San Felipe To Have a Civic Center

Por Guillermo SAYAGO.
La Voz de la Frontera
(Translation by J.C. Tapia)

An agreement was signed yesterday, October 17th 2005, between the state and municipal government and the head of the tourism developers in San Felipe, who will contribute 65.9 hectares for the construction of the project that will be the basis for the future of San Felipe.

	The historic agreement was signed yesterday in the port city by the major officer of the state goverment, Jose María Valdez, Mexicali Mayor Samuel Ramos, and the head of the tourism developers Patrick Butler, for the construction of the Civic and Cultural Center which will be nerve center for San Felipe of the future.

SAN FELIPE (17 October 2005) In signing the agreement of collaboration between the XVIII city council of Mexicali and the group of Tourism Developers of “El Dorado,” who have promised to concentrate donations due by law to the municipality and the state, in one spot
only instead of the dispersal between the 10 conforming the consortium, for an area of 659,534.292 square meters, where the San Felipe Civic and Cultural Center will be located. The city council promises to keep the area from suffering deviations and to keep only one window available for building permits.This center will accommodate official buildings, green areas, schools and a commercial sector.

This intermediate center, for equipment and services will be the link for urban integral development of the city, whose basis will be in place before the end of the present municipal administration, specially since the commitment assumed by mayor of Mexicali Samuel Ramos and the group of developers headed by investor Pat Butler.

Architect Jorge Ponce’s Conceptual Plan made a big impression among the rest of the attendees, who considered the project as historic, considering that this is the first time at the national level, this is offered in such manner, with very close attention to detail – urban and environmental- with the end means to have a 20 year vision of what this port city will be.

The mayor said he felt optimistic to see developers together with the authorities from all three government levels in this meeting “as a great family” driven by a sole, single, objective.

"The idea is that no one can later change everything commited here,” said the mayor after considering the exposition and the enthusiastic reaction from developers and the disposition of the government represented in this work table by the principal officer (Oficial Mayor) from the state, José María Morales.

Jorge Ponce said that EL Dorado Ranch had asked him to make the Urban Development Plan on their three thousand hectare site. Nevertheless questions arose that the Municipal Urban Institute in Mexicali helped to integrate. The need to intergrate in some way, the Rancho El Dorado with the municipal normativity. It was considered then to elaborate a vision for the future of the region to be able to integrate not only El Dorado with San Felipe, but the rest of the other developments and the other areas in which the region was divided.

This way, a unique project was devised to face the development challenges ahead of San Felipe, like the four lane highway from Mexicali, and an imminent dynamic airline connection with two commercial airlines, one Mexican one international and the already available sea route.

Participating in this work table were COTUCO’S President Victor Rodriguez and the head of the Mexicali Urban Administration and director of the IMIP, Inocencio Cuellar.