With the flurry of economic news about our fragile financial markets and the need for a $700 billion bailout by our government, it was of little surprise when Clint forwarded a letter to my Blackberry while I was in Milwaukee from TCC Loreto outlining some cashflow concerns of Loreto Bay.
For those of you that follow the handful of blogs that cover Loreto Bay, I’m a little late to this party. So where do I stand on this issue?
Firstly, Loreto Bay is planned to be a 6,000 home development spanning 10-15 years to build. Our economy runs in approximately 7 year cycles. So it is inevitable that we would hit a time of economic hardship. In the long run, Clint and I still think that Loreto Bay is a solid investment and when we purchased a home there, we knew we were in it for the long haul.
Even in these economic times, JW Marriott has started development on the Whales Inn. The Villa Group just announced it began construction on Villa del Palmar Loreto. From their press release:
Villa del Palmar Loreto will feature 161 one-, two-, and three-bedroom villas, all with views of the Sea of Cortez and the five islands. The first phase is slated to open in January 2010, with a complete investment of $60,000,000.00. Each villa will be decorated with elegant furniture and will include a living room, dining room, full kitchen with granite countertops, modern appliances and electronic equipment, and a 10’ wide spacious terrace in each Villa.
Alaska Airlines has reaffirmed its commitment to Loreto by adding more flights to the destination starting in November.
I think it is important to appreciate the context of these financial hardships and realize that like the recent pull-out of airlines from Loreto Bay this is more a reflection of the economic times rather than a reflection of the desirability of Loreto Bay. The economy will bounce back again, the critical thing is to ensure Loreto Bay survives until the next upswing.
Secondly, although a letter from Re:play will be useful, I think for those of us that are homeowners, it may be a good idea to jumpstart the homeowners association/Condo regime. Even if it is informally, in order to collect and record information that would be critical to the operation of the community should Replay ever pull out. I think it would be prudent to do this as a contingency measure. I think social networks such as the San Francisco Loreto Bay Yahoo group, www.myloretobay and ning have gone a long way to ensure there is ample community communication and support. I think it has also added to the uniqueness of this development and that is priceless.
