RUMORS TO REALITY

CANCUN NOW & WHEN

Ever since the year 2000, when I first began visiting Cancun and way before I started writing a travel guide about the place, I have been hearing rumors about all kinds of building and infrastructure projects. The ideas that received the most mention included some that sounded very promising, and others that sounded, well, not so much. The topics that I recall hearing most about included:

• A bridge to stretch across the Nichupte Lagoon linking Centro (Downtown) Cancun to the Marriott Hotels.
• A bridge to divert traffic around the Km 9 Convention Center area to allow access for public buses, taxis and trolleys only.
• A development to be built to the west of the golf course overlooking the lagoon across from the Hilton.
• A shopping mall, and, or, a condominium complex to be constructed at Playa Delfines (Dolphins Beach), just south of the Hilton.
• A new International airport to be constructed somewhere along the coast of the Mayan Riviera.
• A brand new Hotel Zone to be constructed on the mainland, north of Downtown Cancun in the vicinity of Puerto Juarez.

After Hurricane Wilma struck the area in late October 2005, there were so many more ideas floating around, I was skeptical any of them would ever become reality. However at roughly the same time, the real estate market in Cancun, Playa Del Carmen and the Mayan Riviera was booming and property values were on the rise.

A RUMOR NOT TO BE

A very well-respected developer that had constructed condominium projects in other Mexican cities, set its sights on creating a brand new community in Cancun. Even before their first Hotel Zone building projects Bay View Grand and Portofino condominium towers were completely sold out, there were rumblings about plans for a Bay View Grand Island! The development was to be a residential golf community, built on the west side of the Hilton’s golf course overlooking the Nichupte Lagoon. The area was to consist of several high-rise condominium towers, private homes and mixed-use buildings containing villas and commercial space. The island paradise was also going to include swimming pools, gardens, a health club, spa, arts and cultural venues and a private clubhouse on the beach. The developer set up a showroom at their Portofino tower, launched a flashy website displaying beautiful renderings of the plan, and began accepting pre-construction down payments for the proposed units. I was optimistic that finally, one of the many rumors I had been hearing about was actually going to come true. However several months later, there was news that the project was going to be scaled down due to ecological concerns cited by the local authorities. I was still optimistic, however, to make a long story short, at the present time the land to the west of the Hilton golf course is being sold off as empty lots and the developer has no plans to build anything on the site. Maybe this situation was more about the real estate bubble bursting, rather than the ecological concerns that were put forth in the media, who knows? All I know is that I was disappointed to learn that the project was not going to happen; not because a rumor I had been hearing about for years was not going to take shape after all, but because it sounded like an interesting plan, and one that would most likely enhance life in Cancun’s Hotel Zone.

SOME RUMORS DO COME TRUE

Approximately four years ago, I met a Dutch engineer and land surveyor who was spending a few days in New York taking some time off. He was actually breaking up an otherwise long flight on his way home, while returning to Amsterdam after working for several weeks in Mexico. The reason for his trip was to assist the Mexican Government in selecting an appropriate location for a new airport in the Mayan Riviera. This is the area located south of Cancun that stretches to roughly the border that Mexico shares with Belize, nobody really knows for sure. He claimed that while he was in Mexico to function as an advisor on where or if a new airport should be built, the local authorities seemed to be mainly interested in focusing their attention near Tulum. In my opinion, this made the most sense for several reasons. An airport in Tulum would immediately alleviate air traffic to Cancun’s busy International Airport. It would also simultaneously jumpstart economic growth and development, creating jobs along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, A.K.A. the Mayan Riviera. Earlier this year, official announcements were made by ASUR, Mexico’s airport authority, stating that an area just outside Tulum was selected as the location for construction to begin on a new airport.

Meanwhile, closer to Cancun, while it is not the brand new Hotel Zone that many were saying might go up just north of the original, there have been a handful of new resorts, private homes and condominiums built in the area between Centro (Downtown) Cancun and Puerto Juarez. A massive development known as Puerto Cancun, a high-end yacht and golf community, has been taking shape and will continue to grow during the next several years.

Recently I received an email from a fellow blogger that contained a link to a youtube video depicting a proposal for a new mega project in Cancun. Even though I cannot substantiate the validity of this plan, I felt that the production values were so high, that it lent some level of credibility to this being a serious project in the works. Although it is entirely in Spanish, one can easily recognize from the professional renderings in the video, that the presentation is designed to promote the revitalization of the area surrounding the Convention Center:

While I agree that pumping seawater into the lagoon would help increase oxygen levels, I am not sure that building a bridge to divert traffic is the most intelligent way to spend money. So what if traffic is diverted away from the area between Kilometers 8.5 and 9.3? Wouldn’t that create additional confusion and even worse traffic problems for those who want to visit the area? It’s my opinion that Pesos would be better spent elsewhere. For example, a wise investment would be to have a healthy reserve fund on hand for advertising travel and tourism to Cancun. Think about it; when was the last time you saw a TV commercial promoting Cancun? The Hotel Zone has had brand new beaches since January 2010, yet nothing on TV, but I keep seeing plenty of ads for the Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican, Barbados and Aruba... and while we're on the subject, wouldn't it be better to have funds available for when, not if, the beaches get washed away again after another major hurricane? I like the idea of having arts and cultural centers with an outdoor theater in the heart of the Hotel Zone overlooking the lagoon. It would certainly add a touch of class to the area, and who doesn’t love the idea of strolling around a lush tropical park in the middle of paradise? In my opinion, most of these ideas would be pretty sweet additions to the Hotel Zone… but again, that’s just my opinion.

Do you have other thoughts on the proposal, or a different point of view about the bridge than mine? If you have any comments on the topic, or rumors to add to the mix, feel free to visit the PEOPLE’S CHOICE GUIDE CANCUN page on Facebook to join in the discussion. Until then, happy speculating everyone!