Banco Popular records $32 million in mortgages on two former department stores in Carolina and Caguas
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico recorded two mortgages on July 28, 2026 over two former department stores in Carolina and Caguas: $19,540,000 on the building at 3 Avenida Jesús M. Fragoso, Sabana Abajo, Carolina, and $12,460,000 on the one at Carretera 156 Km 1.5, Barrio Pueblo, Caguas. Together they come to $32 million.
The registry entries name the bank as creditor and do not name the borrower.
Two stores, bought for $4 million each
The Carolina building sits inside Plaza Carolina on a 43,873 m2 property, and the broker's sale listing described it as about 190,000 square feet. The Caguas building, at Las Catalinas Mall, was listed at about 138,000 square feet on a 35,476 m2 property.
Both changed hands twice in seven years. On July 7, 2015, the Carolina store sold for $12,587,536 and the Caguas store for $12,884,377. On October 25, 2022, each sold for $4,000,000. The new mortgages add up to four times the $8 million paid in 2022.
New tenants in the old stores
Permit records show both buildings being divided for new tenants. In Carolina, a permit to fit out a 26,656-square-foot TJ Maxx in the building was approved on July 27, 2026, the day before the mortgage was recorded, and a permit for an Outlet China store on part of the ground floor was approved on April 30, 2026.
In Caguas, a construction permit for a department store in the building was approved on May 1, 2026, and one for a clinical laboratory on April 30, 2026.