Interlink: San Juan, Puerto Rico

We were commissioned by the Interlink Group to assist this Puerto Rico-based development firm to author a future story (a vision) for the company, along with an implementation strategy supported by a business plan to ensure that the firm would realize that vision.

As an advisor and board member, in my mind, the AC Hotel exemplifies the Interlink of today.

For this project, an existing hotel was reimagined, renovated, and rebranded as the AC Hotel in San Juan’s trendy Condado neighborhood.

In its improvements, two F&B concepts were added to the ground floor retail space: SOBAO Bakery & Restaurant and La Bodeguita, a hip speakeasy restaurant and wine bar. The retail space is 4,372 square feet with each concept occupying 50% of the space.

SOBAO and La Bodeguita are consistently packed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with both hotel guests and locals, who call the restaurants ‘their place’. The restaurants are a reminder of the adage “visitors want to go where the locals are.”

While hospitality is currently the principal business of Interlink (they own nine hotels across Puerto Rico), residential is re-emerging as a significant part of its business (for the first 2-3 decades of Interlink, housing development was its primary business).

There are multiple residential projects in process with two in San Juan’s Condado district.

One of the Condado projects, Casa Candina, was designed by New York City-based KPF, who also did the design for The Bellevue, a proposed multi-building residential project in Bellevue, Washington overlooking a downtown park and Lake Washington.

The other Condado project, Acuarela, is in presales and under development.

Many of the presales are local Puerto Ricans. Mainland buyers are drawn to Puerto Rico due to the easy air access, weather, lifestyle, and its favorable tax policies under Puerto Rico Act 60. This interest is heightened by the increasing number of states creating millionaire-family taxes including California, New York, and Washington (my state).

La Bodeguita