conquestkm
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Going for the green
Reprnt of article
Going for the green
Tiger Woods backs residential golf resort planned for Baja, but
potential effect on the environment brings out critics
By Jose Luis Jiménez
STAFF WRITER
2:00 a.m. February 8, 2009
Rock outcroppings frame the view toward Islas de Todos Santos in the
Pacific Ocean; sea lions play in the clear blue water; caves shelter
the shells left by indigenous people who roamed the area hundreds of
years ago.
Even as worldwide economic troubles continue to mount, the property
near Ensenada is expected to join the development trend this summer
as work begins to transform it into a golf course designed by Tiger
Woods. Punta Brava, the developers say, will be breathtaking.
But unless you have at least $3 million to buy an estate home site or
a villa, don't bother calling for a tee time when the ultra-private
course opens, scheduled for 2011. Only homeowners and their guests
will be allowed to play it.
Some real estate experts question the wisdom of developing a high-
priced golf club in the midst of a slumping global economy. It is
also in an area known more for spring breakers and retired U.S.
expats than as an exclusive tourist destination. In addition, a high
level of violent crime in Mexico, mainly fueled by drug gangs, has
made headlines in the United States and across the world.
Local environmentalists also are concerned about the potential damage
that could be done to the coastal environment by the introduction of
non-native grass and the chemicals needed to keep it green.
Texas-based developer Brady Oman pledges nothing will reach the
ocean, except for a few errant golf shots. In a recent interview,
Oman said the company is committed to keeping the $100 million
project as environmentally friendly as possible.
He also said the development is fully financed, thanks to the deep
pockets of Red McCombs, who co-founded media giant Clear Channel
Communications.
And he expects well-to-do golf lovers will be lining up to purchase
property so they can play on only the third course designed by Woods.
Developers say that with water on three sides and a 1,200-foot peak
at the entry to the project, the location is secure.
"We are really confident because of the site, the team of developers
and the proximity to Southern California," Oman said. "The site is a
once-in-a-lifetime site."
Oman, who has developed golf-and-housing projects in Texas, started
scouting the peninsula several years ago. Another member of the
development team found the site in 2006, near the famous La Bufadora
sea geyser and about 10 miles west of Highway 1, the main north-south
route in Baja California. An Ensenada family that planned to use the
300 acres for retreats sold the property and got a five-acre estate
on the site.
Next was getting the partners on board. Woods visited the site in
2007, committed to the development and stopped by again after his
dramatic U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines last summer.
With Woods on board, Oman said it was easy to get McCombs to back the
deal. After the announcement of the project at a Beverly Hills hotel
in October, a sales office was opened in downtown San Diego. A
helicopter is available to fly potential buyers to the property,
where the par-70 golf course is staked out, along with the locations
of the clubhouse, spa and an ocean club with a pool.
So far, 12 people have committed to purchasing at the development,
including Woods himself. A total of 40 estate home sites and 100
villas will be sold. Owners will have the opportunity to hosts guests
at 20 of the villas; the exact arrangements are being worked out,
according to the developers.
Approximately 750 people will be employed during the construction
phase, with 200 permanent jobs afterward. Potable water will be
provided by a desalination plant, and irrigation water will drain
into retention ponds, which will then be recycled through a treatment
plant, Oman said.
"Nothing goes into the ocean," Oman said.
While local environmentalists applaud the steps taken to lessen the
environmental impacts, the immediate surroundings will be affected,
said Juan Manuel Rodríguez, who heads the department of urban and
environmental studies at Colegio de la Frontera Norte, or COLEF, a
Tijuana-area think tank.
Manuel, who attended the public hearing for the project last month
before Mexico's environmental agency, cited three areas of concern.
The first is the adverse impact that earth moving and grading would
have on the animals and plants that inhabit the site and nearby
waters. Next, the area is a "dry coastal zone," and introducing lots
of water and chemicals would change the indigenous vegetation.
Lastly, dumping the highly concentrated salt residue produced by
desalination plants into the ocean could harm the sea plants and
creatures near the outfall.
"Little by little, the grass on the golf course will invade the
indigenous coastal vegetation," Manuel said. "What the people of
Ensenada want is that the beautiful coastal views and access to the
surrounding waters be preserved."
The development along northern Baja California's Pacific coast is
turning it into an extension of urban Southern California, said
Horacio de la Cueva, a specialist in biological conservation with
CICESE, a scientific think tank near Ensenada.
"One of the things Baja California has to offer is natural beauty.
And many people are willing to pay to enjoy that experience," he
said.
Golf courses are not environmentally friendly, but instead "green
asphalt," de la Cueva said.
"Once they destroy the landscape, it will never return."
With only 120 properties for sale, the developers have little
inventory to sell compared with other golf course developments. But
high prices, comparable to ocean-view properties in La Jolla, could
make it a difficult sale in what many economists call a worldwide
recession that may last for years, said Leonard Baron, a lecturer at
SDSU's business school.
The local real estate expert also questions the location near
Ensenada, which is not known as a world-class tourist spot, like Cabo
San Lucas to the south. Recent headlines about violence in Mexico
also may make people question whether it is a wise investment.
There is also the larger issue of buying property in a foreign
country and being subject to its laws.
"You're trying to create a place for people to go to that they
wouldn't traditionally go to," Baron said. "Do I want to live in such
a remote area? What is the long-term viability? Those may be
questions potential buyers are asking."
Oman said the property title is clear and title insurance will be
offered through a U.S. company.
Further, the Mexican government has adopted reforms to real estate
laws to avoid the nightmare scenarios some Americans have experienced
in the region, said Oscar Escobedo, Baja California's tourism
secretary.
In 2000, more than 200 U.S. citizens at Punta Banda, which is a few
miles from the Punta Brava site, were evicted after being caught in
the middle of a coastal property dispute between a communal
landholding group and private owners. They were forcibly removed from
their homes when the land was restored to the private landowners.
The secretary said he is well aware of the tough economic climate. He
noted that 18 developments between Tijuana and Ensenada have been
halted for financial reasons.
But Escobedo said he is confident Punta Brava, which is expected to
be permitted within a few weeks, will succeed and bring a new class
of high-end tourism to the region as owners invite friends and
business partners to play golf. He said he believes the current crime
wave, which his office has blamed for as much as a 70 percent drop in
visitors across the Mexican state, will pass and that tourism will
rebound. "This golf course has the potential of putting Baja
California on the map as a worldwide golf destination," Escobedo said
in an interview. "I don't see the current violence having a long-term
impact. This is not the first time, nor the last, that Mexico goes
through a crisis."
Conquestkm
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BajaGringo
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This is a duplicate post of another thread already started
[Edited on 2-9-2009 by BajaGringo]
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BajaNomad
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http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=34425
[Edited on 2-9-2009 by BajaNomad]
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