“More than thirty commercial premises could close this year in the center of Rancagua” – 2024-02-11 21:06:32

This is a long discussion that is taking place again. The central and historic checkerboard of Rancagua continues to be abandoned to its fate, where, according to its neighbors and established merchants, insecurity, night robberies, and illegal trade proliferate, just to name a few concerns.

We see how the rise in the prices of commercial properties or rentals, plus the decline in retail sales, added to a general deterioration, generate this wear and tear not only in the quality of life of the city, of the residents who live in this area, but also in the type of trade. This is how traditional establishments or more recent ventures must lower their curtains. At the same time, others open, especially Chinese malls or lounges with slot machines, with all the questions that this implies.

We walk through the emblematic and most central streets of this city and we can count the spaces and commercial places that are closed and/or for rent or sale, while others have had a change of items or names. Other large stores are leaving the center or have already left. It is worth remembering the case of Farmacias Ahumada, or the Hush Puppies store in Campos con Independencia, joined in these weeks by the Bávaro restaurant on San Martín street or the PARIS Rex multistore on the Independencia promenade. Many of them move to the surrounding areas where the strip center (small shopping centers) that with renewed architecture offer greater security and better ornamentation that ends up being the preferred option for users.

THE CENTER IS UGLY, NEGLECTED, ABANDONED

In this regard, we spoke with some existing unions in the center. This is the case of Manuel Nayte, president of Comercio Seguro AG, an association that brings together at least 340 tenants in the historic center of the regional capital. “This is a systematic deterioration. It was started with some measures, but the explosion came and people took a different habit of leaving earlier. Then came the pandemic, and that added to the street trade, created a perfect storm, with absent authorities who are not capable of responding. They have to respond to what is being done in this place, it is not the organizations that have to do the trick,” claims Nayte. “If the authorities do nothing and do not take this seriously, it will continue to get worse and it will not emerge,” he specifies about the center. Furthermore, representing his associates, he says that they are not happy with the authorities since the complaints are high.

In addition, he predicts the imminent closure of many other stores, “the drop in sales is transversal, I think that about 30 or 35 commercial stores are going to close this year in the center of Rancagua. The place is ugly, neglected, abandoned and people do not walk through the historic center and the type of public is different,” he adds. “Since when has a serious investment not been made here in the center?” asks Manuel Nayte.

At the same time, he claims that people do not know the work they have done for five years. “The deterioration of the historic center and the lack of projects is not the responsibility of the unions. They blame us for the bureaucracy, for remaining silent and being uncreative, even though it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure a decent city. To say that the trade union organizations are conspicuous by their silence (responding to an opinion column by Orlando Alfonso Olave, published by this medium on January 22 of this year), is not to know the work we have done in these years,” he says. “We were the first to raise curtains after the explosion, we did a pymeton, we helped associates get ahead with small loans, we have fought to return security to the historic center and for people to return to the center.”

Regarding security, Nayte says that they are the only organization that has cared about it by making investments with their own money. “We have wasted time in meetings with Sercotec, the economy, the treasury, the delegation, the government, senators and deputies, with rhetoric loaded with generic metaphors,” he declares. Proof of this, he says, is that “last November we inaugurated the system VETCHwhich consists of twenty surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence installed on Astorga Street, between O’Carrol and Alameda, financed entirely with money from the association.”

STREET TRADE

For his part, Rodrigo Zúñiga, president of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism AG, assures that “it is very unfortunate that there are stores in the center of Rancagua that are in the process of closing. The reasons are varied, especially talking about the large store that will close its doors this end of the month, and it is not precisely for the reasons that everyone may think.

In his opinion, “the closure of this multistore is because it was never well focused, its interior spaces and its mix of products were not appropriate for the public that visited it. Obviously it adds to the economic situation that the country is going through which, in our opinion, is due to the inability of the authorities in power to improve it. The population must be given the necessary tranquility in the immediate future, which will allow internal consumption to increase. This would generate greater hiring, greater investment, people having greater purchasing power and therefore greater sales in commerce. “All this would become a virtuous circle for the economy.”

Asked directly if he believes that the center is “dying,” Zúñiga tells us no, that this is an anomalous situation resulting from various factors such as the economy in the first place, added to the insecurity in the streets due to robberies and attacks. But without a doubt, he states that street commerce is the key factor that brings together several aspects that directly affect those established, increasing insecurity and creating strong unfair competition, adding to this disorder and dirt in the streets. “The responsibility first lies with all those who buy in that type of business. Secondly, and most importantly, it is the responsibility of the authorities, who have not been able to carry out their duties well by keeping street commerce at bay. They should also worry about keeping the floor of the pedestrian walkway clean, and I hope they can apply for a special fund to roof the walkway, in this way giving the center a friendly atmosphere both in winter and summer. There is evidence in the world that this can be done,” he adds and thus be able to bet on tourism in the city.

AND WHAT HAPPENS TO TOURISM?

We also consulted the opinion of Fernando Miranda, president of the Trade Association of the Chamber of Tourism and Heritage of Rancagua, who agrees with the rest. In his opinion, there is great concern for everyone to see that the shopping center is increasingly losing interest from the public and investors, who by natural effect are moving to more profitable places in the city. “Without a doubt, the pandemic brought great changes such as online shopping where the consumer’s presence is not needed, banks have also had to adapt to this new form of customer service by closing many branches, leading to greater abandonment of the center,” according to the Miranda analysis.

And he adds that the Rancagüino center has not had the historical character for a long time. “Remodeling projects that configure historical heritage architecture and give value to the city have never been taken seriously.” And with regard to its sector, tourism, this would be one of the most affected areas, especially when “there is no community participation in planning and management decisions, even more so the indifference and apathy of the authorities who do not “They give real importance to Tourism in the communities.”

It is known that, like commerce, tourism generates investment and development. “The results are visible,” continues the representative of this union, “our Rancagua center does not generate interest from investors, large stores are no longer profitable and the place becomes more insecure and less profitable motivated due to abandonment, crime and the proliferation of street commerce.” And it is this lack of investment in remodeling projects that makes it look increasingly less attractive, according to Fernando Miranda. “And this is how our historical heritage is nullified by the deterioration of the city. At this point is where the authority and trade groups have the duty to come together and take on this challenge, do viable businesses with successful companies that generate employment, and create sustainable tourism products in a beautiful and more attractive city.”