President Vicente Fox Quesada celebrated the inauguration of Marina Costa Baja, a beachfront resort community, on September 26. . On the edge of the Sea of Cortez, it has two state-of-the-art marinas with 250 prime slips for 30 to 250 ft. crafts, managed by well-regarded Bellport of Newport Beach, California. A lively marina village with restaurants, outdoor cafés, and charming boutiques is almost fully leased and provides lots of choices for both homeowners and visitors.  Luxury villas and condos overlook one of three white sand beaches. Models are open and many homes are move-in ready. Sales are soon to begin on hillside homes and lots with panoramic bay-views. A new on-site 120-room Fiesta Inn makes it easy to come for a visit to explore. Mexico-City-based Parque Reforma, whose founder was noted environmentalist Manuel Arango, is the developer of Marina Costa Baja.  Prudential California Realty is handling the condo sales, with prices starting at under $200,000. Baby-boomers, young families, and investors are quickly snatching up these great buys. RNM Design of Newport Beach, California is designing the master plan for the next phase of 100 hill top residential lots.

Paradise of the Sea is a resort on the El Megote Peninsula, which expects to complete an 18-hole Arthur Hills design.  Accessible by a 5-minute ferryboat ride across the Bay of La Paz, the resort has city-light views of the mainland from many locations.  Luis Cano, who owns Gravi Constructora a large building firm in Cabo, and John Fair, the Denver-based developer of Auberge at Esperanza in Cabo San Lucas, are heading up the project.  With the recently obtained Audubon International stamp of approval, the development expects construction to begin on its first phase of a total of 458 2- and 3-bedroom condominiums, and 294 luxury 2- and 3-bedroom casas in November 2005. 

In anticipation of the area�s growth, legendary and charming Hotel La Concha, the only hotel actually located directly on the beach, is renovating its 100 guest rooms, lobby, restaurant, and 4,000+ Sq. Ft. conference center. Owner-partners, Kaveh Lahijani and Safi Mirsaeavi, mentioned that they are considering building two condominium towers of 35 units each on the 3 acres adjacent to the hotel. 

Punta Colorada, a scenic peninsula with 640-acres and plans for a championship Robert von Hagge golf course with spectacular view holes, 350 single-family homes, a hotel, and 300 condo units, has been approved.  Three adjacent companion parcels with additional potential golf courses, home sites, and hotel pads, will bring this total area to over 4,660 acres, estimated at $1 billion upon completion. Prudential California Realty is representing the owners to subdivide and sell off some of the  parcels.
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Punta Colorada Peninsula

Puntas Arenas

Last but not least, Bahia de los Sueños (Bay of Dreams), a 4,300-acre resort development 45 minutes south of town, began construction three years ago with low-density beachfront estates and The Giggling Marlin Beach Club, named by the owner of the popular restaurant with the same name in Cabo San Lucas.  Prudential California Realty CEO Steve Games, and his partner, Gary Wagner, have signed Tom Doak as the golf architect for the project�s 18-hole golf course and a 6-hole �barefoot� golf course for family and informal play.  The hot golf architect also designed Pacific Dunes in Oregon, ranked one of America�s top courses by GOLF MAGAZINE, GOLF DIGEST, and GOLFWEEK.  Additionally, Bahia de los Sueños has hired the same team that designed and built the famed Las Ventanas al Paraíso hotel in Cabo San Lucas.

  Fabiola Thébaud-Kinder 
Contributing Editor
Golf Publishing International, Inc.
Tel: (949) 246-2327