More and more there appears to be less of a seam between seasons, which supports the prediction that this year will be the best ever! So, good luck to everyone, keep your head above water, and keep those limbs moving so as not to sink below the water line.
One of our annual projects is reviewing the local real estate developments, those completed, those completely sold, those just turning the sod. It’s always interesting because of the surprises. This year’s surprises included the amazing concepts of Fluvial Vallarta, the Grand Venetian and Peninsula Vallarta, all centered on the Pitillal River, with the latter also including the bay.
The combination of river and sea is intriguing, another of my favorite places being Isla Rio Cuale, which also is under development with a couple of interesting projects. The first is the second step of the expansion of the Malecón, called the Malecón of the Marina – not to be confused with the malecón at Marina Vallarta. At press time, the inauguration is scheduled for June 20, but two previous completion dates passed by with nary a ripple.
The next step will take the Malecón as far as Los Muertos Beach. En route, a curlicue will encourage a stop at the planned Plaza Lázaro Cárdenas, where a public space will feature performances, much like Los Arcos Amphitheater. And on the island itself, a proposal is on the table to construct an actual market to replace the individual stalls. The cultural department is doing its part by hosting regular Thursday night events, as well as featuring expositions of local artists, dancers, poets and musicians at CCC, the Centro Cultural Cuale.
Back to real estate for a minute. Well, maybe more than a minute, but that’s about all most agents have these days. With a scarcity of open houses, I can only claim to having attended one this entire month. Hosted by Venegas Realty’s Kelsey Magness and Steve Cross, downtown Casa Romance Escondido offers a great commercial or living space. Built on four floors, including a rooftop terrace, the first floor presents the ideal space for a restaurant or patio bar, located just around the corner from Café des Artistes.
And Victoria Pratt of Real del Mar invited a number of agents for a tour of the property, as well as a delicious lunch. Some of the projected home sites and completed properties offer amazing views of the bay and the mountains along the southern curve of Cabo Corrientes. With their completed beach club right at the water’s edge, there seemed to be a distinct competition between the blues of the pool, bay and sky. Life doesn’t get much better than just taking it all in.
Activities this month centered on the successful Restaurant Week, with over 30 restaurants participating. In fact, several of them are extending their special prices or creating additional reasons to keep the public coming. So don’t even think about slowing down. Los Xitomates’ Luis Fitch came up with the idea of a Festival of Three Cultures of the Mexican Kitchen: pre-Hispanic, Colonial and Contemporary. And Café des Artistes’ Thierry Blouet recently hosted on local beaches 13 segments of the popular culinary TV show elgourmet.com, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For the anniversary of the city, Alejandro Fernández crooned his way into the hearts of those who weren’t already smitten. Over 40,000 Vallartans found their way downtown for the free public concert on May 31, joined by around a hundred boats and other water craft anchored just off the Malecón. Taking a few moments, Mayor Gustavo González Villaseñor invited Fernández to be an international ambassador to the city, upon which the delighted singer announced how at home he has always felt here.
That same day was the first of 12 visits by the popular Disney Magic, a nearly 3,000-passenger ship that caters to families. It’s so popular that the ship sold out within weeks of the announcement of the Puerto Vallarta stop on its summer route. But don’t fret, there is hope that it will return for a regular weekly schedule in 2007.
A couple of new offices opened this past month. The feng shui-inspired office of executive director Sharon Velasco of Century 21 in Mezcales was designed with her own intuition and creative urge. The walls feature the artwork of local artist Steve Fisher. Sharing the space with her are agents James Lambdin, Rebeca Ruvalcaba and Claudia Garci-Crespo. Coldwell Banker’s Bob and Lisa Hartye also opened a new office in Flamingos Beach, north of Nuevo Vallarta, but I haven’t been there to visit yet so it will be in the next issue. Also for next month, the entire Plaza del Faro, just north of Mezcales, held its inauguration just after the closing date of this magazine.
Happy Canada Day, Independence Day and Bastille Day to those who celebrate any or all of the national events on July 1, July 4 and July 14, respectively!.
