Viva Envigado: A Guide to the Largest Mall in Colombia in Envigado

Viva Envigado Centro Comercial is the newest mall in the Aburrá Valley located in Envigado, the municipality directly south of Medellín. This new mall is reportedly the largest mall in Colombia. And it opened on October 5, 2018 with promotions in several of the stores.

I went to this new mall on the opening day. And it was very busy. I was very impressed with this huge mall. But unfortunately not all the shops in the mall were open and much of the fourth floor wasn’t yet open.

This new mall is very popular, as Envigado with a population of over 230,000 people, which was underserved with malls.

Envigado only has two other Western-style malls, City Plaza and Terracina Plaza, which are two small malls located high up the hills in Envigado. The new Viva Envigado mall is much larger and is in a much better location with a connection to the Envigado metro station.

Viva Envigado was built with an investment of 660 billion pesos ($217.6 million USD). The mall was built to connect existing Exito and Homecenter stores in Envigado.

Also, Viva Envigado is reportedly the largest mall in Colombia with a commercial area of 1.47 million square feet (137,000 square meters) and 2.8 million square feet (260,000 square meters) of built space.

In addition, the mall is pursuing U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold certification for sustainable design.

Furthermore, this new mall reportedly generated over 3,000 jobs during its construction and is expected to support 6,000 jobs during its operation.

Inside Viva Envigado Centro Comercial

The Shops in Viva Envigado Mall

The anchor tenants of the large mall include Cine Colombia, Exito, Happy City, Homecenter, Smart Fit and Decathlon. In addition, the mall has space for a total of nearly 400 shops.

On opening day, the mall was reportedly about 85 percent occupied with tenants but many stores with space in the mall hadn’t opened yet.

The shops and businesses in the mall include male and female fashion, children’s and youth clothing, footwear, sporting goods, furniture and decoration, lingerie, opticians and fast food places.

Decathlon in Viva Envigado mall

Decathlon opened its first store in the Medellín area in the new mall. France-based Decathlon is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world and sells affordably priced sportswear and sports equipment. But Decathlon wasn’t open on the opening day of the mall.

iShop in Viva Envigado mall

One place of interest for expats in the mall is iShop, which is a premium Apple reseller that is authorized to repair Apple products.

Also, there is banking area of the mall with three initial banks: Bancolombia, Banco Sudameris and Davivienda. And there is a sign that Banco de Bogotá will be opening plus space for additional banks.

Bancolombia in Viva Envigado mall

The fourth floor of the mall wasn’t complete on opening day. And this fourth floor is intended to be a sporting area with five soccer fields, a sand volleyball court, climbing wall, space for joggers and a Smart Fit gym.

Also, this mall has a co-working space with 120 spaces and the mall has free Wi-Fi. And there is an office tower with office space.

Cine Colombia in Viva Envigado Mall

Movies at Cine Colombia in Viva Envigado Mall

Cine Colombia has a movie theater in the Viva Envigado mall with 12 screens located on the second floor of the mall. This is reportedly the largest movie theater in Colombia. And it’s the only movie theater in Antioquia with an IMAX screen. But the IMAX isn’t open yet. It reportedly will open in November.

At this location, Cine Colombia shows some movies in English with Spanish subtitles. On opening day there were three movies in English with Spanish subtitles playing. Furthermore, you can see the full schedule of movies on the Cine Colombia website.

Cine Colombia is the largest movie theater chain in Colombia with 43 movie theaters located in 13 cities in Colombia. In the Medellín metro area, Cine Colombia has six movie theaters in the Los Molinos, Oviedo, Santafé, Unicentro, Viva Envigado and Vizcaya malls.

Cine Colombia has the Cineco frequent moviegoer card that provides discounts for movies. The card costs 10,000 pesos. And for every 1,500 pesos in spending at Cine Colombia you receive one point. Points can be redeemed for movie tickets and food products. For example, for 100 points you can get one 2D general admission movie ticket.

Entrance to Exito in Viva Envigado Mall

The Exito Wow Supermarket in Viva Envigado Mall

Exito is a large supermarket chain in Colombia that also sells appliances, electronics, clothes, home furnishings, kitchen items, and many other things. Most noteworthy, an Exito in Colombia is similar to a Walmart in the U.S.

The Exito store in Viva Envigado is a new “Exito Wow” store, which is a new format for Exito. Also, Viva Envigado is a pilot space for Grupo Exito to “take out of the box” its own Arkitect, Bronzini and Finlandek brands, which have exclusive stores in the mall.

Exito has 26 of its large grocery stores in the Medellín metro area. Also, it has some smaller Exito local markets. In addition, Exito owns the Carulla grocery store chain, which has several locations in Medellín.

If you shop frequently at Exito and/or Carulla you should sign up for Puntos Colombia, which is a program that used to be known as Puntos Exito. Puntos Colombia is a frequent shopper program where you accumulate points for each purchase. And you can use these points to purchase items in the future.

To sign up for Puntos Colombia you just need a Colombian cedula ID. And it’s essentially like getting 1 percent cash back on your purchase that you can use for future purchases. With the program you get 1 punto for every 700 pesos in purchases. And that 1 punto is worth 7 pesos.

Exito frequently has sales on appliances, TVs and other electronics. In addition, Jumbo is another chain of big box stores like Exito that also frequently has sales. If you are furnishing a place, make sure to check out the sales at both Exito and Jumbo.

Inside Happy City in Viva Envigado Mall

Happy City in Viva Envigado Mall

For kids and families there is also a Happy City in Viva Envigado Mall on the third floor. Happy City is a chain of arcades in Colombia with all kinds of games for kids and families. On opening day of the mall, Happy City wasn’t open yet but it opened on the weekend.

Happy City in Viva Envigado Mall also has an outside area on the third floor with a Ferris wheel and other attractions.

Happy City is a Colombian company that was formed to produce, promote and market recreation spaces for children and families. Since 1982, Happy City has manufactured, marketed and administered family recreation spaces in Colombia. And Happy City belongs to the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions).

Happy City has locations in several malls in Medellín including Forida Parque, La Central, Mayorca, San Diego, Santafé and Viva Envigado.  And they have additional locations in many other cities in Colombia.

Homecenter in Viva Envigado Mall

Homecenter in Viva Envigado Mall

You can think of Homecenter as being similar to a Home Depot in the U.S. But a Homecenter store also has home furnishings similar to a Bed, Bath & Beyond in the U.S., including items for bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens. So, a Homecenter can be considered a combination of a Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond in the U.S.

Homecenter frequently has sales. And the sales are typically posted on an advertisement, which you will see when walking into a store. When I first furnished my apartment in Medellín I bought many items at Homecenter. And many things I bought were on sale.

Homecenter has over 35 stores in Colombia. In Medellín, it has three stores. Also, it has stores in Bello, Envigado and Rionegro. In addition, there are only three malls in the Medellín metro area with a Homecenter in the mall: Los Molinos mall in Belén, Puerta del Norte mall in Bello and the new Viva Envigado.

Homecenter also has stores in Armenia, Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cali, Cúcuta, Giradot, Ibagúe, Manazales, Monteria, Neiva, Palmira, Pereira, Santa Marta, Tulua, Villavicencio and Yopal.

Inside the Smart Fit in Viva Envigado Mall

Smart Fit in Viva Envigado Mall

Smart Fit is a Brazil-based fitness chain that expanded to Colombia with the help of MAS FIT and Grupo Bio Ritmo.

Smart Fit is located on the fourth floor of Viva Envigado Mall. On opening day, you had to use elevators to get to Smart Fit, as the entire fourth floor wasn’t open yet.

The “Plan Smart” membership at Smart Fit costs 90,000 pesos to sign up and 59,900 pesos per month plus an annual maintenance of 89,000 pesos. And this plan provides access to only a single location.

In addition, the “Plan Black” membership at Smart Fit costs 45,000 pesos to sign up and 69,900 pesos per month plus an annual maintenance of 89,000 pesos. This plan provides access to all Smart Fit locations and permits you to invite a friend.

In Medellín, Smart Fit has 10 locations plus an additional three locations in Envigado, two in Itagüí, one in Bello and one in Sabaneta. So, it has 17 locations in the metro area.

Smart Fit reportedly has a total of over 50 locations in Colombia with additional locations in Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cartagena, Cali, Ibaqué, Manizales, Montería, Neiva, Palmira and Popayán.

Part of the third floor food court in Viva Envigado Mall

Viva Envigado Mall Food Options

Viva Envigado has a large food court on the third floor. I counted over 50 fast food places and restaurants on the third floor. But on opening day, not all the food spaces were occupied and a few of the fast food places and restaurants hadn’t opened yet.

Looking down on the third floor food court from the fourth floor

Fast food options in the mall include Al Carbón, Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, Frisby, KFC, Presto, Mis Carnes, Montolivo, Papa John’s, Qbano, Sarku Japan, Sr. Wok and Subway.

Chef Burger in Viva Envigado Mall

Crepes & Waffles in Viva Envigado Mall

There is a nice selection of restaurants including Chef Burger, Crepes & Waffles, El Rancherito, Federal Ribs, Il Forno, Milagros, Parmessano, Romero, Sport Wings and many more.

One of two Juan Valdez Cafés in Viva Envigado Mall

In addition, there two Juan Valdez Cafés and a Starbucks on the first floor of the mall.

Starbucks in Viva Envigado Mall

This Starbucks in Viva Envigado is the eighth Starbucks coffee shop to open in the Medellín metro area. The sixth Starbucks in Medellín opened in Laureles in November 2017.

The Envigado metro station

How to Get to Viva Envigado Centro Comercial

The easiest way to get to Viva Envigado Centro Comercial is via the Medellín Metro. To get there take the A metro line to the Envigado metro station.

Pedestrian bridge from Envigado metro station to Viva Envigado Mall

And you should exit the metro station on the east side and go down the stairs to the north. Walk a short ways and there is a 200-meter pedestrian bridge that takes you from the metro station to Viva Envigado mall. It’s only about a seven-minute walk.

Also, most taxi drivers in Medellín will know where this mall is located. If not give them the address below. And it’s also fairly easy to catch a taxi on the street in front of the mall.

In addition, if you drive, the Viva Envigado mall reportedly has 3,000 parking spaces for cars and 130 spaces for bicycles.

Website: https://www.ccviva.co/envigado

Address: Carrera 48 # 32B Sur-139, Envigado

Hours:  Monday – Saturday: 10 am – 9 pm; Sunday and holidays: 11 am – 8 pm. The restaurants stay open one hour later on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays. And the movie theater is open from 10 am – 11 pm daily.

The Most Popular Malls in Medellín

Several readers of Medellin Guru have asked for information about the malls in the Medellín metro area.

So, we have provided up-to-date guides to the 14 best and largest malls in the Medellín metro area in a series on this website:

1. Viva Envigado – one of the newest malls in the Aburrá Valley located in Envigado, which is reportedly the largest mall in Colombia
2. Santafé – one of the largest malls in Medellín located in El Poblado
3. Mayorca Mega Plaza – a popular mall in Sabaneta with several outlet shops
4. El Tesoro – Medellín’s popular mall with a view in El Poblado
5. Premium Plaza – one of Medellín’s largest shopping malls with entertainment on the third floor
6. Puerta del Norte – the largest and most popular mall in Bello
7. Arkadia – the newest mall in Medellín and the nicest mall in Belén
8. Los Molinos – the oldest Western-style mall in Belén
9. Oviedo – the oldest mall in El Poblado.
10. San Diego – the oldest mall in Medellín.
11. Unicentro – the largest and most popular mall in Laureles-Estadio
12. Monterrey – Medellín’s technology mall in El Poblado
13. Florida Parque – the only Western-style mall in the Robledo comuna in Medellín
14. La Central – the only Western-style mall in the Buenos Aires comuna in Medellín

Also, we included Viva Envigado in our article about the 14 best malls in Medellín.

One of the views from Viva Envigado Mall

The Bottom Line: Viva Envigado – the Largest Mall in Colombia

Viva Envigado Centro Comerical is the newest mall in the Medellín metro area and it’s reportedly the largest mall in Colombia. It’s a huge mall with a 12-screen Cine Colombia for movies, a large Exito for groceries, a Homecenter for home improvement and many fast food and restaurant options.

In addition, it has large selection of shops, which will total nearly 400 shops when they all open. Also, it’s easy to get to on the metro since it’s near the Envigado metro station.

This is an impressive mall and in January 2019, it is now arguably the best mall in Medellín after all the shops have opened. It beats the Santafé mall in several ways:

1. Viva Envigado is reportedly the largest mall in Medellín and Colombia.
2. It has over 30 restaurants, which is a bigger selection than in Santafé mall.
3. Viva Envigado is easily accessible via the Medellín metro, as it’s only about a 5-minute walk from the Envigado metro station. In comparison, Santafé is about a 15-minute walk uphill from the Aguacatala station.
4. It has an Exito for groceries and a Homecenter for home improvement. And Santafé only has a Jumbo for groceries.
5. Viva Envigado has the largest movie theater in Medellín, a Cine Colombia with 12 screens including the only IMAX screen in Medellín.
6. It has the only Decathlon store in Medellín.
7. And finally, Viva Envigado has the largest Happy Center plus outdoor area for kids including a Ferris wheel. This area for kids is larger than at any other mall the Medellín area.

The bottom line is that Viva Envigado is arguably the nicest mall in Medellín.

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Editors note: updated in January 8, 2018 with reasons why Viva Envigado is now the nicest mall in Medellín.

Editors note: updated on November 14, 2019 to add the Arkadia mall, which is the newest mall in Medellín.