August 22, 2019
(This message was sent via email to our mailing list today.)
Dear Friend of Las Catalinas,
Things are happening at Las Catalinas! Let me catch you up.
Most visibly, we have an extraordinary amount of construction underway including:
- Infrastructure for Beach Town South. This is real hill-town territory, with a big hill, retaining walls, and a compact urban form with pedestrian streets and wonderful plazas. The forms of the streets and plazas along with the required retaining walls are taking shape, and it is very exciting.
- The Beach Club, designed by Ricardo Arosemena, is framed and nearly roofed. The pools are formed. Work is proceeding very rapidly, aiming for an opening before high season begins later this year.
- Casa Chameleon at Las Catalinas - the hotel on top of Punta Penca is underway with earthworks.
- 1 Plaza Central, designed by Robert Orr & Associates - this elegant building features two floors of flats above a level of commercial space. It is underway with a nearly complete steel frame.
- Houses on Calle la Ronda - all of the recent batch of six houses on Calle la Ronda are either finished or nearly so (and sold), and we are getting started on the houses on the other side of the street. Architects include Neil Hoyt, Michael Imber, Tunnel Spangler Walsh, Robert Orr, and Lauren Richa.
- Houses on Paseo Punta Penca - three are already under construction for homeowners there and several more about to start.
Real estate sales have continued to be strong. Being able to forge ahead with our pent-up construction projects has been energizing to everyone at Las Catalinas, for sure. We are now up to a total of 80 properties sold or under contract, up from 59 in April when we sent out the last State of the Union message. Plus we have five more properties under reservation.
At Las Catalinas our vision statement has three parts, two that are permanent and one that is temporary. The permanent ones are a statement of Purpose (to build a delightful town that transforms the way people think about the good life into something healthier, more connected, and more sustainable) and our Core Values and Beliefs (built around respect for the individual and honesty).
The temporary one is our Mission, which is a description of the most important mid-term overarching objective we are working towards. For years our Mission has been one of critical mass, to have enough of our town built to provide something close to the full Las Catalinas experience and to attain a level of stability. Numerically we have focused on two primary numbers, selling and delivering 100 residences, and having six merchants operating in town.
We are closing in on these targets. When what is currently under construction is complete, not so long from now, we will have:
- Two more centers of activity (the Beach Club/Plaza Celaje and Plaza Central) in addition to Plaza Danta.
- Enough streets, stair streets, and passageways that it will take the better part of a morning to explore our town completely.
- Our first hotel.
- Three restaurants instead of one.
- A delightful level of activity with more things to do, more people to meet, and more fun to be had.
With the current construction underway, you can just see all this coming into reality. You can feel it! I have this mental image of me just riding my bike around town endlessly looking at everything with a goofy smile on my face and never getting tired of it. That is gonna happen.
It is a very exciting time at Las Catalinas. Please do come and see. And as always, thank you for your friendship and support.
Cheers,
Charles Brewer
Managing Partner, Las Catalinas