Santa Fe glows as Mexico City’s crowning jewel
By Lou Christine

Postcards mailed from the world’s second most populated city showcase images of the capital’s enormous Zócalo, the Taj Majal-like majestic dome topping Bellas Artes, the prestigious presidential palace, or the sixteenth-century Metropolitan Cathedral.

Yet what has arisen on the city’s western edge flashes a completely different look, unlike anything sitting in Chapultapec or erected alongside Reforma. The jet-age district, Santa Fe, could be a tribute to prudent risk-taking, high finance and modern architecture. Now called Commercial Santa Fe, the vicinity has literally transcended from urban ugly duckling to twenty-first-century shimmer! To be exact, a few years ago most of the area was the wasteland of the city dump.

These days, executive focus is on evolving the upscale quarter into Latin America’s most fashionable and influential business district. It’s not a building or two, but a mini-city with too many to count at first glance. The dramatic skyline is a far cry from other mundane, cookie-cutout municipal projects, too often red-taped monstrosities like those erected in US and Soviet cities in the fifties and sixties.

Santa Fe can be described as ultra-urban, with a suburban flair. Night and day the cityscape rivals Dubai’s, Singapore’s or Brasilia’s or some other Oz-like megalopolis, rather than the older and more familiar Mexico City. It’s hard to fathom that not so long ago DF’s now bleak-looking Pan American Building was considered the Empire State Building of the world south of the American border. Today, if situated in proximity, the worn-out landmark would be dwarfed by the new, more sparkling boys on the block.

The district is a sterling example of what humongous sums can create, along with thought-out planning. Assortments of gleaming glass, concrete and steel jut skyward. Most buildings boast rooftop heliports. Major national and international players have anointed Santa Fe to be their Western Hemisphere headquarters. Three universities have sprung up, training a needed talent pool. The local Office Depot is larger than most supermarkets. Waiting on prospective owners, SC 430 convertibles and SLK roadsters repose in the windows of luxury dealerships like Lexus, Mercedes and Audi. Latin America’s largest and most grandiose shopping mall sits in the middle, the centerpiece of the area’s commerce supported by anchor stores: Liverpool, Sanborns and one of only three Saks Fifth Avenue stores outside the US. Customers are drawn to swank boutiques and eateries, a 14-screen multiplex theater and a sports club housing an Olympic-size pool.

Stadia Suites is a spanking-new, business/pleasure hotel, one of the first to open, with others on the near horizon. Stadia pampers guests, offering spacious suites with king-size beds whose sheet thread-count might be infinite, big-screen TV, marble-laden bathroom, terry towel robes and slippers included, full kitchen, tight security, in-room safe, a spa, a gym, a five-star Brazilian restaurant and a bright cafeteria offering a complimentary buffet breakfast well beyond scrambled eggs and frijoles. The staff stands ready to provide tours and services in and beyond Mexico City. 

Discussing the future, Stadia Suites’ director, Pedro Cancino, sounds upbeat. “Despite the worldwide downturn, we’re still ahead of expectations. We’re experiencing the positive effects from seeds planted long ago. Santa Fe is becoming a major hub for the entire hemisphere, offering opportunity for Mexicans and business people from around the world. A lot of serious, smart people have invested fortunes and resources. Of course, there’s always room for hope. Limitations are few; we’re on track.”

Acknowledged downsides to this cornucopia of modernism are scarce public transportation, lack of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and sparse nightlife. Taxis can be pricey, especially if one employs radio cabs for security’s sake. Cars whisk by at high speeds, zooming off exit ramps as if in the old cartoon, The Jetsons. Sidewalks and stoplights are not continuous; the area remains checkered with finishing-up construction. Passable sidewalks suddenly turn into dirt paths. Having an auto makes being stranded in the ‘burbs a moot point. Like mature shrubbery, independent eateries and hip nightlife have yet to bloom, but one can sense they’ll sprout up soon enough.

Soothsayer tycoons in the early nineties were determined “the future is now,” and yet today floor after floor remain empty. Many buildings are waiting for finishing touches and company personnel are still moving in. The vacancy rate in commercial real estate is about 27 percent.

Hardhats are plentiful, working within a mishmash of tools and equipment sunk into giant holes excavated in the ground, they maneuver with new construction’s rough edges, avoiding pointed rebar and other work-place trepidations. Their ant-like activity provides cheap working-hours entertainment for onlookers peering down from the upper floors.

Even with the downshift in the world’s economy and its impact, practical minds assume all is cyclical. As normalcy returns, Santa Fe glows as Mexico City’s crowning jewel, as a testimonial to optimistic thinking, ready to grow with this century’s next crop of entrepreneurs, students and world travelers.

See Colonia Santa Fe while it’s still young.