We have had a wonderful first two quarters of 2012 with plenty of finalizing of infrastructure and rough cuts being installed and new construction going on.
During the first week of June we started construction on our second home for a client from the USA. It is ahead of
Our newest home under construction. It is ahead of schedule and should be completed by November 2012.
schedule and should be completed within six months of breaking ground. Our goal is to have it ready for rent for Thanksgiving 2012 – we will keep everyone updated with the status of the house and the potential availability for November.
We have rough cut in our curvy roads on our 40 acre flat area with sweeping mountain views. As you may recall, all of these lots have incredible ocean views and almost all of the lots back up to a park or green space. These parks are for the exclusive use of our owners.
We also have started cutting the first set of trails through our 18 acre jungle which is located at the upper most part of the property at approximately 1,000 feet of elevations. The views are incredible and we will be working with the local municipality and federal environmental agencies to put in a permanent environmental study work station there. During my most recent hike
Me holding a poison dart frog found in our 18 acre jungle
up to the top of the property we found two green poison dart frogs, a wild orchid growing and saw and heard numerous animals and wildlife.
We are now offering up to $1,000 of fly-and-buy travel credits/refunds for anyone who purchases in Las Villas de San Buenas. In addition, we will include two zipline tickets and complementary use of one of our homes for up to four days and three nights. This offer may be discontinued at anytime so act soon!
Let us know when you are planning your trip and we can help you with all the details.
We can build a rancho on your lot also if you’re interested. This one rests above our house and has amazing ocean views and views of San Buenas Golf Resort located next door.
We have 15 acres of private, untouched, jungle in Las Villas de San Buenas that is available for private hiking by our residents. These photos were taken last week on a hike I was on with our workers. Every hike in the jungle provides a different experience, with different wildlife being seen and heard. The great news is that there is never a bad time to go for a hike. It’s good for the body. Good for the soul. And located inside Las Villas de San Buenas!
2012 New International Airport in Southern Osa Costa Rica
Recently there has been a lot of talk about the new international airport in the southern zone of Costa Rica. This has been going on since I first visited in March 2005 when the broker we used to purchase what is now Osa Mountain Village alluded to a new airport. It is one of the most talked about issues when dealing with prospective real estate clients. As a rule, I don’t bring up the airport unless a client specifically asks about it. I believe that the Osa region is absolutely gorgeous and amazing the way it currently is (beaches, wildlife, ziplines, etc) – any purchasing or not because of an airport doesn’t understand what Osa is about. Having said that, if the new airport is approved, and when the “Golden Shovel” ceremony takes place to break ground, I would guess prices for land will go up at least 20% overnight. This will be a real ‘game-changer’ in terms of development in Osa.
Here’s an update from Costa Rica’s business newspaper, El Financiero, translation by Google. It states that ICAO (Government Aviation Agency) will be accepting bids on a final environmental impact study in April 2012 for the $60 million project. The studies are to be completed by the end of this year. Once that is completed it will be a “Go or no-go” decision. The great news is that all of us will know within nine months what will happen in regards to the airport.
The runway being proposed in Southern
Costa Rica will be able to accommodate
an Airbus 320 with approximately
150 passengers.
The runway will be large enough to land an Airbus A320 which can fly between 1,700-6,500 nautical miles, depending on the model and carry approximately 150 passengers. With that range, most cities from North America (Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles) will be able to fly direct to the new proposed airport. This will be a great benefit for those traveling to Osa. Currently travelers must usually take a day on the front end of a trip and a day on the back end of a trip to ensure they are in San Jose on time (3.5 hour drive from Palmar Sur).
I wanted to share with everyone what I’ve heard over the years so you can understand my opinion. Below is a brief, and probably not entire recap, of the rumors and information I’ve heard/gathered through the years:
President Arias signing airport
declaration in 2008 in Palmar Norte
March 2006: Tico Times article announcing the airport
In mid-2008, then-President Oscar Arias announced in a ceremony in Palmar Norte that the airport was moving forward.
After the October 2008 TLC/CAFTA vote took place, and it showed that Osa as whole voted against TLC, it is rumored President Arias (who was in favor the measure that passed) withheld his support of the airport and instead shifted his focus to helping those who helped him get TLC passed. Therefore, he worked to help secure the financing and permits for the Limon port expansion.
July 2009, Panamanian President Martinelli and Costa Rica President Oscar write a press release stating the airport project is back on. Read here
In early 2010, President Arias scrambles to complete major infrastructure projects so he can get credit for them (which was great because projects did indeed get done, including the Costanera Highway paving project. Here’s a video of that soon after it was completed near Dominical)
2010: Rumors begin spreading that the existing Palmar Sur location will be used and the runway lengthened to accommodate larger planes.
In November 2010, Tropical Storm Tomas (see photo) hits Costa Rica causing over $150 million worth of damage in Osa. Funds that were reportedly set aside for infrastructure improvements for the airport are now used to fix the Pan-American and Costanera Highway.
A new airport will obviously bring many changes – some good – some not. The government is keenly aware of the pitfalls of what happened in Guanacaste and, previously, in the Jaco region of development (over development, unenforced laws, etc), and will be working closely to ensure the environment is impacted as minimally as possible.
As with most major infrastructure projects, this project has taken time – more than originally thought – however, I do believe we will see the airport project approved and ground to be broken in the next couple of years. Let’s all see what happens. I’ll keep you updated as I hear anything.
One of our great community neighbors are Melvin and Jeannette. They they know that I love to eat Guanabana fruit, and the trees of it I have are not yet fruiting, so they cut a fruit
Guanabana is one of my favorite fruits to eat
from their tree and prepared it for me. This is the video.
We recently added some new home designs (furniture packages coming soon) that you may be interested in. We have beautiful home designs available for only $75,000 – which means
Without pool available for $75,000… a little more with the pool.
that for less than $100,000 you can have your dream home in Costa Rica + a beautiful mountain view lot. These lots are easily accessible and only 1 mile from the Costanera Highway.
We recently updated the information packet for Las Villas de San Buenas. It now includes a 3D rendering of our next home to be built as well as some new photos of wildlife, toucans and
Toucans talking in Las Villas de San Buenas
fruit that are found in the Osa, Costa Rica project.
Memberships are still available for San Buenas Golf Resort and Ballena Beach Club. Those two are optional add ons for any lot owner in Las Villas de San Buenas.
Medical tourism continues to grow in Costa Rica. Last year, 36,000 tourists visited the country for health-related reasons, according to new figures from the Council for the International Promotion of the Costa Rica Medicine (PROMED). In 2009, 30,000 medical tourists visited Costa Rica.
PROMED reported that those who visit Costa Rica for medical procedures often travel with a companion and spend six times more than an average tourist. In 2010, medical tourists brought in $295 million to the country. Most of these visitors arrive from the United States and Canada.
The most popular form of medical tourism remains dentistry. Almost 40 percent of medical tourists visit Costa Rica for a dental procedure. Other popular procedures relate to weight reduction, orthopedics, cardiovascular and cosmetic and plastic surgery.
