Puerto Peñasco Post

Interesting reads...

I've been spending most of my time in Phoenix recently and therefore haven't been able to post quite as much of the happenings down in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) as I'd like.  So expect updates a little less frequently over the next several months. 

Things I've been reading this past week...

A developer with projects in Puerto Peñasco takes over the development of a struggling (and the largest) project in San Felipe, Baja Norte.  Another perspective here.

An article from the Arizona Daily Star [free subscription required] about the long-term feasibility of desalinated water for Arizona (mentions Rocky Point).  The same environmental and energy issues exist for the feasibility of a desalination plant to supply all of Puerto Peñasco (a study of this has been commissioned).

A recap of President Felipe Calderon's remarks at Tianguis Turistico 2008 from Mexico Premiere.

The temporary take-over of the Mexican congress by legislators who oppose reform of Pemex ended over the weekend with an agreement for 71 days of debate over the Pemex reform proposal offered by President Calderon.

Brian Flock from Mexidata writes about the rise of the MLS in Mexico.

ALSO:  Dutch DJ Fedde la Grand showed up in Puerto Peñasco last month and drew a few thousand to a couple of shows.  Probably the first internationally recognized electronica DJ to come to town (hopefully the first of many).  I missed the shows but video can be seen here and here.

Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) Municipal Desalination Facility Update

Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) sits on the Sea of Cortez, but in the middle of an extremely arid zone.  It is currently supplied with fresh water pumped in from eight wells located 30 or so miles north of the city.  The city is in the middle of a refurbishment process of the underground piping system delivering this water to the city, which will improve efficiency of the system.  But in all likelihood, these wells will not be able to continue to fully supply the city as it keeps grow larger. 

As I have written before, at least one private group in Puerto Peñasco has completed a major desalination facility to supply their projects and others have signed agreements to build them or are planning them for their developments.  This will take some of the burden off the city water systems, but is still unlikely to be enough based on the growth expectations for the city over the next 20 years.

Therefore, over the past year, the city has begun to prepare for the day when it relies on the Sea of Cortez for its water.  Numerous meetings have been held with top city officials, experts in the field of desalination and area developers to discuss the matter and make plans for a municipal desalination system.

The Mexican federal government has also been active behind the scenes working on the issue.  Mexican President Felipe Calderon has promised $250 billion pesos in infrastructure improvements in Mexico during his six year term through a National Infrastructure Fund he is forming.  And his administration is working to complete additional infrastructure improvements with various international partners, including the U.S. 

The first substantive step for Puerto Peñasco's municipal desalination facility will be a comprehensive feasibility study, commissioned through a joint venture between the Mexican federal government and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. 

Conducting a comprehensive feasibility study is a good first step towards building a municipal desalination system for Puerto Peñasco.  It is also good to see the high level involvement of the Mexican federal government in the efforts to improve Puerto Peñasco, and their partnership with the U.S. in these efforts. It is expected that the Mexican federal and Sonoran state governments will continue to prioritize funding infrastructure improvements for Puerto Peñasco.  And hopefully we will see a municipal desalination plant built within the next several years in Puerto Peñasco. Rocky Point is Puerto Penasco.

Las Conchas Resorts Infrastructure & Desalination

I promised last week to provide some additional details about the infrastructure systems that have been completed by a group of developers in the Las Conchas area [Disclaimer: My development group is part of this effort]...

In late 2006, a group of developers owning land in the area directly behind the legacy Las Conchas area (on the north side of Las Conchas Boulevard as you enter the guard gate) formed an infrastructure association to privately fund installation of offsite infrastructure to supply utilities to these undeveloped sites.  The group goes by the name Unión Desarrolladores Turísticos de Puerto Peñasco (UDTPP)

The UDTPP worked over the last year to privately fund, build and install a 1500 residential unit capacity desalination system to provide freshwater to member developer's land, a sewage treatment plant that features an environmentally-friendly gray water return for landscape irrigation, all electrical installations to each parcel of property and roadway improvements - including paving the entrance to Las Conchas.  The first phase of these efforts concluded in late 2007 when the systems all came online.  They are now being utilized by both Corona del Sol and Marbella (which have delivered their first phases of condominiums) and will be soon utilized by Lindavista (which is expected to deliver their first units in the coming months).  Several other parcels of land running along this strip bordering Las Conchas Boulevard also will utilize these infrastructure facilities over the coming months and years. 

Agustin Cortes, who owns most of the land in the area, was instrumental in founding the UDTPP and has contributed additional funds to an effort to beautify the main entrance off of Fremont Boulevard leading into Las Conchas (including paving a boulevard and other aesthetic touches).  Mr. Cortes has also established a conceptual master plan for the land he owns in the area, which will be named "Las Conchas Resorts."  Las Conchas Resorts is anticipated to eventually include additional residential areas, a golf course, shopping and other commercial areas, hotels and entertainment options.  Visitors to Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) in 2008 will start to see part of a marketing campaign promoting "Las Conchas Resorts" when they visit.

A particularly important point about these efforts is that by installing these infrastructure systems privately, the UDTPP has taken proactive measures to ensure that its members - and the eventual residents of their developments - have long-term assured access to some of the resources that are becoming more scarce as Puerto Peñasco grows - particularly fresh water.  This alleviates some of the burden on the city to provide this support to developers.   I have provided a few pictures of the infrastructure facilities below.

[Note: I have been asked several times about these efforts in relation to the Las Conchas Homeowner's Association desalination efforts and I should make clear that they are entirely separate systems.  The Las Conchas HOA is in the process of contracting for and building their own desalination facility to supply their member homes, as you can read here.]

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Taking the Salt Out of Las Conchas in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

There was a short article [Registration Required] in the Arizona Daily Star today about the Las Conchas Homeowner's Association signing a contract with Aguamex to build a desalination facility in Las Conchas to supply water to the nearly 600 homes currently in the area.  This has to come as a relief to many, as the water situation there has been tenuous for the last year.  And I know it has taken several years of effort for the HOA to get to this point (I won't even attempt to rehash the history of trying to bring desalination to Las Conchas on here).  So congratulations to Las Conchas and hopefully desalinated water will be flowing for the area by the end of the year.

In the meantime, the Union de Desarrolladores Turisticos de Puerto Peñasco (UDTPP), the infrastructure authority formed by the developers building condos in the newly designated "Las Conchas Resorts" area, has just completed a large desalination plant directly behind Las Conchas.  This desalination facility has the capacity to supply over 1,500 residential units and in the near term will be utilized by Corona del Sol, Marbella and Lindavista.  So, apparently, there will soon be two separate desalination facilities in the Las Conchas area.

I will write more about the UDTPP and its newly completed infrastructure this week for those who are interested.

A couple of quotes from the article are after the jump...

Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) Infrastructure Improvements

Defrente has a good article this week about anticipated investment in infrastructure in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) during 2008.  The highlight of the article is that Mayor Renteria has apparently secured Federal funding of just over $9 million USD to continue paving streets in town.  It is anticipated that by the end of 2008, up to 40% of the streets will be paved - a major improvement over the estimated 10-20% now paved.  Sidewalks will also continue to be installed.  Paving, along with the other measures mentioned in the article, will improve both the aesthetics of the city for tourists and livability for the local population.  I especially think the pavement will cut down on much of the dust pollution that exists in the town (and clings to everything everywhere).

There is also mention of the aesthetic improvements that are to be made to the facades of buildings in the Old Port area to give it a more uniform and inviting look for tourists.  This project was being discussed about eight months ago in the developers association meetings, but I wasn't sure it was still in the works.  It appears to still be in the plans.  If it is undertaken, expect the Old Port to be spruced up significantly over the next couple of years to create a more inviting central shopping and commercial destination for tourists.

The full article can be read here.