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Este informe no está disponible en español. CARIBBEAN BUSINESS AEELA breaks ground on $42 million expansion By JOSE L. CARMONA May 13, 2005 With Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá leading the event, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Employees Association (AEELA, by its Spanish acronym) broke ground May 11 for Plaza AEELA, a $42 million expansion of its facilities on Ponce de León Avenue in Hato Rey. Plaza AEELA is a major urban project being built around AEELA’s main building, which is expected to allow the organization to consolidate its operations, as a result of improving the services provided to its more than 200,000 members, explained Johana Millán, spokeswoman for AEELA. Plaza AEELA is slated for completion by June 2007. "As a result of the incredible growth AEELA has experienced during the past few years, we have practically run out of space in our main building, which is the reason why we have embarked on this project to improve access and the services we provide our members," Millán recently told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS. The proximity of the AEELA building to an Urban Train station and to the island’s financial district (aka the Golden Mile) in Hato Rey, made it feasible to expand the existing structure instead of moving to another site, said Millán, who added Plaza AEELA has been dubbed "The New Door to the Golden Mile." Plaza AEELA will require demolishing five minor structures adjacent to the original building, remodeling 45,700 square feet of the main building’s interior, and construction of a new five-story, 100,000-square-foot building that will become the organization’s new main structure, which is expected to extend along Ponce De León Avenue, from Betances Street to Ruiz Belvis Street. The project includes adding 300 parking spaces to its present 400, for a total 700. AEELA, founded in 1921, is a nonprofit organization created to foster savings among public employees and provide them with a series of financial and other benefits and services, such as mortgage and personal loans, IRA accounts, death insurance, discount cards, academic grants, legal services, credit cards, and a vacation center in Guánica’s Playa Santa. The association has nine branches throughout the island, in Río Piedras, Santurce, Carolina, Caguas, Humacao, Ponce, Mayagüez, Aguadilla, and Arecibo. This Caribbean Business article appears courtesy of Casiano Communications. or
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