Baja's La Paz Will Soon be Welcoming Golfers

CostaBaja Resort & Marina to get first Gary Player Design in Mexico

Golf is not the only reason 1.5 million Americans now own homes in Mexico, but to those who love the game, and to many of the 12 million expected to own within 20 years, it is one of the best. Indeed, the great climate and available land has made Los Cabos in Baja one of the major golf destinations in the world.

Just ninety miles to the north of the tip of the Baja peninsula is La Paz, a popular fishing and boating destination, that has been relatively unknown to most Americans until now. Whether it is the 2003 listing in Money Magazine as a superb place to retire, the sky-high prices of real estate in nearby Los Cabos, or the announcement of coming golf courses, the spotlight is beginning to shine brightly on La Paz for investment and second homes.

The first of the major golf courses that are coming to La Paz, the 18-hole Gary Player Design Course at CostaBaja Resort & Marina, is ready to “start moving dirt” in Spring 2007 with completion twenty months later. Almost every hole will reveal panoramic water views and the course will feature an innovative design that complements the unique desert-by-the-sea landscape.

This will be first venture into Mexico for Gary Player’s highly regarded design firm. Just as Parque Reforma, one of Mexico’s leading construction and development firms and the developers of CostaBaja Resort & Marina, is dedicated to preserving the delicate ecosystem, Gary Player Design is committed to giving back to nature by creating golf courses in harmony with the natural topography and environment. CostaBaja’s master plan is the first in Mexico to voluntarily comply with the federal government’s environmental auditing program.

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La Paz is not the typical Mexican resort. With an “old Baja” feel, it is a friendly community that welcomes tourism but does not let it dominate the economy. It takes pride in being an authentic Mexican small town and, at the same time, as the capital of Baja California Sur, it is a vibrant city with many cultural advantages. Located as the Gateway to the Sea of Cortez, which Jacques Cousteau aptly called, “The Aquarium of the World,” La Paz also offers an abundance of water sports and some of the best beaches and adventure-tourism in Baja in addition to the spectacular sport fishing and boating.

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For North Americans who want to get in on the “ground floor” and buy, CostaBaja Resort & Marina will have the first golf course and is the first of the large-scale developments under way. The resort is located on a white-sand beach just a ten minute drive from downtown La Paz. It opened in 2005 with a state-of-the-art double-basin marina, a Marina Village with shops, galleries, and several outstanding restaurants in a lovely shaded courtyard area overlooking the marina, and a 120-room Fiesta Inn. This first phase included beachfront villas and condominiums that are sold out and marina condominiums, of which a limited number are still available. Many of the homes are already occupied.

The eagerly anticipated Phase II of this 500-acre resort has just been announced. Working with the award winning Newport Beach, California-based firm of RNM Design, pioneers in integrating innovative master planning with architectural design, Parque Reforma is introducing new condos and casitas, a luxury spa, a private beach club in addition to the Gary Player Design golf course.

The VistaMar Residences of Phase II feature 123 contemporary casitas and condominiums built atop a bluff overlooking the Sea of Cortez. The 87 condominiums and 36 casitas will be designed in a clean contemporary style that features the local Baja influence. Palapas, wooden trellises and shade structures constructed by local craftsmen have been incorporated in the design. Each suite has large terraces and panoramic views. The condos and casitas are being offered for a limited time at introductory pricing ranging from the $400,000’s to over $1 Million.

The casitas, in nine low-rise, bluff-hugging buildings, range from 3,068 square foot, two-bedroom, two and a half bathroom suites to 4,650 square foot three-bedroom plus loft suites with three and a half bathrooms. The condos, located behind the casitas in six-story buildings, range from 2,636 square feet two-bedroom, two and a half baths to 4,381 square feet three-bedroom plus loft penthouses with three and a half bathrooms.
Lushly landscaped grounds will capture the essence of the unique flora of Baja California with palo brea and mesquite trees, date and coconut palms, agaves and flowering shrubs. Cascading waterfalls will add meditative sound amid the shade gardens.

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Other benefits for homeowners will be the new Spa and the Beach Club. The luxury Espíritu Spa — named after Espíritu Santo, a nearby natural island sanctuary renowned for its rare beauty and diversity — will offer guests the opportunity to indulge in relaxing treatments and experience the natural healing properties of water and desert.
The CostaBaja Beach Club, just steps away on a white-sand beach, will have a fitness center with great sea views and a saltwater infinity edge pool plus the Beach Club Café for food and beverages to be enjoyed poolside. Snorkels and fins and kayaks will be available for use and residents can rent a catamaran for an offshore adventure to the islands where they can swim with resident sea lions.

Registration is being taken for limited time discount pricing and priority selection of homes. For those who would like to visit, a special Discover CostaBaja Resort & Marina getaway package is available.

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