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Greetings,
I have no association with the Canto Ballena development and don’t know anything specific about it, but am very familiar with it’s *LOCATION,* Uvita, as I have family members living there whom I visit every year. I thought that fellow VIP members might like to know more about the area, as the recent articles don’t really get into the details. There are many good reasons to invest in real estate there, which is the reason for this post. There are still some relative bargains there also, especially if you are willing to travel there and spend time hunting around, and amazingly so if you build yourself.
FYI – I am not a real estate developer in CR, but do own an acre of land in Uvita. It’s not for sale 😉 My wife and I do not live in CR, but perhaps will be able to in the future.
Canto Ballena is located in/near the town of Uvita, about 10 minutes south of Dominical. The development is near the well known “Whale Tail” at Ballena Marine National Park. The park itself is protected, so I’m not sure what to make of Canto Ballena’s claims that it is inside the park.
The area from Dominical to Ojochal is stunning for many reasons, one of which is that the mountains come right down to the sea, except for at the Whale Tail, where there is about a 2-3 mile stretch of farmland which creates the tail.
The whole stretch from Dominical south to Ojochal is developing mostly with private luxury homes due to the views available from the mountains, and the area is developing rapidly now. Long time residents have said it is becoming the “Beverly Hills” of Costa Rica. I used to take that comment with a large grain of salt, but from what I see now, things are headed at least somewhat in that direction. I understand that, like her or not, Pamela Anderson has purchased large acreage nearby and that Sheryl Crow visited a local spa/retreat in Uvita recently.
The main reason the area has not been overdeveloped for tourism is the long travel times to reach it. Travel wise, currently this area takes 5 hours to get to by car from San Jose. However, travel times are changing. The new highway from San Jose to Jaco, plus the soon to be paved section from Manual Antonio to Dominical, are all due to be completed in the next 1-2 years. Once completed, the driving time will be 3 hours – watch for property values to increase (even more) by then. You can also fly to the area for around $120 rt to the Palma Sur Airport from San Jose via one of the small airlines. The flight is about 45 minutes and spectacular! It’s an easy half hour drive to Uvita from this airport.
There is wild speculation that an international airport is coming to the Southern Pacific region “soon.” If I understand correctly, the CR govt. has approved planning for it, but has no money to build it, and in fact is struggling to pay for work at the other international airports. Don’t plan on this theoretical airport anytime soon (see articles elsewhere in this website). Again, this may be a good thing for investors and residents, keeping tourist levels low. This might help to create more of a “Beverly Hills” neighborhood vs. a “Cancun” type of destination. Which type of place would you prefer to live?
Uvita’s infrastructure is improving, and the local word is this town may become the “Commercial Hub” of the area. Historically lack of local infrastructure has limited development, but that is now changing. Though it is a small town with a population of perhaps 3000 (about half being expats from around the globe), it now has services that are harder to find in this relatively remote part of Costa Rica. There is a local medical clinic, new pharmacia, and a new 80000 sq. ft. hospital under construction 20 minutes south in Cortes. New auto repair shop. Cell phone and land line service! (this is not yet available, for example, in Ojochal) Gas Station, Internet Café, Hardware & electronics stores, small markets, several sodas, and many wonderful international restaurants of many persuasions are within 5-15 minutes, depending on what you are looking for. Major shopping is available 30 minutes away in San Isidro, the fastest growing city in Costa Rica.
Tourist Attractions Include: Surfing at Dominical, Zip line and nature tours, Snorkeling & Whale/Dolphin watching tours, Diving at Canos Island, Tours to Corcovado National Park, Miles of empty beaches, Wildlife everywhere, etc. Google these places to find out just how good they are!
I think that the relative difficulty in getting to Uvita is a good thing, for now, and instrumental in affecting how the area develops. Tourists arrive all the time, but the hordes arrive elsewhere. In the mean time, savvy investors are quietly building their beautiful estates in this gem of an area, generally on an acre or two with stunning views. There’s only so many view properties left, and prices are rising. There are also some amazing river front, river view, and valley view properties that are just as close to the beach but at more affordable prices.
Well, that’s more than I planned to write! Hope you all find it helpful! I’ll be interested in other’s views & comments. Have a great weekend!
pweisel
Great information – thank you.
For those of you thinking that this “new international airport” is coming please read my article entitled “Costa Rica’s New International Airport to be Built in the Sierpe Valley – Maybe…” which you can see at
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comPS. The marine park is certainly protected, the water is protected and the 50 meter zone of course.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comUvita school information I came across this post online at Uvita.biz. The post is about 1 year old. I don’t know more about it…
Open since March 15th, 2006
There are currently 10 students enrolled, bilingual – Spanish and English
They are using the Calvert Curriculum.
Tuition is: $200.00 registration fee then a $150.00 monthly fee. If more than one child attends from a family, there is a 15% discount.Sponsors are being accepted for local children. The cost is $2,000.00 – $2,500.00 per year. Click here for info.
Donations are being requested so that the school can hire a certified Costa Rican teacher that will teach in the Spanish language.
Subjects being taught: language arts, social studies, arithmetic, history, art, poetry.
Currently there is one teacher and one teacher’s aid, both bilingual.
The school is open 5 days a week, 4 hours a day.
8:30 A.M. to 12:30
Located in the old high school, address:
Traveling south on the costanera (coastal highway) turn right (towards the ocean), which is the first right after the gas station, there is a Coopealianza there. Go past the Coopealianza 300 meters (3 blocks).Volunteer teachers are also being interviewed. Teachers for music, P.E. art, etc…
I read an article sometime last week about a 60 km stretch which included Uvita, where permits will not be granted for construction purposes and any previous illegal building in this area will be required to be torn down. That is what I got out of my reading in Spanish, any comments on this .
I haven’t heard about this. I met several people (gringos) in various states of home construction in and around Uvita, all properly permitted. The area isn’t so remote that the authorities aren’t keeping an eye on it’s development. I think I would have heard about construction restrictions right away from family I have there.
I seriously doubt that the CR govt. would want all construction in the area to halt.(then again, I’ve been wrong before!) Could this be at/in the Park/beach areas? The poorest (in a material sense only) of the ticos do sometimes live in marginal tin shacks with concrete floors – so perhaps the focus is on those buildings. They also tend to live closest to the beach. Almost all gringo construction is happening away from the beach, up in the hills.
Perhaps if you post or reference the article you saw, someone fluent in Spanish here could translate it? Thanks.
pweisel
We own property just south of Uvita in Coronado. I certaintly agree it is beautiful, that is why we purchased there. We have just received the approval to build our first structure on site so I think the permit moratorem is hogwash.
I think this was a few weeks ago no? And they are speaking of a temporary halt.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comStunned by this ‘positive’ news. This is my knee jerk post after reading the article. I have emailed several people I know in the region, and will post anything of interest when they reply.
Ultimately, I feel this is very good news for the region – the environment, the community, the investors, the builders, all. It’s a short term crisis for some developers and real estate agents, and will be financially painful for those who have been building illegally.
It’s true that some environmental damage has happened. Personally I have heard about a few homes & pools sliding down the hill due to poor engineering. Environmentalists (a positive term in my book!)have been concerned about increased sentiment from the rivers choking Marina Ballena and killing tropical fish at that reef.
Protecting this region is of vital concern for all, except for shysters who don’t care and are looking for a quick buck. Perhaps it is they who will leave the area while safeguards are put into place.
As long as I feel confident that the situation will be resolved and proper safeguards will be put into place, I prefer to look at the current situation as a potential buying opportunity. If land prices take a big dip this could be the perfect time to make a purchase for the future. Too soon to make that leap, however. I advise to watch and wait, and not to trust developers statements on face value. If your shopping in Costa Rica your going to need an independent attorney anyway – so perhaps you should secure one to confirm any developers claims…
More to follow,
pweiselPOSTED IN WRONG PLACE AND REPOSTED HERE…
Posted Apr 11,2007 7:53 PM sven suzuki
This is indeed interesting as we are considering the Soulea project as a potential investment. Obviously any sort of moratorium would bring this project to a grinding halt.Does anyone have knowledge and feedback on this development?
I spoke with my folks today, who retired to Uvita 4 years ago. They report that the community is very much in upheaval over the construction permit issue, and not just the big developers.
Prior to the rapid growth in the area, beginning perhaps 5 years ago, job opportunities were very limited for the tico’s living there. Now, perhaps an upwards of 70% of the ticos work in construction or to provide services that the newly arriving residents are willing to pay for. One thinks this situation should result in pressure being put towards resolving things in a timely fashion, as so many livelihoods are at stake. We’re about to find out.
That being said, they report that there clearly have been problems. Rumors abound, including that large developers have been bribing local govt. to approve construction that should not have been approved. My folks feel that it has been especially bad in the higher elevation developments that are destroying primary rain forest to gain top of the world views and prices.
So for many individual lot owners in the area, like myself, the question is how will we be impacted when it becomes our turn to want to build. Too soon to know. My folks do have an investment lot and expected it to be permitted for building in the coming month. At this time they think that they will somehow still be allowed to proceed, but that the permitting process will take longer (as opposed to halted) I’ll post here if they are allowed to proceed and/or what happens if they are not.
I love the area as much as you. We are building in Ojochal (where we have an Internet Cafe and some land lines too – but not everywhere yet).
My question is about the Canto Ballena development – how on earth did they get permission to build inside a protected area? The promo states that it is “nestled in the heart of Ballena National Marine Park”. That worries me. Am I alone?
Shelagh
As I understand it, the “marine park” is the water – The water is protected…
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThis is how I would read into it as well. The land fronting the “marine park” would not be included in the protected zone. Carefully chosen words when marketing a development is a powerful sales tool. None the less, this appears to be a beautiful project.
Scott, do you have any feedback on the Soulea condo development?
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