Between 2015 and the survey conducted between September 2022 and January 2023, the Colonial City registered 252 fewer active establishments, while El Conde Street went from 347 businesses in 2017 to 170 in the 2022 census
SANTO DOMINGO. – When Rafael «Fello» Suberví Bonilla pedestrianized El Conde Street in 1989, during his first term as mayor of the National District, the Fire Department washed the entire street once a week.
Thirty-six years later, the tiles accumulate dirt that sticks to feet, and street vending occupies a good part of the stretch where formal businesses used to predominate.
The Census of Commercial Establishments in the Colonial City, conducted between September 2022 and January 2023, provides the most recent snapshot of the commercial fabric of Santo Domingo's historic center. No comparable survey has been published since.
Three censuses later, the curve flattens
The first commercial census of the area, carried out by sociologist Víctor Ruiz in February 2015, counted 1,694 establishments and documented the opening of 296 businesses between 2012 and 2015, with 1,232 jobs generated.
The 2017 study still reflected that dynamism. In contrast, the 2022 census, prepared by Gallup Dominican Republic for the Ministry of Tourism, identified 2,044 establishments, of which 1,442 were active and 602 inactive.
In comparison with Ruiz's 2015 study, the 2022 survey recorded 252 fewer active establishments, a difference that does not imply that exactly 252 businesses have closed, but a lower net balance, since new establishments also opened between the two censuses.
The report itself attributes part of the reduction observed compared to 2017 to the post-pandemic economic situation and points to a 6.3% decrease in the number of businesses compared to the previous measurement.
51% fewer businesses between 2017 and the 2022 survey
Official data shows that El Conde Street went from 347 businesses in 2017 to 170 in the 2022 census, a reduction of 177 establishments, equivalent to 51%, more than half of the businesses on what was once the city's main commercial thoroughfare. In 2015, it had 269.
In other words, the most emblematic street in the historic center already showed, before the most intense phase of the remodeling works began, a more pronounced commercial contraction than the average for the area.
The census numbered the blocks, although without referencing the location, and also shows that the largest drop among the main blocks occurred in block 21, followed by blocks 26 and 68. Block 6 was the only one that increased compared to 2017. In addition, 102 vacant premises were identified in El Conde, of which 83 had no "For Sale" or "For Rent" sign.
| Blocks | 2015 | 2017 | 2022 |
| The Count | 269 | 347 | 170 |
| #6 | 18 | 48 | 36 |
| #11 | 12 | 14 | 4 |
| #21 | 11 | 45 | 13 |
| #26 | 29 | 57 | 31 |
| #68 | — | 27 | 4 |
Employment: more than in 2015, less than in 2017
In the 2022/2023 period, businesses in the Colonial City reported 8,859 total jobs, compared to 8,411 in 2015 (+5.3%) and 9,388 in 2017 (-5.6%), although the Gallup report itself warns that the comparison with the 2015 base is not entirely reliable because that base had errors.
The industries with the greatest job losses compared to 2017 were museums and historical sites (-40%) and professional, scientific and technical services (-23.2%); the ones with the greatest growth were associations and organizations (+74.3%) and grocery retail trade (+53.2%).
Who owned what at that time
According to the complete database of 808 businesses interviewed, the ownership of the commercial fabric in the 2023 cutoff was distributed as follows: 82.1% local capital, 10.4% foreign and 7.5% mixed.
That average hides a sector where the pattern is reversed: in temporary accommodation, 34.1% of establishments were foreign-owned and another 20.5% were mixed-ownership, leaving international investment with an approximate share of 44% in that segment, which, according to the report itself, was one of the fastest growing in the area recently.
The overall business structure at that point was predominantly micro-enterprises (73%), compared to 23% small businesses and 4% large businesses. Of the 786 businesses that responded regarding their legal status, 72.15% reported being formally established.
602 empty premises
Of the 602 vacant premises identified by the census at that time, 432 (72%) had no "For Sale" or "For Rent" sign, meaning they weren't even actively on the market. Only 96 (16%) were listed for rent or sale, and the remainder were divided between 1% of dilapidated properties and 2% under construction or renovation.
That proportion suggests that a large part of the commercial vacancy at that time was not due to a market supply problem, but to premises out of circulation for reasons that the census does not explore.
There is no data on the current situation
The IDB, the organization that finances the works of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo with 90 million dollars, periodically publishes follow-up reports on the execution of the Comprehensive Tourism and Urban Development Program of the Colonial City.
However, these documents monitor the progress of the works and the execution of the project, but do not include a new census of commercial establishments comparable to the survey carried out between September 2022 and January 2023.
Therefore, the figures in this report describe only the situation captured at that moment and do not allow us to infer the current state of the commercial fabric of the area.
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