

  [1]Plaza Satéliteen.wikipedia.org

  Nine hundred parking spaces are replaced with a green rooftop area.

• 2018

  Redevelopment introduces park and new architectural identity

  [1]Plaza Satéliteen.wikipedia.org

  A major expansion and redesign creates a more open contemporary complex, adds a large atrium, and introduces a park with a lake.

• 1998

  Luxury department-store addition

  [1]Plaza Satéliteen.wikipedia.org

  The 1990s redevelopment concludes with the addition of El Palacio de Hierro and expanded parking capacity.

• 1995

  First major expansion

  [1]Plaza Satéliteen.wikipedia.org

  The mall expands to approximately 240 commercial spaces, adds a fast-food section, and renovates its cinema facilities.

• 1971

  Plaza Satélite opens

  [1]Plaza Satéliteen.wikipedia.org

  The center opens on October 13 with four department-store anchors, approximately 150 commercial units, a large cinema, and parking for about 3,000 vehicles.

• 1968

  Construction begins

  [1]Plaza Satéliteen.wikipedia.org

  Construction of the shopping center begins in Ciudad Satélite using architectural plans by Juan Sordo Madaleno.

A major, automobile-accessible metropolitan shopping and leisure destination combining department stores, specialty retail, food, entertainment, services, and landscaped public space.

• Retail · 1971

  Department-store retail

  Plaza Satélite’s core offer has historically been organized around large department-store anchors, including Sears, Liverpool, Sanborn’s, París-Londres, and, after the 1990s redevelopment, El Palacio de Hierro. These anchors provide broad merchandise categories and help draw customers from across the metropolitan area.

• Retail · 1971

  Specialty retail and services

  The mall includes a broad collection of commercial units serving fashion, consumer goods, beauty, dining, banking, and other everyday needs. The original complex had approximately 150 units, while later expansion increased the number of spaces to about 240.

• Entertainment · 1995

  Cinépolis multiplex

  The original large cinema was renovated and expanded during the 1990s into a 15-screen Cinépolis multiplex, making filmed entertainment a continuing component of Plaza Satélite’s destination format.

• Leisure and public space · 2018

  Park and lake

  The 2018 redevelopment added a park of approximately 40,000 square metres with a lake. The landscaped area expanded the center’s role beyond enclosed retail and introduced an outdoor leisure element.

• 2021

  Convert parking capacity into green spaceStrategy

  Background

  The center continued adapting its site after the 2018 redesign.

  Action taken

  Nine hundred parking spaces were replaced with a green rooftop area.

  Aftermath

  The change added landscaped space while reducing the conventional parking area by the stated number of spaces.

  Source

• 2018

  Complete architectural redevelopmentGeneration change

  Background

  The aging shopping center required a substantial update to its physical design and customer experience.

  Action taken

  Plaza Satélite was expanded and redesigned with a more open layout, a large atrium, contemporary stone, wood, and steel finishes, and a 40,000-square-metre park with a lake.

  Aftermath

  The redeveloped center was reported at approximately 548,000 square metres, including about 180,000 square metres of retail space, and was described as the third-busiest mall in Greater Mexico City.

  Source

• 1995

  Expand the commercial and entertainment formatGeneration change

  Background

  By the mid-1990s, Plaza Satélite was undertaking a major expansion of its original 1971 format.

  Action taken

  The center approximately doubled its commercial spaces, added a fast-food area, and renovated its cinema facilities, which were later expanded into a 15-screen Cinépolis multiplex.

  Aftermath

  The work increased the mall’s retail and entertainment capacity and formed part of a redevelopment completed in 1998.

  Source

1. 1Plaza Satéliteen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Plaza Satélite official websiteplazasatelite.com.mx