First, can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently?

Parks was founded in 2007 with seven employees. Since then, we have successfully consolidated as the largest private developer of Real Estate in Mexico, and Parks today has more than 70 simultaneous projects under construction. The team that I proudly run has acquired a vast experience in the full development cycle, making our company unique in its class; we do the “complete job” from land acquisition, entitlements, permits, design and construction, financing, leasing, operation and management of Real Estate assets. We also carry out the management of more than 200 commercial properties throughout the country, and are proud to be the preferred landlords and developers to companies like Walmart, DHL, Pepsico, Wework and Hilton.

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

Certainly, Mexico is going through many changes, both political and economic. There are two major ones I will mention. On the upside, we are one of the largest economies in the world, and even though the Pandemic has caused great challenges in many businesses, that has been offset by our vicinity to the US that has allowed us to be strong manufacturers and exporters to the world´s largest economy. Also, the US-China trading conflict, which originated in the past administration, has benefited our country as many foreign companies are looking to Mexico to invest, allowing us to maintain a steady economy.

On the less-rosy side, three years ago the leftist party won the presidential elections for the first time in history, and the radical policies they have enacted have caused difficulties in doing business in Mexico. Example of this is the electric reform which, if approved, will not allow private companies to generate their own power, or the policy of “no relief” for businesses during the Pandemic, which caused many companies to go bankrupt (for instance, Interjet, one of the country´s largest airlines). However, I believe the government has made its “cero corruption” statement and is now in a “shifting” point and starting to get closer to companies which hopefully will result in a brighter future for our economy.

What do you think are the biggest risks facing your industry now and how are you preparing your company and team to face these risks?

I see three challenges towards the future. In the digital realm, one of the biggest risks the commercial real estate industry is facing is E-Commerce, as consumers are less dependent on physical stores and are getting used to faster deliveries and finding more and more products online. However, this presents a unique opportunity to rethink the commercial product and construct better, more experience-oriented spaces, and deliver higher quality projects for our tenants and visitors. The increase in commodities and construction costs, which are not aligned with the rent costs, are putting pressure on developers into finding more efficient ways to construct and seeking out to better technologies, as well as being extra careful in the best exploitation of land. Finally, investors are finding high-growth–commonly Tech–companies more appealing to invest in than brick and mortar ones. In other words, real estate projects, which were was once an “easy sell”, are now not “sexy” enough; we are struggling to create disruptive models to tell a story good enough to keep investors interested and cash flowing.