Retail and office indicators point to steady investment flows in Buenos Aires

Decathlon confirmed two new stores in Buenos Aires for 2026, with a 2,700-square-metre location at Abasto Shopping budgeted at US$5 million for mid-year opening and a 1,400-square-metre site at Alto Palermo set for the second half at US$4 million. These commitments arrive alongside Miniso's scheduled openings at Unicenter on July 22 and Alto Palermo on July 27, 2026, bringing the Chinese chain to five locations in Argentina.

Retail openings track local capital commitments

Ribs al Río opened its Unicenter branch, extending the chain into Buenos Aires province, while Casa Planes launched in Caballito as a dedicated space for porteña cuisine. Rioba Bodegón began operations in Palermo opposite Plaza Armenia in early January 2026, and GĀO Restó added a Recoleta address on April 20. The Oh! Buenos Aires center in Recoleta, with more than 150 stores and a large gastronomic area, opened in June 2025 after ten years without a new commercial center in the city.

Porteño Government data recorded a 15 percent rise in new gastronomic openings between October 2023 and October 2024, when roughly 1,300 restaurants received permits. In 2022 the city registered 2,175 new commercial businesses, a 4.39 percent increase from the prior year.

Office market metrics show parallel demand signals

JPMorgan Chase leased 20 floors in a new two-building Núñez campus scheduled for delivery in 2026-2027, one of the largest corporate rental agreements in Argentina in two decades. Buenos Aires absorbed more than 81,000 square metres of Class A office space in the first half of 2025, reducing vacancy to 18 percent in the Núñez, Libertador and Panamericana submarkets. Only 897,200 square feet of Class A space remains under construction, equal to 4.4 percent of total inventory.

Argentina's real estate market is projected to expand at a 4.9 percent compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2032, supported by rental deregulation and cross-border capital. The Udaondo project, a US$370 million development by GNV Group with European backing, illustrates the scale of regional inflows into commercial assets. Catalinas holds 27 percent of the city's corporate space stock and recorded 5,199 square metres of net take-up in early 2025.

These discrete openings and leasing decisions supply concrete markers of where investment is landing, while the limited pipeline of new construction suggests developers are pacing supply to observed absorption rather than anticipating rapid expansion. Market participants will continue to monitor quarterly absorption and permit data to gauge whether the current pace holds through the second half of 2026.

This article is general information only and is not personal financial or investment advice. Consider your own circumstances and seek licensed professional advice before making financial decisions.