WELL-BEING MATTERS
Brought to you by Texas Health Community Hope
Well-Being Matters is an ongoing series highlighting different members of our community and their strategies for well-being. Texas Health Community Hope is Texas Health Resources’ unique approach to promoting healthier futures through a broad range of impactful initiatives, investments and collaborations. This month we meet Marcos Ortiz, marketing coordinator for La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth. Now celebrating its 21st year, La Gran Plaza has become a place for family, fitness and fun.
Q: Congratulations on celebrating 21 years in April. In 2004, the current owners bought what used to be Seminary South Mall. What makes La Gran Plaza special?
A: From the first day, we began growing, adapting and changing to keep bringing people in. La Gran Plaza is very community driven and family oriented. We have a culturally diverse community and that’s represented in the mosaic of our business owners.
Q: Two decades of business is rather stellar for a mall, especially with the changes in the way people shop post-COVID.
A: We’ve had to innovate and grow to meet the demands and needs of shoppers who have the option to order things online and have it two days later.
Q: And you do this with a successful blend of retailers and events.
A: We have a great mix of 300 national retailers and independent businesses. Our dinosaur exhibit is also a big attraction. We celebrate culture, community and commerce and are always open to promoting education and health initiatives. You can stop by the Fort Worth Library and check out books, get on a carousel, get a haircut, or visit your dentist or your doctor. It’s one-stop shopping.
Q: One way La Gran Plaza promotes health is through the mall walking path, which is a collaboration with Texas Health Community Hope.
A: We worked with Texas Health last year to launch a campaign to encourage our shoppers to walk in the mall and count their steps. We have markers at every mall entrance, so walkers can track how far they’ve gone. We open the doors an hour before the stores open to let the mall walkers do their thing.
Q: This encourages movement as people can walk safely in the warmth when it’s cold, and in a cool environment when it’s hot outside. But it also promotes community, right?
A: People walk by themselves then find friends and walk as friends. The staff use the walking path too, and when we chat with people, they say “We actually met here – we’ve been walking together for four years.”
Q: La Gran Plaza also creates community by working with local law enforcement in a very natural, no-pressure way. Tell us about that.
A: We have a quarterly “Coffee with a Cop.” Our business owners and customers can meet with our neighborhood police, enjoy some coffee and pan dulce, and put faces to the law enforcement officers. In turn, the officers learn about the concerns the community has.
Q: Because pan dulce is the best! And consistency is important because it builds trust.
A: Intentional bridges are being built. Business owners feel more comfortable approaching the officers. In June we did paletas (fruit popsicles) – to enjoy the fruit flavor of summer. And we’ve expanded to include tables for Texas Health, our City Council representatives, and other city initiatives.
Q: La Gran Plaza is also known as a place the community can celebrate the visual and performing arts.
A: We have Grupo Pakal, the Mayan dance troupe, and Ballet Folklorico Azteca, which is celebrating their 50th anniversary. Twenty of those years have been here at La Gran Plaza and they are a part of our monthly entertainers. We also have our own house mariachi band, “Mariachi Mexicanisimo,” performing every Sunday. Plus, we have our own mariachi academy where children as young as five can learn the art of mariachi.
Q: Tell us about Thrive 76115, which is an initiative to improve the well-being of residents in that ZIP code.
A: Thrive 76115 is a task force focusing on bringing in non-profits to improve health opportunities for 76115, which we’re in. We meet monthly to help the community, strategize better health opportunities, and plan where to invest resources in this specific ZIP code to improve quality of life and health. Sometimes it’s just about sharing resources.
Learn more about Texas Health Community Hope at TexasHealth.org/CommunityHope