Plans for New Marina in Flamingo Beach Costa Rica Properties in guanacaste, Good Priced homes in Costa Rica Flamingo Beach homes by the Marina. Marina Homes. Top[ selling gated communities in Costa Rica

The marina master plan has been incorporated under Desarrollo de Marinas Matapalo DEMM S.A., a Costa Rican subsidiary of Miami-based RodBlu Investments (www.rodblu.com). RodBlu's President Carlos J. Rodriguez has a long history in and commitment to the Flamingo Beach area. He is native to Costa Rica and held several high-level government posts here in the 1990s. In 2000, Rodriguez bought out Aurola Hotels' interest in the Flamingo Beach Resort and currently manages it through the hotel firm in which he serves as Executive Vice President and Partner, Driftwood Hospitality Management (www.dhmhotels.com). The bid was developed in collaboration with Donald Brooks, a well-known local real estate developer who played a significant part in developing Flamingo Beach as a tourism destination in the 1980s.

The marina design and construction administration has been contracted to Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Inc., a firm renowned for its planning, design, architectural and engineering services for maritime projects. Over the years, Bermello Ajamil has built several award winning cruise port facilities and marinas in various international locations. Their project portfolio includes the New York City Cruise Terminals, the Disney Castaway Cay in Florida and 'The World' in Dubai, UAE.

While the design includes slips for mega-yachts, which sell for a premium worldwide, a higher proportion of sport fishers and medium-sized cruisers are expected to comprise the customer base, so the plan provides for a higher proportion of slips that are between 30' to 60'. The initial plan is to sell about 75% of the wet slips and 75% of dry storage racks as dockominiums and rackominiums. The remaining 25% will be available for lease from year five onwards. Sales efforts for the marina slips will be started in the current year. A cruise ship pier targeting small, luxury cruise lines will be constructed as part of the final phase Management of the Marina will be undertaken as a joint venture with a world-class leader in marina operations such as Island Global Yachting.

Amenities provided at the marina will include satellite communications and WIFI internet access, high-capacity and reliable shore power, protection from wind/wave/current influences, provisioning and chandlery services, exclusive yacht club facilities, a waterside recreation area with pool and patio, and full-service security. By segregating access points, the marina will compartmentalize its amenities to cater to the specific needs of different types of boaters including residential users, tourists, yacht owners and fishing or charter boat operators. However, the total effect will be that of a Marina Village "lifestyle center" similar to port towns along the Mediterranean such as Portofino (Italy), Puerto Banus (Spain), Palma de Mallorca, etc.

Construction and operation of the marina will adhere strictly to state-of-art "green" design concepts and environmental standards. Special attention will be given to reviving and conserving Flamingo's delicate mangrove ecosystem. Application for the internationally recognized Blue Flag Marina designation from the Foundation for Environmental Education will be pursued, to complement the Flamingo Beach community's current commitment to maintaining its Blue Flag Beach designation.

The anticipated construction time for the marina is four years. By the end of the second year of construction, there will be approximately 30 acres of land associated with the marina, offering spectacular views of the ocean and surrounding hills, including a sizable portion of direct oceanfront land. We anticipate selling the land surrounding the marina for the following uses:

Approximately 4 acres (16,188 m2) will be targeted for the construction of a 200-key, five-star luxury hotel with ample meeting and banquet facilities, food & beverage outlets and a casino operation.

About 14 acres (56,657 m2) will be parceled for development of retail space. The master plan calls for the creation of a Marina Village "lifestyle center" that would include venues specifically needed by boaters such as grocery shops and marine supplies; high-end retail shopping outlets for tourists and cruise ship passengers, a variety of restaurants and nightclubs and possibly even a movie theater for entertainment. The Village will also offer boat rentals and charters for fishing, snorkeling and diving and host sportfishing tournaments, thus boosting demand for slips and hotel rooms. There is also the possibility of developing residential units above the retail space if sufficient demand exists.

(a) Townhomes - We anticipate development of 45 townhomes with attached marina slips. Townhomes with attached marina slips have not been previously available in Costa Rica and are anticipated to attract strong demand from affluent homebuyers.

(b) Condominiums – Approximately 10.59 acres (42,857 m2) is earmarked for the development of residential condominiums. The site is large enough to offer residents ample green areas and amenities.

We anticipate selling about 4 acres (16,188 m2) a for the construction of office or business space for sale. There is a rising demand for office space in Flamingo Beach and surrounding areas, especially from service providers who currently need to rent and adapt residential spaces for office use.

Real estate investors in the area are eagerly anticipating that the re-opening of the Flamingo Marina will spark the same kind of development boom that occurred after the opening of the Marriott Los Suenos Marina in Herradura Bay, near Jaco Beach in the Central Pacific region. There, new residential units and corresponding commercial development, including restaurants and fast-food chains, supermarkets, specialty stores and boutique retail outlets, have been absorbed as quickly as they can be built.

The concession period is for 20 years, after which it is renewable every 5 years indefinitely. The development is expected to be completed over four years starting in 2008.

Marina decision Appealed... In a 19 pages document Willily Ocean View S.A. which lost the bid to construct the new Flamingo Beach Marina, appealled the decision to the Santa Cruz Council. Construction Timming off the Bid limits, and desproportionated offers, out of the evaluative parameters, where some of the reasons arged in the appeal.

In the meantime the land prices lunch was delayed, again, so you still got time to get pre-marina construction prices for land only steps from this 442 boat slips, capable of handle Mega-Yachs and cruise ships.

As predicted in our last update, Desarrollos de Marinas Matapalo Demm S. A. ( DMMD) was awarded the construction´s concession and management of the new flamingo beach marina. DMMD will invest $91 mill. over the next 2 years and will contribute with ¢225,8 mill. almost $500.000 to the Santa Cruz municipality every year as a concession fee.
DMMD will build 420 slips plus 18 docking spaces for the local artisan fishermen, a Hotel and a Mall, also a bullring and handcraft market.
The whole process took 15 months, initially there were eight comp orations interested in the concession and finally four runner ups. The concession is final.

As awarding time approaches the selection list is thinning. Of the pre selection list of four bidders only two of them fulfilled the requisites set by the Santa Cruz Municipality, but, of the remaining two, only one, Desarrollos de Marinas Matapalo Demm delivered the paperwork on time, made the mandatory $1.000.000 warranty deposit, and produced the plans in the proper scale. Other bidder, Tamarindo Lifestyle came up ten minutes late and was disqualified without
chance to appeal. Meanwhile Inversiones Rigilicom came up with a warranty deposit of only $850.000. The last bidder, that produced the $1.000.000 deposit, failed to deliver the construction plans in the proper scale was Willily Ocean and its participation is uncertain.
One last issue is the financial capacity of the bidder, and in this matter Marinas Matapalo Demm has a head start. The Municipality requires a proven financial capacity of 15 % of the net value of the project roughly $11.8 million and Marinas Matapalo has the backup of entrepreneurs as Donald Earl Brooks Van Etten and costarrican Carlos Rodriguez Peyton of the San Jose´s Holiday Inn, Flamingo Beach Resort and partner of Driftwood, Hotel operator with some 8500 rooms mostly in
the USA. Also has the financial support of the Bank of Coral Gables, $25.000.000 of the private fund operator Warbug Pincus and a $50.000.000 credit of the Bank of America.
It seems that Marinas Matapalo Demm has all requirements to be the developer of the 424 slip Marina that will include a 100 slip dry dock and a full size Cruise dock that will attract 140.000 more tourist to the Flamingo beach area, making this classic fishing and resort town one of the best places in the world to invest nowadays.

If you are interested in this area, whatever the reason, is a good idea to investigate a little about the area, prior to a visit, and most important, before investing. What made Flamingo Beach the leader in beach development for many years was, aside the beautiful coastal landscape, the calm Potrero Bay, and its west end "cul de sac" , a protected bay at the mouth of the estuary, a perfect place for a Marina was the proximity to Sailfish and Marlin Banks.

For years this was the only decent Marina in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica but, due to environmental issues, some three years ago, the Marina was closed, causing a southbound stampede of boats to the more modern Los Sueños Marina Ever since, great expectation have been created by the construction of a state of the art new Marina in Flamingo.

Finally last September, the Municipality of Santa Cruz, -the County where the most beautiful beaches are located,- officially published the Master Plan for the new Marina to be built in Potrero Bay, on the same site of the premises closed on June 11 2004.

On January 2007 the final steps where taken, to grant the concession, when the Official Newspaper the GACETA published the bidding process,provoking great expectation among locals and residents. Many bidders have shown interest in participating in this phase of the process. And in February 2007 offers where accepted officially, starting a process that may take 6 months to award the construction

This Master Plan includes a beach front boardwalk and boulevard, for pedestrians only, parking lots, and, a new, 46 ft. wide road to Flamingo Beach. A big Commercial Center and many more amenities are among the highlights of the project.

Locals still remember when the Marina was fully operating, all sort of services were offered and a steady flow of income was nurturing the local economy. Residents know that the prices for their properties will get a boost once the Marina is up and running.

Real Estate brokers are looking forward to the same phenomenon that Jacó and Herradura Beach experienced with the opening of the Los Sueños Marina and the Marriott Hotel and Golf Course. In that area, prices almost doubled overnight, all kinds of services popped up, and right now, after only seven years, it is operating at 100% occupancy, and land prices are far from reaching its ceiling. Big supermarkets and fast-food chains have opened stores in the area too. It is easy to find high rises everywhere, and every inch of land seems to be used.

In Jacó all this happened with little or no ocean view, as opposed to the almost perfect, horseshoe shaped bay that encloses the Marina site in Flamingo. The bay is framed in three of its sides by a ridge that goes from 180 ft high in one side all the way to 1087 ft in the opposite end. This topographical feature alone makes this land qualify as prime Real Estate by all standards. The view from these hills is just fantastic; the buildings in the Flamingo Hill serve as a lit frame at twilight, with the Catalinas Islands floating in an ocean tinted with the reds and yellows of a sky on fire.

To the south the view is even more fantastic with the contrasting green of the Reserva Conchal Golf Club engulfed in the hay-yellow of the dry forest that surrounds the Robert Trend Jones designed Golf Course.

Those beautiful rolling hills bloom twice a year, the most beautiful being the dry season’s, when the Corteza and Roble trees yield the most beautiful yellow flowers; some varieties produce a Red flower as intense as its yellow sibling. Other weeds also blooms twice a year with a light purple flower that spreads like a living carpet all over the grassland that cover the hills. A yellowish cousin is also very easy to find all over the place.

The rainy season brings along with the rains, lots and lots of flowers to the hills, now fully green; all the local birds, that moved to the water mirrors of nearby Palo Verde Reserve, return to feed with the little fruits that now grow everywhere.

Some developers are already building some beautiful mansions, and more roads can be seen from afar as new land is developed. This new subdivisions will have a privileged view and the most pleasant weather, since high in the hills the wind blows steady all year long, with an average of only 82 º F.

This construction boom, along with a World Class Marina, will definitely put Flamingo in the Map of the finest destinations for tourism, travel vacation and investment, not just for its closeness to the United States and Canada, but also for the great fishing in its waters, the fact, this it is a first generation land, with first generation prices, that will attract wise investors to the area, making the future for the locals a very bright, and long deserved one. Be part of it, here at Guanacaste Resort Properties we are ready to help the newcomers with out vast experience in Real Estate in Flamingo Beach, Guanacaste.

Click Here to send an E-Mail

Now you can call us in the United States.... Call 317 - 536 - 8368

Give us a Call !!! 011 (506) 2654 4908.

or to our Cells:

011 (506) 8384 7066 Jack's and 011 (506) 8358 3470 Marcela's.

Click on the image below to send an E-Mail