Carlos Lemus: Growth Outlooks for San Pancho

Originally from Mexico City, Carlos Lemus Mateos arrived in Puerto Vallarta in 1986 at the invitation of his brother Miguel Ángel, to collaborate in his real estate agency. Later, he joined Grupo SIDEK-SITUR and began to travel the country while focusing on the direction, supervision and coordination of jobs, sales and marketing for the group’s developments in Ixtapa, Acapulco, Mazatlán and Cancun.

Although he made the decision to move to Puerto Vallarta in October 2005, Lemmus Inver-Mexico Real Estate was born in Cancun four years before, the real estate agency run by the brothers Lemus Mateos. Once here and with the experience acquired, Carlos and another partner founded Pacific Lifestyle Properties, which started to build within El Tigre Golf Club. After that success, they began to look for other opportunities of greater dimension in the bay.

Its most recent construction project is Punta Paraíso, a 44-unit condominium facing the sea that will have two- to five-bedroom units. It is located in San Pancho, one of the Riviera Nayarit micro-destinations that will see the most development in the short and long term. He explains the potential, challenges and development for that area.

Potential

“First of all, it is a place of great natural beauty, with a lovely beach. The community, with a population of around 800, offers a polo field, a nine-hole golf course, hospital, several restaurants and boutiques. In addition, due to its geography, San Pancho does not run the risk of overpopulation, since it is a flat region and the hill has R4 density, that is, only 10 habitations per hectare. In addition, it is located in a central area of current development and future plans for Riviera Nayarit. For example, the plan to build an airport in the vicinity of Las Varas obviously will attract more development. In fact, there are many things coming for this place,” he explains.

Challenges

According to Carlos Lemus, in order for San Pancho to improve its situation or not decline, it is not only necessary to take care of and respect the urban development plan, but also to enrich it. “We have made several proposals, including installing signs and creating an urban profile. We have been working with some areas of the municipality to see if we implement an architectural image and a dog sterilization campaign. Traffic is another issue that must be resolved in the short term. We have talked with the ejido, which also includes Lo de Marcos, Sayulita and Higuera Blanca, and different groups in the community to look for solutions. I proposed controlling it. Considering that there are few entry and exit streets, as well as places to park, an area should be created to concentrate all the cars that arrive, leaving access only for the locals—keep everything very pedestrian so that visitors who only go to the beach leave their cars where appropriate, and/or implement some sort of shuttle that circulates constantly.”

In addition, he mentioned that work must be done to improve the infrastructure. “For example, SEMARNAT is asking us to put a treatment plant within our development to relieve the burden on the current one. However, in San Pancho there is already a new treatment plant that has not yet been set in motion due to lack of public resources. Instead of investing in ours, we are working with the city council, ejido and other involved parties to try to inject the resources, which are quite substantial, so that it finally is working. There has been a positive response, and we hope that it will soon be realized. It’s a matter of mechanics, and I think that soon things will start to happen.”

Development

“We want to be pioneers of this great development. We like San Pancho not only for its natural beauty, but also for its areas of opportunity. In addition, its proximity to Sayulita, which is already overcrowded and is only three minutes away by car, will help to diversify this overflow. So, San Pancho is going to become a very privileged area in terms of its densities and uses.”

Before concluding, Carlos Lemus did not want to miss the opportunity to point out another aspect inherent to development: the conurbation of Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas. “One of its great benefits will be to allow access to special and specific federal resources to invest in the welfare of inhabitants. For example, right now we only have one boulevard that joins the two destinations, but once the conurbation takes place, we will surely see more avenues, bridges and job opportunities. We have to be active players in achieving this much discussed, expected and necessary matter,” he concludes.