I remember when that lot was a Fridays
I always try to take as many pictures as I can on the streets wherever I go in the DR over the weekends, because I know in less than the next decade or two, it will look like another type of place to me.
The DR (more so SD) is changing dramatically in a radial out manner. The major cities are pushing outwards and their centers vertically each time around. Every 5 years there's notable changes in the areas most desired by biz alike.
Santiago? All it takes is to look how a desolated strip was changed since the airport was built and the HOMS as of lately.
Villa Olga is losing the private homes by the month as each old single family home is replaced soon after by an apartment complex almost overnight. Even Los Cerros is losing the fight to remain a private residences area to the towers...
I told you already, the DR with 24/7 electricity and less corruption will be insanely expensive for the average city dweller to muster in a urban setting.
Each time one of these big projects rises from the ground, how many new direct formal jobs you think are created, not to mention the indirect ones.
A rule of thumb for biz in the DR is that old Malls and plazas don't just roll over the keel and die when these behemoths come to life, they simply reinvent the wheel with a long term and highly attractive tenant.
Like I said before, name one (1) Mall in the DR that closed down for good due to competition or newcomers?