Water Ways
July 1, 2008
Along Mexico’s Riviera Maya, the development boom is just getting started. An area that used to cater to tourists with budget package deals is now seeing a surge of high-end projects from big names such as Mandarin Oriental, Capella, Viceroy, and Rosewood. "The Mexican government has been conscious about creating these new destinations," says Alan Becker, of Becker Arquitectos, the developer of Nizuc. Recent laws have put restrictions on development, forcing them to pay more attention to environmental issues, he says. As a result, new properties are lower density and higher end.
While the Riviera Maya benefits from its proximity to the world’s second-largest reef and Mayan ruins such as Chichen Itza (one of the new Seven Wonders of the World), Nizuc has its own history. The former retreat where Mexico’s presidents entertained heads of state sits on a 28-acre sliver of land bordered by a 1.4-mile beach. Nizuc will offer three 11,000-square-foot beachfront villas ($10 million to $13 million), 160 apartment-style residences ranging in size from 1,200 to 2,500 square feet ($1.3 million to $3.5 million), and 16 1,800-square-foot club suites, part of the 45-room hotel. All units face the beach and are equipped with plunge or infinity-edge pools as well as access to a spa by ESPA, three restaurants, and a marina where residents can hop a water taxi to golf.
There’s also plenty of room to wander the boardwalks running through a series of mangrove preserves. "Every development should respond to its surroundings and integrate with nature," says Becker. Nizuc’s location, although secluded, is just five miles from Cancun’s airport, another aspect that has attracted international buyers to the area. "Buyers become more sophisticated when there is an economic crisis," says Becker. "They investigate, they weigh their options, but in the end if they want the product, they take it."
S&P Destination Properties, 808.566.8091,
www.sprealestate.com
Hokulia, 324.6500, www.hokulia.com
Kukio, 808.325.4040, www.kukio.com
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, 866.665.9184,
www.livingkapalua.com
The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, Kapalua Bay, 877.205.5564, www.kapaluabay.com
Baccarat Wailea Resort and Residences, 866.296.6240, www.baccaratwailea.com
Baccarat Anguilla, 800.567.1845, www.baccaratanguilla.com
Temenos Anguilla, 888.759.6802, www.temenosanguilla.com
SOL Sotheby’s International Realty, 305.573.4700,
www.solsir.com
St. Regis Bal Harbour, 305.993.6000, www.stregisbalharbour.com
CIMA, 305.285.1418, www.cimabyneo.com
Island Gardens, 305.531.3747, www.islandgardens.com
Nizuc, 888.696.4982, www.nizuc.com
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