U.S. Firms Developing in Costa Rica
October 25, 2006
By Katie Gerfen
This morning, the Fort Meyers, Fla.-based Jack Parker Corp. announced plans to develop a mixed-use community in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica. The project, called Pacifico (pictured), will feature a gated residential community and adjacent commercial center and will be located on 175 acres along the country's northwest coast.
The residential community will include 350 condominiums, town homes and villas, and 150 single-family home sites. 20 rental apartments will also be available. Residents will also have membership at a beach club also planned for the site.
The Jack Parker Corp. is a privately owned real estate development company that has been practicing for over 50 years. With offices in New York, California and Florida, the company has been involved in high profile residential developments as well as hotels and other commercial projects.
It was also announced today that just down the coast, in Golfito, nestled in the Golfe Dolce Bay, the Bahia Escondida development has officially begun construction. Great American Capital, the Las Vegas-based development company behind the successful project, announced that the site clearing process has begun for the first phase of the $350 million project, which includes 75 condominiums, retail, a spa, yacht club and marina.
Groundbreaking on the first of the structures is set for December, and the marina, featuring 86 slips, is expected to open by the end of next year. More construction phases will follow, and the development will eventually include waterfront residences, 217 slips and 400 hotel and condo units.
From Commercial Property News
http://www.cpnonline.com/cpn/property_type/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003314916
Bahia Escondida Construction Underway
GOLFITO, Costa Rica, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The developers of Bahia Escondida today announced construction officially is underway on its master planned residential, resort and marina destination situated on Costa Rica's Golfe Dolce Bay in the famed resort town of Golfito. The first phase of the $350 million project will include 75 condominium units, the most complete state-of-the-art marina on the country's idyllic Pacific coast and a charming bayside village complete with boutique shops, bayside restaurants, yacht club, spa, pools and more.
Construction crews currently are clearing the site and soon will deliver backfill materials in preparation of a planned December groundbreaking. The initial phase of the marina, which will include 86 slips, is scheduled for completion in December 2007. The condominium units and village are slated for a late 2008 completion.
"It's incredible to begin watching our dream transform from concept to reality," said developer Jim Lynskey, a Miami native, who is partnering with Las Vegas-based Great American Capital to create Bahia Escondida. "This is one of the most magnificent locations in the world and we are excited to launch construction of our one-of-a-kind development."
Priced from $300,000 to $800,000, Bahia Escondida offers one-, two- and three-bedroom waterfront residences surrounded by picturesque views of Costa Rica's native rainforest and towering mountains. The low-rise buildings will be integrated within the unique Plantation Victorian-style village creating the quintessential destination for those seeking luxurious amenities in a laid back lifestyle. Marina slips ranging in size from 50 to 150 feet are priced from the mid $100,000s and will include golf cart concierge service and a high-speed fuel dock.
Merging miles of picturesque beaches, national parks, rain forests and world-class fishing, Golfito is nestled within the heart of one of the most bio-diverse locations on the planet. National Geographic Traveler, Costa Rica states, "The surrounding area of Golfito (Corcovado National Park) has been labeled 'The Crown Jewel of Rain Forests.'" The guide indicates about one- tenth of all mammal species in the Americas live in the park, including Costa Rica's largest population of Scarlet Macaws and Toucans and such endangered species as the Spider Monkey. It also is one of the few places in the country where sightings of jaguars and other big cats are common.
The area's safe, natural harbor is located within the closest sheltered bay to the Panama Canal and has long attracted mega yacht cruisers, avid sports fishermen and luxury eco-travelers. Expert surfers also flock to Golfito, where nearby Pavones is "legendary for what is ostensibly the longest surf ride in the world," according to National Geographic Traveler, Costa Rica.
Now, Bahia Escondia is also luring vacation homebuyers and real estate investors to this tiny town on Costa Rica's inviting South Pacific coast.
"Initial buyer response to the condominiums and marina slips was overwhelming," said Phil Perko, president of Digital Capital International Sales Group, the project's exclusive sales representative. "That led us to redesign Phase I in order to include additional residences."
As the home to Chiquita Banana, Golfito enjoyed a magnificent heyday during much of the 20th Century. The city remains a paradise for fishermen and eco-travelers, and Lynskey expects Bahia Escondida will create hundreds of jobs and lead to a significant boom in the area's tourism industry.
"Golfito is a wonderful town and we are honored and thrilled that Bahia Escondida will help lead its rebirth and revitalization," said Mayor Aida Soto. "The project will provide a tremendous future for the entire area. We look forward to visitors from various cultures around the world coming to Golfito and sharing and enjoying our beautiful waterfalls and mountains."
Jim Lynskey is a pioneering developer with more than twenty years of experience creating resorts and real estate projects throughout Caribbean and Costa Rica.
Great American Capital is a fully diversified real estate development company experienced in all facets of development including land acquisition, site design, entitlements, construction, leasing, and property management. In addition to building more than 2.5 million square feet in retail and office space, Great American provides investment capital to joint-venture partnerships developing mixed-use projects.
When complete, Bahia Escondida will feature 217 marina slips and approximately 400 hotel and condominium units. Phase II is scheduled for introduction in 3rd quarter of 2007.
Bahia Escondida is accessible via daily commercial flights into Golfito from San Jose, Costa Rica. Coral Gables, Fla.-based OBM International is the project architect.
Bahia Escondida
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,10334.shtml
New Costa Rican Exchange System Begins Today
New Exchange System Begins TodayBeginning today there is a new exchange rate system in Costa Rica, as the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) - Central Bank - announced last Friday evening that individual banks would be allowed to set their own exchange rate within a range of low and high, known in Spanish as "bandas cambiarias".
The opening floor of the exchange rate of the Colon to the U.S. dollar was set by the Central Bank this morning at ¢514.78 and the ceiling at ¢530.22. Individual banks - both state and private - and financial institutions can offer an exchange rate between the floor and ceiling, which will be posted on the Central Bank's website for consumers to compare.
The Central Bank, in an attempt to avoid confusion has also established a "reference rate" that can be used as a guide for currency exchange transactions, like paying a dollar rent in colones or vice versa.
The "reference rate" is the same as the closing exchange rate on Friday: buy is at ¢521.12 and sell at ¢523.39.
The Central Bank is not setting the exchange rate, allowing financial institutions to set their own rate within the range. Each financial institution will be required to report their rates to the Central Bank within 10 minutes of any changes.
The move, according to Francisco de Paula Gutierrez, president of the Central Bank, is to reduce inflation as that Central Bank is in deep debt caused by its policy of shoring up the colon against the dollar. The bank has spend millions of dollars per year on the mini-devaluations over the last tow decades since the policy was instituted.
Costa Rica president Oscar Arias said on Saturday that he is pleased with the decision of the Central Bank's board of directors to finally implement the free market exchange rate, adding that the move is will help the economic situation in Costa Rica as inflation is lowered and less dependency on dollarization.
What the change means in real terms is that before making an exchange currency one has to consult the Central Bank's website to compare the rates offered by the various institutions.
The Central Bank will monitor the exchange rate situation and says it will adjust the high and low limits depending on the marker conditions, allowing individual financial institutions to adjust their rates up and down as the market conditions change.
The rate, according to the experts, will be determined by the amount of dollars in the market place.
For example, if there are too many dollars available and there is no demand, the financial institutions will keep the exchange rate close to the low end of the range, as they will be forced to sell back to the Central Bank at the low end. However, if there is a high demand for dollars and little supply of the currency, the rate will be on the high end and will increase with the market conditions.
The colon could easily reach a high of ¢600 by the years end, much higher that if the Central Bank were continuing with its mini-devaluation policies.
The Central Bank says that the change is temporary, that is it could be changed at any time.
However, it is important to note that the last monetary policy lasted 22 years. As of 8:00am this morning none of the financial institutions had posted their rates, however, they are expected during the day.
Click here for the exchange rate posted by the individual banks
Fitch Revises Costa Rica's Rating Outlook to Stable
Fitch Ratings has revised the Rating Outlook on Costa Rica's foreign currency and local currency
Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of 'BB' and 'BB+' respectively, to Stable from Negative. Fitch also affirms Costa Rica's country ceiling at 'BB+'. 'The revision in the Rating Outlook reflects the improvement in Costa Rica's fiscal balances over the past two years, an appreciable decline in its government debt burden, and a further improvement in its external solvency and liquidity ratios,' said Shelly Shetty, Senior Director at Fitch.
The revision in Outlook also takes into account the greater economic dynamism of Costa Rica, with its growth expected to reach close to 7% in 2006 driven by expansion in the tourism, construction, mobile telecommunication and other export-oriented industries. In addition, while Fitch remains concerned about the Costa Rican banking sector, the recent foreign acquisition of large local private banks is likely to reduce risks associated with their offshore banking activities and improve the technical and risk management capabilities of these banks.
Finally, Costa Rica's relatively mature democratic institutions and political stability are among its chief credit strengths, setting it apart from other countries in this rating category. Even without a tax-enhancing fiscal reform, the government has been gradually tightening its fiscal belt since 2004, with the 2005 fiscal performance surpassing most expectations. In 2005, the central government fiscal deficit declined to 2.1% of GDP from 2.7% in 2004, reflecting the success of tax administrative measures as well as tight control over both current and capital expenditures. More impressively, fiscal consolidation has been embraced by all the levels in public sector, with the social security institute increasing is surplus and ICE (the state electricity and telecom monopoly) running a balanced position.
Lower fiscal deficits and a strong growth have led to a decline in the general government debt from 51% of GDP in 2002 to 46% in 2005, which is in line with the 'BB' median.Over the past three years, external solvency and liquidity ratios have also improved due to both robust CXR growth and increases in international reserves. Net external debt fell from 45% of CXR in 2002 to 29% in 2005, and is below the 'BB' median. More impressively, the net public external debt has declined from 16% of CXR in 2002 to 5% in 2005, which is also below the 'BB' median of 24%.
While Costa Rica's current account deficit remains large, strong FDI flows financed over 90% of the current account deficit in 2005 and are expected to finance 80% of the deficits in the coming two years, thereby reducing the external vulnerability of Costa Rica. Robust inflow of FDI has not only fuelled investment growth, it has also bolstered the diversity of Costa Rica's export base (the commodity dependence of Costa Rica is 35%), and improved the resilience of the country to deal with the oil price shock. On the negative side of the ledger, Costa Rica has suffered from reform inertia due to its fractious Congress, and cumbersome legislative rules that prevent early passage of legislation.For example, while most of the other countries in Central America have implemented CAFTA, the Costa Rican Congress has not even approved the treaty. The approval of the treaty is necessary for Costa Rica to integrate further with its main trading partners and to encourage a greater inflow of FDI. However, some political parties and the unions remain opposed to opening the state monopolies and implementing CAFTA, which could make the approval of CAFTA fairly contentious and a long-drawn process.
Costa Rica's other credit weaknesses include its high inflation rate, continued structural weaknesses in its public finances, and a weak banking sector. In Fitch's view, tax-enhancing measures need to be implemented in order to sustain the fiscal consolidation process, accommodate the rising spending pressures and to recapitalize the central bank. However, the political parties in Congress are divided on tax policy, making it difficult to predict which of the tax bills submitted by the Arias government will be passed. Fitch notes that the central bank's intention to move toward the exchange rate bands system from the crawling peg regime in the coming months could improve its ability to implement monetary policy. Yet, the recapitalization of the central bank is a prerequisite for the institution to fight inflation more aggressively and to further liberalize the exchange rate regime and adopt inflation targeting.
Fitch's concern regarding the Costa Rican banking sector relate to its high incidence of state ownership, widespread dollarization, and the presence of a largely unsupervised off-shore banking system. Fitch will continue to monitor the progress made by the Arias administration in advancing its reform agenda. Further improvements in Costa Rica's creditworthiness would depend on the ability of the government to increase its tax base, recapitalize the central bank and implement CAFTA.
Investment Experts Point to Costa Rica Real Estate
Guru's are pointing to Costa Rica real estate for big returns on investment, especially in the resale or development in large plots of land.
(PRWEB) October 6, 2006 -- With the United States housing market weakening, financial gurus are advising their clients to look at the tiny Central American country of Costa Rica to earn returns on real estate investments. Costa Rica has used its educated populace and unparalleled beauty to attract investors and end-users when retirement portfolios are not deep enough to sustain a desired lifestyle in popular destinations like Florida and California.
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.costaricaboard.com/" alt="Link to website">The presence of major players like the Four Seasons and J.W. Marriot indicates that clearly the area is exploding, and anyone in position to get in the game at the development level, should take a serious look at this area
Once raw and undeveloped, Costa Rica is quickly becoming a popular destination for people of all backgrounds to invest, live, and retire. American retirees continue to seek a peaceful address without ultra-high prices, and investors find Costa Rica real estate as a great investment vehicle in addition to being a fun destination to spend free time.
Large commercial real estate brokers in the United States are masterminding investment strategies for their clients with Costa Rica in mind. Giant tracts of land, such as the 7,000 hectare (18,000 acres), ocean view plot in Guanacaste, listed exclusively with EstateRealty.com, are hard to come by. "We showcase land deals that are permitted for development, knowing that investors prefer something that is ready to go, rather than simply a proposal which could face years of red tape on the way to approval," said Tim Schmidt, of EstateRealty.com. One of several exclusive land listings in EstateRealty.com’s database of development projects, land deals like the aforementioned, are becoming logical purchases for forward-minded investment groups.
Often times, multi-million dollar land parcels are transformed into the region’s most attractive housing communities. These communities reap massive rewards for the principals.The province of Guanacaste, in the northwest corner of Costa Rica’s pacific coast, already boasts a flagship Four Seasons Resort Hotel and has plans for a J.W. Marriot as well.
"The presence of major players like the Four Seasons and J.W. Marriot indicates that clearly the area is exploding, and anyone in position to get in the game at the development level, should take a serious look at this area" said Brad Markin, land owner and co-founder of EstateRealty.com. Although Costa Rica may be considered rural by many people’s standards, the few remaining large tracts of land for sale with development potential are proving themselves to be goldmines. In summary, anyone who is building a real estate portfolio should act soon, before it’s too late.
Innovative Real Estate Investments Announces its Decision to go Public and Expand its Business Operations
Growing property developer announces its expansion plans into the new trend of multi-use, multi-functional development communities
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) October 2, 2006 -- Innovative Real Estate Investments, LLC [IREI] today announced the signing of an investment banking / business consulting agreement with The Seven Investment Group [TSIG] as part of the company’s expansion plans; the company will further penetrate the market in the business of providing real estate and property management services for individuals interested in achieving financial security by taking advantage of real estate investment opportunities across the globe. Part of the IREI portfolio of services is in the offering of opportunities to educate consumers in the areas of real estate investment, financing and property management.Hawaii Multi-Functional Development Community One project at the forefront of the IREI development plans are a multi-home, multi-functional development community in Kona, Hawaii. The investment banking agreement signed provides for the promulgation of required funding for this project in the amount of $352 million which will be provided by TSIG.
The money will be allocated to take care of all the requirements, including total $28 million for 1,153 acres of land and $323 million for community construction: semi-custom homes, mixed used projects, condominiums, town homes, retirement living (1,358 total units), community parks, recreational centers, restaurants, performing arts theaters and community access roads.Todd Kitchens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, ''We were pleased to have closed this transaction with The Seven Investment Group. We feel this is the right strategy for our company, providing our current investors with the opportunity of an exit strategy by taking our company public and offering our development and real estate investment activities to the public markets.'' Real Estate Development Activity As part of its core competency, IREI has a turnkey Real Estate Investment system for short and long term investors, including providing seminars which is formulated as client education on real estate savvy investing. The main substance of these seminars is in Business Entities Structuring (owning multiple income producing properties).
IREI is also involved in Property Management (lease options, rentals, vacation rentals, time shares as investment properties) and Financial Planning Services (real estate retirement plans, portfolio plans disposable investments etc. “One of the strengths and capabilities of our core service is that we guarantee sales (no speculative sales) through a proprietary business process that allows us to generate sales at current or higher values without ever underselling,” says Kitchens. “Our real estate investment system is effective whether the market is up or down and can not only financially boost economies but provide the proverbial ‘American Dream’ of home ownership for people in the communities in which we invest.”
Financing Activity In the last 30 days, Innovative Real Estate has completed 3 investment transactions and is on track to close 10 other transactions which includes fixed-rate financing and variable rate construction loans. The Seven Investment Group SEC counsel has begun preparation of all necessary documents for filing with the SEC once all paperwork is completed IREI will begin the process of going public.Geno Brunton, Managing Partner of The Seven Investment Group, believes, “Wall Street is more weary of intangible companies that ever before. It is evident in what investors and investment bankers are willing to support for the long term. ‘Bricks & Mortar’ companies like IREI are exactly what investors are looking for in long term, solid investments. I see a bright future for this young company and being privy to their long term plan allows us to get a glimpse of their potential.”
About TSIG
The Seven Investment Group is a private investment banking firm that provides integrated business solutions and consultation to private and public companies, orchestrating strategic partnerships, distribution deal memos and financing relationships. From the writing of business plans to advice on strategic growth and capitalization strategies to the implementation of funding and investment vehicles, reverse mergers and acquisitions, TSIG provides a comprehensive array of services to growing corporations. Visit: www.tsig.org About IREIInnovative Real Estate Investments, LLC began its operation in June 2004. Headquartered in the City of Las Vegas in the State of Nevada, its operations expands locally within the United States and Internationally.Once development in Hawaii has begun, IREI will roll forward as a $300 million real estate company and will initially look be listed on the NASDAQ OTCBB with a later bid for a NASDAQ or AMEX listing. The Company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, acquisition and management of commercial and residential real estate throughout the United States.
The company has targeted property development deals in the retail, residential, office and hotel sectors in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston, Tucson, Detroit, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Mexico and Costa Rica.
Contact:
The BCC Group, Irvine
Michael Firewalker,
www.thebccgroup.net
