Before his active participation in the local real estate industry with his revolutionary construction models, Alfonso Márquez ventured into the business world with the opening of a small furniture factory in his native Guadalajara, which years later would be known as El Gran Mueble and would have a presence in Colima, Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta.
“I am an entrepreneur who, like many others, comes from nothing, starting with small commercial projects. Between 1994 and 1995 I started with the idea of opening my own direct furniture stores, that is, without intermediaries, so many people began to follow our products for the quality and money they saved,» he explains.
However, the arrival of this business in Puerto Vallarta would take 10 more years, due to the suggestion of some American clients who went all the way to Guadalajara in search of furniture. Despite his doubts, Márquez decided to undertake the trip and, upon discovering our destination’s potential, decided to open a branch, which would be followed by another project.
“El Gran Mueble was growing until we had the opportunity to get the land next door, which gave us the possibility to expand. Since we already had 43,055 square feet, it was excessive to have such a large store, so I thought about building a hotel to take advantage of the proximity to the airport.”
“On my trips to Manzanillo, I began to see many containers, and so emerged the idea of building Container Inn, the first ecological hotel in Puerto Vallarta made with that material. After that, in 2011, I decided to move with my family to the bay, as many people started asking me for constructions with containers. And, although it was not in my plans to dedicate myself to this, I carried out several projects with these materials, including the Food Park and some houses in Yubarta in Marina Vallarta.”
Years later, once established in Vallarta · Nayarit, Márquez started one of his biggest and most recent real estate projects: Quinta San Miguel Real Estate Group, a real estate company in charge of the development and marketing of condominiums inspired by sustainability and self-sufficiency. This company arose in conjunction with an acquaintance from Zacatecas, who encouraged him to continue using these containers to create the project Quinta San Miguel Golf Residences and continue with Quinta San Miguel Ocean & Canal.
The name of these complexes honors San Miguel El Alto, Jalisco, the municipality of origin for Marquez’s parents, to whom he dedicates these challenging developments.
“These projects have represented a very important challenge in my life, because being in El Tigre, one of the region’s best subdivisions, many neighbors did not agree with the idea of having a different type of construction nearby. In addition, it has not been easy to convince people to live in a system different from the traditional one, but more and more people are interested in ecological and self-sufficient projects.”
Currently, Quinta San Miguel Golf Residences has applied to be awarded a Guinness record as the world’s largest container development, the verdict to be known in 2020.
With respect to the future of Nuevo Vallarta, an area where his developments are under construction, Márquez is optimistic, because he says that a very encouraging stage is coming for the region, with strong investments in the hospitality and real estate industry, as is the case of Vidanta and its attractions, as well as the road to Guadalajara that will make access to the region faster and easier.
Before concluding, Márquez mentioned that one of the main reasons that motivated him to stay in the bay was the security that favors a relaxed lifestyle throughout the Vallarta · Nayarit region.
In addition, he shared that he enjoys spending quality time with his family, which he considers most important to him.