25 May -Real Estate sales in San Felipe are phenomenal and building is going on everywhere along the coast and even in some good locations away from the water.Virtually every inch of beachfront property between town and Punta Estrella has now been sold and major building plans are in the works. Today new signs went up across the road from the Marina Resort showing the 6 story condominium project that they have just broken ground on.

This new project will have two towers with 32 apartments and 8 two-level penthouses. Plans are to have floor areas from about 1700 to 3400 sq. ft. Expect prices to be in the $300K and up category. In addition, the Resort will include a 94 residence project on the site of the existing RV park.

A 243 slip Marina will be built to the north of the present hotel area, utilizing part of the existing harbor, and a golf course is planned to occupy the land on the western side of the road to the airport as shown in this concept graphic:

Only last month the Playa del Paraiso development between the old Misiones hotel and the harbor broke ground (see our April archive) on another 7 story building of luxury condominiums (half of them are sold already!). The concept is shown here:

Another large development is starting just south of the Marina Resort and a third is in advanced "dune leveling" between Las Palmas and Villas de San Francisco. More hotels and condominiums are in the planning stage around the bay towards La Hacienda and they will command premium prices because of the proximity to the water - there is nothing like being able to have a development right on the beach!

To the north of town, thousands of acres of land are changing ownership as the old campgrounds that stretch up as far as Cerro el Moreno are being snapped up for a few million dollars each and new tourist developments with golf courses and condominium projects are proposed. The one course already open at La Ventana del Mar (an El Dorado project) is operating and good reports are coming in. Here is an example of the siteplan of the San Felipe Beach Club:

The point of all this is that the character of San Felipe has changed, and changed for good. The days when people built a second home here and drove down for a long weekend, or came to live here during the cool months (October-May), are now passing. Many of the new residents that are moving in will be year-round members of this community. Now that the electricity lines are being extended both north and south of town, there is no reason not to also spend the summer in San Felipe. Air conditioning is now only the flick of a switch away and it is a lot cooler and more relaxing than Yuma or the Imperial Valley in California.

People that I talk to are cashing in their real estate holdings in California and other states where property values have skyrocketed, and are buying or building themselves a home in this region with half the money. They can live very comfortably for the rest of their lives on the other half! In turn we see new "mini-malls" opening to cater to the needs of the invading horde; bakeries and specialty grocery stores, cosmetic services, video stores, ...you name it! Inevitably, this means that unless some of our venerable markets and stores in town do not spruce themselves up and provide better quality goods with friendlier and more personal customer service, they will be left out of this remarkable boom.

Along with this "positive" change, there are inevitable negatives. The infrastructure of this region is geared to a population of 20,000 people. We could well hit 40,000 residents within 12 months. Besides electricity (the town presently receives 20 MVA of power from the Rosarito power plant) we desperately need water (which comes along a single 14 inch pipeline from the aquifer 30 miles away) and sewage treatment (virtually none of the beachfront developments are connected to the city sewer), significantly expanded security services, health services and transportation options. I plan to cover each of these very important topics in a separate article shortly. If you wish to add information or give me your opinion, please email El Jefe.

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