Life's a Beach | Expat Life in Playa del Carmen : Building, Playa del Carmen Real Estate, Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen Construction Update August 2009

Rob Kinnon — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:46:00 GMT

It seems to be kind of a slow summer in terms of construction. Lots of projects that we had been following are now completed and delivered, leaving just a handful still in the works. Still no movement at Blume and Vaiven. I'll be curious to see what happens there. We've got a new residential complex, Rincon, going up next to Rioja on the back side of Playacar Phase 2. They are working on the "entrada" but nothing really to show yet.

First up is El Taj Beachfront where we were recently treated to a lovely evening hosted by the developer to celebrate the opening of the model showroom. They are going full steam ahead here in hopes to be ready for the high season buyers. As are all the sister properties, El Taj Beachfront will be lovely and stylish with the developer's signature Balinese design elements. Plans for a beach club are in the works, complete with an onsite dive shop.

Sondokan - The Lofts is nearly completed on Avenida 10, just a few minutes from Shangrila Beach. Like all of the properties from this developer, it is sleek and chic.

By the same developer, Casa Blanca is moving along slowly as they race to complete other properties before the holidays.

Costa Fina in the center of downtown on Avenida 15, just next to Liv-Blu, has come up very quickly. Lots of glass and natural light in these units.

Doca on Avenida 10 near the stadium is just gorgeous. Notice the cool blue pool on the roof overhanging the street. The patios will all have jacuzzis! I'm looking forward to getting in to the model unit.

El Faro is till chugging along and putting on the finishing touches. They filled the pool but don't seem to have budgeted to have it maintained. Not a great impression if they are hoping to make sales. The crew at Wicky's is ready to go and just waiting for the green light from the developer. Wicky's will be catering the VIP tent this year for Taste of Playa. We are all looking forward to getting a taste of what this new restaurant will bring to Playa's culinary scene.

We have a few new hotels in the mix, the second In Fashion Hotel is going up quickly on Avenida 15, an interesting as yet unnamed hotel is moving along quickly on Avenida 1 at Calle 24 and we have finally identified the following property as Hotel Reina Roca. This one is next to Playalingua Language School on Calle 20.

For the next installment, I am going to head south to Puerto Aventuras to see what's new there. Also, I'd like to check out the progress at the new Melia being built in the north end. It looks to be mammoth!! Stay tuned.....

Grand Reception for the New Showroom at El Taj Beachfront Condominiums

Rob Kinnon — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:31:00 GMT

Tuesday evening, long time Playa del Carmen resident and the area's most recognizable developer, Jack Perlman, invited the local Real Estate community to the job site at El Taj Oceanfront Condominiums to celebrate the completion of the beautiful model showroom. Everyone is familiar with Jack's very popular residential buildings. The condominiums at Villas SacBe, Porto Playa, Maya Villa, El Taj Beachside and now El Taj Oceanfront all reflect Jack's signature style and his passion for Balinese design elements. Jack personally oversees all the details for each building project and regularly ships over containers from Indonesia loaded with fountains, architectural details, lighting fixtures, decorative accessories and furniture used to complete the image that he is so well known for. His projects are inarguably some of the best loved and most sought after in Playa del Carmen and we were excited to get inside for a sneak peak of his latest creation.

As expected, Jack was the consumate host, meeting and greeting and answering questions while the crowd enjoyed the culinary creations of Chef Roberto from Cocina 38, one of Playa del Carmen's finest restaurants. Roberto and Lisa's carefully orchestrated crew served wine and passed hors d'oeuvres which were, without question, some of the best I have ever enjoyed in Playa. Dinner was a casually elegant affair set right on the beach and illuminated by the glow of oil lamps and the setting sun. Guests helped themselves to an upscale BBQ buffet and appreciated the greatest assets of El Taj: the sugary white sand beach and the crystal blue Caribbean Sea. Jack introduced his team, described the new project for us and raffled off a host of fabulous prizes for his party guests.

Thank you Jack and everyone at Playa Associates for hosting such a lovely reception. I highly recommend a visit to Cocina 38 for more of the fresh ingredients and unique flavors that we were treated to at this event. It was truly a top notch evening.

Desirable units are still available for sale at Maya Villa and El Taj Condominiums. Please contact us today for more information and a current list of prices.

Playa del Carmen Construction Update - May/June 2009

Rob Kinnon — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:44:00 GMT

I will never cease to be surprised by the twists and turns of the development industry in Playa del Carmen. While the rest of Mexico is reeling from the whole Swine Flu debacle and most businesses are scrambling for money, it seems that Real Estate in Playa del Carmen is as hot as ever. Almost all of the projects that have sat dormant during the alleged "high season" are now back in the game with lots of movement on the work sites! This is completely unexpected and certainly a positive sign for those of us in the industry concerned about our earning potential this year. Investors take note: the drop in prices and fire-sales we have seen over the past few months may be coming to an end sooner than we anticipated! A new initiative to relax the restrictions for foreign property ownership may also drive prices up as more an more buyers flood in from the north.

Let's start with the project updates that "Life's a Beach" readers have requested:

Doca - From the developers of Akoya, Haab, Arena, Deva and Mamitas Village, this new project is getting a lot of attention from buyers who have already invested in their previous endeavors and are looking for the same top level finishes and attention to detail.

Sabbia - Moving along quickly with a lot of the exterior finishes completed and decorative woodwork being installed. The job site continues to go full on. Considering the scale of this project, the progress is dramatic.

Heliko - Just getting started a block off of Coco Beach. Not much to see just yet, but I was surprised, given the economic climate, that they had commenced building at all! This is a nicely designed and well located complex and should sell quickly.

Casa Bla nca - Working on exterior and interior finishes. If you were thinking of buying a unit here, you may be out of luck. This new intimate residence concept with just a few spacious apartments seems to have struck a chord with buyers tired of seeing the same old giant complexes with dozens of cookie cutter units.

El Faro - Still chugging along. The exterior finishes and painting appear nearly complete, but the pool remains dry. Big signs up everywhere soliciting staff for the new restaurant "Wicky's".

Acanto Condo-Hotel - Lots of action on site and moving along well. This project has such a pretty design and we are looking forward to its completion.

CostaFina - Looks to be very much in keeping with the design of Liv-Blue just next door. The advantage CostaFina will have is the width of the building. Liv-Blu has always felt a little tight inside. They are anticipating delivery in December 2009. I see no reason why they would miss that goal.

Zaphira - After months and months of inactivity, building has resumed. A small crew was on site working on the condos. Still no takers in the retail spaces.

The Building Loft II has also resumed construction. There were just a few guys on site but as least something is going on.

Kuuk Plaza or whatever they are calling it now. I am guessing that this stalled project was sold outright and is now under new ownership. An office has been set up in one of the locales and I will try to stop down again during business hours to see what's up.

In related construction news: In Fashion Hotel is now open for business.....

....and they are feeling so confident, they are building another In Fashion Hotel on the corner of Ave. 10 and calle 12.

Next to Playalingua on Calle 20, another new hotel is going up fast. The workers claim it will be called Hotel Playa del Carmen. I will try to confirm this info.

That's all for this month. I like getting all of your comments and requests, so keep them coming. Look for another update in July.

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Playa del Carmen Construction Update March 2009

Rob Kinnon — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:29:00 GMT

Better late than never, here is the most recent set of construction photos from various projects of interest going up in Playa del Carmen. While sales are definitely down from last year, I was pleasantly surprized to see that most of these job sites were a buzz with activity and moving ahead at a steady pace. The notable exceptions in this grouping are Blume and Azulea, neither of which has made any movement at all. The "Most Progess Award" goes to Acanto and El Taj Beachfront both of which seem to be moving along quickly.

Sabbia is an enormous undertaking, so sometimes it's hard to see the progress. If you look closely, you can see the masons smoothing the exterior of the buildings. It's starting to shape up nicely but because of the scope of the project, they still have a long road ahead.

Doca is the newest undertaking by the developers of Akoya, Deva, Arena and Haab, all of which have been successfully completed and delivered. Based on our personal and professional experiences with this developer, this project will be at the top of our watch list. They put out beautifully designed and well constructed projects that we are happy to present to our customers. Plus, they're just so darned nice to deal with. How refreshing.

Just down the street, there is still no movement at The Loft II. I hope they are making money on the advertizing space.

Here's a interesting project that we will be watching closely. Maanuj is an eco-friendly building designed to be as energy efficient as possible. As you can see the shell is built and the supports for the verticle gardens are being attached.

And practically next door we have Sandokan, the next offering from the developer of Lotus, Casa Blanca and The Shailly.

A block south of Constituyentes and a block from the beach, Acanto Concominiums are really starting to make some headway.

Just around the corner, Maya Villas is complete and looks gorgeous. There are just a few units remaining available. This should be a big hit for investors looking for vacation rental income.

A few blocks away, down on the beach, the same development/design team is building El Taj Beachfront. This project has really jumped up in the past few months and no doubt, they are shooting for delivery before next high season. With a much grander scale, El Taj will be even more stunning than Maya Villas when it is complete.

Ooops. How did this beach shot slide in there? ;)

Work on the edifices for El Faro continues while a suspension has been placed on the imposing wooden boardwalk. Today was a windy one and the waves came within just two meters of the structure. Sunbathers braved the blustery weather in a single file line down the beach.

I'm surprized they didn't just knock it down to get the view.

A quick stroll down the beach and up Calle 6 brings us to the future sight of Azulea. No progress to report here, I'm afraid. Investors loking for a property that will bring returns in the next holiday season must look elsewhere, I'm afraid. When this project is completed, it's location and attractive design is sure to attract vacation renters in the thousands.

If you are looking for a real bargain, something you can buy and move into today or start accruing rental income on immediately, Only four blocks from the beach, in the heart of downtown, Encanto is the best deal in Playa right now. With spacious, airy two bedrooms starting at just $144K, the remaining units will not last long.

Well, that's all for this edition. We'll be back in May to check in on the progress being made around town. As always, I am happy to take requests for updated construction photos. If you have any questions about the properties shown above or if you are curious about current investment opportunities, visit our website www.BuyPlaya.com or call Rob's U.S. skype line directly at 518-632-1116.

Playa del Carmen Construction Update - January 2009

Rob Kinnon — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:30:00 GMT

We are back from a short holiday break with a fairly extensive update of the various residential construction projects going on in and around Playa del Carmen. The economic slump in the U.S. is definitely having an effect on the sales climate down here. Last year, at this time, we were selling luxury beachfront condos hand over fist. This year, the Buyers are still here, they have just tightened their spending belts. Developers with projects in the range of $200K - $300K are seeing the bulk of the action. So, it's good news for some, not so good for others. Many projects are reaching completion. Others are delayed. It seems that a few have come to a complete standstill. People are definitely starting to see the value in smaller boutique properties set off of the beach a few blocks. Let's take a look at what's going on in Playa: the good, the bad and the ugly.

First up is Papaya, now 100% complete and making deliveries. This is a smaller complex right in the middle of downtown Playa del Carmen, just 4 blocks from the beach. The interior finishes are clean and modern. The project features a pretty lap pool surrounded by tropical plants and a large jacuzzi on the roof overlooking Playa and out to the Caribbean.

Habita is 100% complete and nearly sold out. Very modern, almost minimalistic in style, this project is chic yet inexpensive. Located in the north end, 6 blocks off of the beach, this well priced building is ahead of the curve for this up and coming neighborhood, assuring good appreciation.

Casa del Mar at Coco Beach is getting its finishing touches. The exterior looks great, the landscaping is in and taking hold and all of the streets surrounding this and The Elements are now laid with pavers. They are close to delivery.

The Lotus will be the next project to reach completion from one of Playa del Carmen's most prolific developers. Each project, undeniably, is unique and always a departure from the norm. His attention to detail and his use of unusual materials make each property stand out from the crowd. We did a full tour of Lotus this week and were really impressed with the most of units. The ground level two bedroom we found dark and a bit claustrophobic in comparison to the other spacious airy apartments. The pool is still being completed as well as the water/element on the second level. The worksite was abuzz with activity, everyone hurrying to get this one buttoned up. A sign of the times, two of the 10 units (including the ground level flat) are up for re-sale at a steep discount from a Buyer who needs to liquidate quickly. This could be an excellent opportunity to buy a nearly completed unit at less than pre-sale prices! Contact us for details on this one.

Next up is Haab, another stylish, well made project from one of Playa's well reputed developers. The popular Coco Beach/Shangri La location paired with reasonable pricing has brought a lot of Buyers to their door. The unusual lines and materials used on the exterior, really make you stop and look twice. They are planning to be complete in 5 weeks. Sorry about the sketchy "sign-blurring". A girl's gotta make a living.

Next up, we've got Casa Blanca, a complete departure from the current norm in Playa. Rather than trying to cram in as many small units as possible into a project, the developer has chosen to build an in city "townhouse" with just four luxury residences, one per floor. The units will have a whopping 135 m2 (nearly 1500 sqft.) of interior space, practically unheard of in this market and at this price point. With large parcels in town getting harder and harder to come by, expect to see more and more of these smaller, more exclusive "townhouses" being built. Good news to those of us who would hate to see whole neighborhoods (and worse yet, previously protected green spaces) obliterated to make room for another giant condo complex.

It seems no Construction Update would be complete without a mention of Azul Fives. However, with many Buyers now taking delivery and the resort due to be officially open in February, this may be one of our last photo updates. The new lobby and reception area is complete and lovely. The majority of the units have been completed and are being furnished and outfitted for occupancy. The beach club is almost done. The kids club area is complete. The tennis courts are in. The finishing touches and final plumbing is being done on the pool bars. At the beach club, the large infinity pool is beautiful and the one full service restaurant that is currently open is pretty, the food tasty and nicely presented. The staff are very definitely still working through the training phase to get up to Karisma's exacting standards. The other restaurants are working steadily toward completion however, it appears the majority of the work force is concentrating their efforts on the enormous spa. The Buyers we toured the site with this week were very pleased with the progress and excited about their investment. You can expect to see more pictures of the beach club in upcoming entries. It will be open to the public and you can be sure, we will be back!

OK, now let's move on to some of the projects that seem to have lost stream or halted construction all-together. I don't imagine this is going to make me very popular with several developers. Sorry guys. I promise to be back when they're well under way and looking beautiful!

Blume. We love the innovative designs they have proposed, but so far, all we have is a bad water feature to show.

The Loft II has been temporarily delayed, construction halted. A victim of these new, more tentative market conditions, the developer still has unsold units in The Loft I.

Zaphira appears to be dead in the water. It has been months since I have seen any activity on the job site. Today, I noted that the sales van was gone and the only signage was for rental of the commercial spaces. It appears one had found a tenant as they were working inside when I came by. No work was being done on the rest of the units. Too bad. This great 5th Avenue location, next to the famous Cueva del Chango and just a few moments from Shangri La beach should have made it a homerun!

Well, that's about enough for this month. As always, I am happy to go out and drive around taking pictures on request. Feel free to send me an email or just leave a comment on the blog. I hope all of you have had a Happy Holiday season with your families and friends. Let's all look forward to an exciting and economically prosperous 2009!!

Playa del Carmen Construction Update - November 2008

Rob Kinnon — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

The high season for vacation rentals is nearly upon us and several developers are putting the finishing touches on their projects while some seem to be a bit behind. This entry should be of as much interest to those of you who have booked one of these condominiums for your holiday vacation as to those of you who have invested in these properties. Some of you have asked why we show some of the same properties in every installment. The reason is two-fold. First we show the properties where many of our customers have invested. The other properties are shown by request from our readers. If there is a project you would like to see represented in these updates, just let me know!

The star of the show this year, Azul Fives in Xcalacoco, is exceding all expectations. We toured the property again this week with Buyers looking to pick up an additional unit and we were just blown away. Take a look for yourself! Are we looking forward to Phase 2 of this resort project? Yes, yes we are.

Akoya, in the Pakal enclave of Playacar Phase 2, has reached completion and looks great inside and out. This is a developer we have been very pleased with and will follow with interest in the future. The quality of the finished product is excellent and the level of professionalism shown by their sales and administrative teams is refreshing.

Several downtown projects by the Akoya developer are coming together quickly in the Shangrila/Coco Beach area of Playa del Carmen. Haab, Deva and Arena are all either complete or close to completion. Well priced units are still available.

Deva Condominiums

Haab Condominiums

Arena

Just a few hundred meters away, right on Playa del Carmen's beautiful Coco Beach, The Elements and Casa del Mar are also nearing completion, putting finishing touches on exterior elements, pools and landscaping.

The Elements on Coco Beach

Casa del Mar on Coco Beach

From the same developer as Casa del Mar, Rioja is a reasonably priced residencial development at the quiet, far side of Playacar Phase 2. It is a mix of townhomes and condominiums. This is a nice option for a young family making the move to Playa del Carmen. The area is safe and quiet yet just a few minutes drive to downtown Playa and the beach!

And finally, by request, El Faro Condominiums in downtown Playa del Carmen. It seems they have completed many of the units in some sections but parts of the complex remain unfinished. Fingers crossed, the common areas will be completed and any heavy (loud) construction will be done by the Christmas/New Years holidays.

So there you have it. This is where we are in mid-November 2008. What would you like to see for the next update?

Construction Update - September 2008

Rob Kinnon — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:04:00 GMT

In anticipation of high season and the promised delivery dates of many projects, builders have been kicking it into overdrive to meet their deadlines. Lots of progress to show in this photo report. As always, click on the name of the project to see even more current photos, specific sales and pricing information.

The Elements - Last year's biggest seller is feeling the pressure from the U.S. economic slump. Sales have slowed but the well funded developer is pressing ahead and they are on schedule to deliver in time for this high season. This property promises to be a very popular vacation rental option.

Casa del Mar , also located on Coco beach, just south of the Elements, is also moving along well.

Deva - Chunky on the outside, cool and funky on the inside. This well priced property is just a few moments walk from Coco Beach and is selling well. We were very impressed with the units and the view from the rooftop infinity pool is lovely.

Arena is just next door to Deva and nearly complete.

Haab - Moving along quickly this stylish project has been very popular this year.

Akoya - This well priced, attractive project in the desirable gated neighborhood, Pakal, is nearing completion. With its golf course location and a membership to the exclusive Hacienda Real Club and Spa to sweeten the deal, these condos have been moving quickly.

Azul Fives is this year's big winner and already booking up for the winter holidays. Lucky investors who got in at the first round of pricing are looking forward to taking delivery. There are still a few well-priced units to be had. With the residences and pools almost completed, construction is now well underway on the resort's beach club and restaurants.

That's all for now. Keep emailing me your requests and we will do our best to get around to them all!