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A year-end review of the Top 10 posts published in News is my Business in ’18

This year was very active and brought significant changes and growth for News is my Business. The website’s exclusive news content reached hundreds of thousands of readers both in Puerto Rico and around the world on a daily basis.

The website’s organic growth spiked after the redesigned look was unveiled in July, to mark eight years of uninterrupted business news coverage. That same month, News is my Business launched its new Dollar$ and $ense podcast series, in which we discussed a range of topics from mortgage loss mitigation, to retail sales and the economic outlook for 2019.

Here are snippets of the Top 10 stories published in News is my Business in 2018. Click on the link to read the full story!

  1. St. Clair Collection investing $450M in hotel properties in P.R., Vieques

(Dec. 6, 2018) The St. Clair Collection has officially re-branded its flagship hotel in Isla Verde as Mare, a property that is part of a portfolio that includes six other resorts currently under development, company Founder Keith St. Clair confirmed to this media outlet. In all, the investment and value of the planned properties is $450 million, he confirmed.

  1. Former Sagrado Corazón Urban Train station parking lot sold for $3.3M

(Nov. 1, 2018) The five-acre lot formerly used as a parking facility for the Sagrado Corazón Urban Train station in Santurce has been sold — for a fraction of what the government was seeking, according to the listing information. The lot known as Parcel B, Santurce Sur Ward — located between Ponce de León and Muñoz Rivera Avenues — was listed for $6.5 million but was sold for $3.3 million. In 2017, the property had an appraisal value of $13.5 million, according to government records.

  1. Ferry service between Ceiba and Vieques, Culebra to start Oct. 10

(Oct. 1, 2018) A new ferry route connecting Ceiba with the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra will begin operating Oct. 10, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló confirmed. The service will be provided with four vessels leased from a private operator at a cost of $15 million for one year.

  1. The Mall of San Juan operator confirms 5 tenants will reopen by summer

(April 28, 2018) At least five major tenants at The Mall of San Juan will reopen during this quarter, Robert Taubman, CEO of Taubman Centers, the shopping center’s owners, confirmed. H&M, Guess, Anthropologie, Free People and Urban Outfitters are slated to open by summer, adding to the roster of stores that will be back in business after a seven-month disruption in operations due to damage inflicted to the mall by Hurricane María last September.

  1. Gov’t closes sale of Comunidad Río Bayamón complex for $12M — half of asking price

(Nov. 20, 2018) The government of Puerto Rico has sold yet another property in its real estate portfolio, this time nearly 90 acres of land known as Comunidad Río Bayamón, this media outlet confirmed. The property was listed for $25 million, but was sold for less than half of that, at $12 million, according to the information provided by real estate broker Christansen Commercial on its website.

  1. R. gov’t fetches $11.6M for former ‘Sears property’ in Hato Rey; 13 other assets on the block

(Sept. 3, 2018) The government of Puerto Rico has sold a commercial lot, known as the “former Sears property” in Hato Rey — held in the defunct Government Development Bank’s portfolio — for $11.6 million, this media outlet confirmed. The property was sold in May, according to information released by real estate broker Christiansen Commercial Real Estate, which handled the transaction.

  1. Clair courting Netflix to become anchor tenant at P.R. Film District production studio

(Dec. 10, 2018) Keith St. Clair, the businessman developing the $136 million Puerto Rico Film District complex at the Isla Grande sector of San Juan, is in talks with representatives from Netflix to come on as the anchor tenant for what will be the only film studio on the island.

  1. 8 P.R. co.’s get ‘golden tickets’ to sell to Walmart in the U.S. mainland

(June 20, 2018) Eight local companies will start exporting their products to Walmart stores in the U.S. mainland, representing at least $9 million in revenue and new job creation, representatives from the companies and the mega-retailer confirmed.

  1. Luxury yacht cruise lines Windstar, SeaDream to visit Vieques, Culebra from Oct. to March

(Sept. 21, 2018) Luxury small cruise ship companies SeaDream Yacht Club and Windstar Cruises will make scheduled stops in Vieques and Culebra from October to March 2019, Puerto Rico Tourism Co. Executive Director Carla Campos confirmed. The first scheduled stop is slated for Oct. 28, when the Sea Dream Yacht Club’s “Sea Dream II” ship will arrive with about 160 passengers and crew, according to the itinerary provided to this media outlet.

  1. $65M film production studios to break ground at Convention Center District

(June 25, 2018) Travel industry veteran Keith St. Clair on July 2 will announce plans to develop a $65 million film production studio complex at the Puerto Rico Convention Center District, this media outlet learned. Once completed, the high-tech RKA Studios LLC project is expected to put Puerto Rico on the map as an ideal location to stage big-budget productions, many of which are lost to other jurisdictions — like Georgia — for a lack of facilities, a knowledgeable source confirmed.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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