May 25, 2009 - Hi all, Steve here, a quick note regarding the new San Jose –> Caldera highway. Yeah, I know, I know, what highway?… or the ever popular “It will never be built”) Well it looks as if it is finally going to be started.

Here is a reprint of the announcement….

 Construction of Road to Caldera To Begin on January 17 The construction of the San José-Caldera highway which is three decades in the making, will begin on January 17, 2008, the ministro de la Presidencia, Rodrigo Arias, announced yesterday. Arias assures that all is set for the construction of the road is to begin, as the us$230 million dollars financing and the approval by the Contraloría General de la República (Comptroller’s office) are all in place.

Last November 29, the Contraloría endorsed the contract the government has with Autopistas del Sol, a consortium of Spanish, Portugue and Costa Rican interests.

Arias added that the contract calls for the completion of the 77 kilometre road by 2010 and is being financed by the Caja de Madrid and the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE).

The new road would cut travel between San José, Caldera, Puntarenas to 30 minutes instead of the now 90 minutes, and cut in half the travel time to Playa Jacó and points in between. .

……..so, first things first. Congrats to all of you that bought in San Mateo, Bajamar and Playa Azul. This announcement makes you all look like swami’s. If you bought for a vacation home, your access time has taken a huge cut! If you bought for an investment, this highway (and even the announcement) only does one thing to your property values.

San Mateo, Ventanas development A 30 minute drive from San Jose to our ocean view development in San Mateo! If you bought as an investment…Well Done! If you are considering this investment , consider it very carefully! This highway when complete will, in my opinion, make any owner or investor at Ventanas, San Mateo look like a genius!

Bajamar.

I was out to Bajamar late last week, the road has been improved, it was great to be able to maintain one speed all the way out to the areas where you all bought property. There are 2 new, huge roads branching off from the main road to what looks like developments. These are significantly back from the ocean and your properties, but definitly a sign of growth in the area.

Check out the fixer upper that is on the point overlooking the beach in Bajamar, this is a new listing and the ONLY one available in the area.

For more info check out bh_606 in the “Beach area homes” section of our listings

Playa Azul

We always beleived that the owners here are in for a rocket ride once the Plan Regulador is done and building permits are issued with concessions. The completed highway is stage 1 of this rocket. There are many steps in the Plan Regulador process, one of them is the electric upgrading of the area. Recently we see the installation of new cement power poles and when residents attempt to pay electric bills are given a list and schematic of the new poles, meters, and hook-ups that they ICE expects them to install on their property. This is a great indicator that the path to plan regulador is cruising forward.

Luego

Steve