I think some kudos are due to the 11th and 12th grade students of Calvin Christian Collegiate in Transcona, a neighborhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who have been building homes for some of Puerto Penasco's poorest families since 2005.
On March 18, 2011 the collegiate’s students will board a bus for the school's fifth mission trip to Penasco-- a 40-hour ride. Once they arrive in Penasco they will spend five days building three houses from the ground up, then they'll get back on the bus for another 40-hour ride home.
These are primarily 16- and 17-year-old kids. Don't you think that's pretty outstanding? Read all about it at the Winnipeg Free Press.
Starting a little closer to home, it's clear that I haven't been paying attention since I just recently learned that the Desert Oasis development has been closed down in its entirety for several months. About 4 miles from the center of town on the main highway, Desert Oasis has a newish hotel, a small older motel whose units are now being called "Villas", and condos that are/were for sale or rent. It also has a restaurant/bar that was quite popular with locals, as well as an RV park and storage, a couple of pools, and probably more that I can't remember right now.
There are indications that the developer (who has had a home at Las Conchas for a couple of decades) may have run into problems with local labor unions (usually that means someone(s) didn't get paid), which would not be surprising considering the contempt he often openly displayed toward the Mexicans who worked there (except for the young pretty ones, about whom he would often speak rather lasciviously when he was in his cups). It's long been an open secret that he could not keep either help or renters (or RVers) for very long, and though the place was dog-friendly (with conditions), when he was on the property he made it evident he didn't like them. It would be fair to say that though he could be charming and friendly he could also turn mean as a snake in a New York second, a trait that was not conducive to establishing pleasant long term relationships.
Still, he did a fine job of developing that property, and if properly managed it could be a great place. You can get an idea of what it looks like here: Slideshow of the Desert Oasis Resort (Note that these pics were taken before the new hotel was completed)
I wonder what really happened to close the place down? I wonder if it's for sale?
Next is a warning of sorts. There's a new resort community being peddled up Phoenix way going by the name Monte Vista. It's location appears to be on the Ejido Miramar, northeast of Rocky Point (2 ½ miles into the road that takes you towards Caborca), about a 10-minute drive from town. (Well, it's not really that new, since it's been somewhat publicized since at least 2009.)The developers/marketers are pushing this project with a "free" giveaway of lots-- if you meet the necessary conditions. Oh, and to get that "free" lot you have to pay a $6000 + fee to bring power and water to your lot. Essentially, that's a pre-sales way of getting you to pay for a "free" lot.
What are they promising? An 800-acre master planned community; model and custom-built homes, private streets, underground utilities, green belt areas, hiking and biking trails with a “state of the art” recreation club offering a swimming pool, spa, sauna, exercise workout rooms, billiard room, basketball, tennis courts and an equestrian and ATV track.
Here's a red flag from their website: "The initial development plans for zoning and planning are complete and upon final approval and issuance of building permits we will start construction operations on Phase I of our Master Planned Community scheduled for June 2010."
What's there now? Lots of sand and scrub there, no building going on, no infrastructure, no roads to speak of, no models to show, and so forth. Just another undeveloped desert landscape.
I don't know who the developers are and I'm not saying this is a scam of any kind, but considering the history of development in Puerto Penasco during the last few years I'd be real careful about investing in an undeveloped property at this time. Just sayin'...
And that's the Buzz on the Beach for today.
Peace out...
About Beach Buzz: Not necessarily the news, this is a place for information, opinion, speculation, gossip, tips and other good stuff about Rocky Point, and Mexico in general. If you have something you'd like to share, I'd like to hear from you!
Contact me at lahuerita2@gmail.com
