As one of the first malls in the city, Center Norte is home to many good stories and many curiosities.
Next Monday, January 25th, we celebrate the 467th anniversary of the city of São Paulo, one of the largest capitals in the world. São Paulo and Center Norte have intertwined histories and have grown together in many aspects, as we are one of the first malls in the city and the first one built in the North area.
To celebrate the date, let’s bring back some curiosities about the Family Mall that is for sure in the minds and hearts of São Paulo residents. Like we said before, Center Norte was the fifth mall built in the city. It was founded on April 7th, 1984 and after many changes since the first day, nowadays the mall has a total area of 1.5 million ft2.
Center Norte is also one of the few malls in São Paulo built on a single floor with wide corridors, which provide comfort and convenience, mainly for the elderly and people with special needs. Besides, the mall has a parking lot with 7 thousand spots.
Center Norte Shopping Mall is very well-known for its Christmas season, just like São Paulo. Famous since the 90s, the jingle “É Natal no Center Norte…” has become a classic that comes to everyone’s mind when Christmas is approaching near. In 1997, for example, we innovated and held a draw of airplane and, in 1998, a yacht. On Christmas 2013, Center Norte broke a record and got into the Guinness World Records with the biggest Santa Claus in the world, 35 ft high and weighing 14 tons.
Center Norte is fully pet-friendly and allows the access of dogs and cats on leashes to all common areas of the mall. Apart from that, we have always supported the animal cause and hold adoption events on a regular basis. During the pandemic, for example, we have hosted an online adoption event, in a partnership with NGO Amigos de São Francisco.
As big as the area the mall occupies is the number of people working at Center Norte to make things happen. There are over 500 direct and indirect employees, who work daily in the administrative and operational areas to offer the best experiences and high quality services to our visitors. The employee who has been with us the longest is José Francisco Braga, with over 34 years of service.
Since 2002, Instituto Center Norte and the sustainability team work hard to bring continuous improvement to the North area of the city. Amidst several initiatives, the organization has won important prizes, like Prêmio Caio de Sustentabilidade 2020, in the category Jacaré de Ouro, which is the official seal for Human Rights and Diversity of the city of São Paulo for two years in a row, and has been acknowledged by the program JUNTOS PELA ZN CONTRA O COVID-19, which managed to contribute to 11 thousand families from communities of the North area in a situation of social vulnerability donating 155 tons of food and 10 thousand hygiene and food kits to several families of the northern communities.
Center Norte will definitely keep on contributing to the history of the city, just as every citizen contributes to the growth of one of the largest malls in the city. We wish São Paulo a happy anniversary.
