If you follow the national newspapers in The Dominican Republic, you can see the general state of tourism and other growth related infrastructure projects in the country.
This June 12th Dominican Today posted – Tourist arrivals climb "historic' 6.7% in the first 5 months of 2017. 2.7 million visitors entered the country at the various airports or 169,450 more than the same period in 2016.
This is continued great news for our beloved island nation of Dominican Republic.
Source: Dominican Today
Last week we completed a test water well. This is compulsory to determine the quality and volume of the water on the site. The area chosen for this was on the Lower portion of phase one.
The testing was very successful and we can report today there is great quality of water and the volume easily support our needs for the resort amenity buildings and individual villas. This testing was a key part of the engineering of the development and informative on any filtering that may have been needed. The water test results will be back from the lab next week but all looks good for water quality and supply. The supply was strong enough in this area that the engineer has decided to all the general wells in this area. We will still have service outlets for general development use in all areas of the development. Each individual villa will have its own Cistern and well of 10,000 gallons, not to confuse anyone. But there is abundant supply for us as well as standard rainwater collection that will be included in all building and villas. Stay tuned.
In the week of June 20th, we have deployed our contractor to the site to upgrade our access road and the top of the development site. As you may know we have a 1.6 KM access road from the Maimon coastal highway. Its has been eroding for the last few years and only passable with larger 4WD trucks. In order for our engineers to perform critical water tests at the lower portion of the property with a test well they need to bring a larger drilling rig truck. In order to get the rig on the site we needed to upgrade the access road and the main road within the development. At the same time we cleared a large section of the top entry area and will build a viewing platform for all owners and potential new customers to see the best villa views on the north coast.
This process was completed in only a few days and we are now able to get the drill rig on site and will commence with a viewing platform and a proper entry gate at our entry.
Stay tuned, more happening every week.
As luck would have it, last week the LUPERON area was in the process of upgrading the Maimon coastal highway. We viewed the process in action ourselves. This is an upgrade of the road from Luperon to Cambiaso which is the small local village to the east of LOE. They are adding new earth and caliche (gravel). This is an essential repair of the roads due to the severe rain that occurred last fall. The complete upgrade to asphalt is scheduled to be started in the next 8 months. This is very good news for our development as well as the area.
Last week, May 10th, we officially signed contracts with our engineer, architect and general contractor. This is a very important step in the process for our development. We have spent the better part of a year developing the property to suit our new vision with the same team that is now officially moving us towards our permits. The architect and engineering firm along with the LOE team will work over the next few months to complete the various drawings and details required for the permit drawing submittal process. Electrical, water system, roads, treatment plant, soil sample testing, environment study will all be completed in various stages for the permit process.
We are on our way....
We are happy to announce that after a long and complete process with our US based development team and our DR design/build team, we are starting the engineering and permit phase of the Luperon Ocean Estates project in May. Our Architect and Engineer will be working for approximately 75 days to complete the construction permit drawing set, soil sample testing that is required, and pre-permit review. At the completion of the permit set the drawings will be submitted to the Departments that issue permits at the various levels. * Town Hall Urban Office * Ministry of the Environment * Ministry of Tourism* Ministry of Public Works.
These permits will take from 2-3 months to achieve. At that point we will be poised for the infrastructure construction to begin.
Stay tuned. There will be many more blog updates to keep everyone posted on the progress.
The Dominican Republic’s residential property market is growing fast, thanks to robust tourism growth and the arrival of luxury international and boutique hotels. In just two years stay-over tourism increased tremendously.
Tourists come to relax, vacation, and to have a taste of the Caribbean lifestyle. Many of them end up staying and buying homes here, since the benefits of buying property in the Dominican Republic are higher than anywhere else in the Caribbean.
A stable government, improving infrastructure, and easy access via its three international airports & ports further encourage foreigners. Our resort community offers amenities & hospitality services for a comfortable and relaxing lifestyle. On the North Coast luxury villas have shown the highest price appreciation, and construction costs have remained stable, giving this area a valuable reputation.
With long stretches of sandy white beaches and pleasant temperatures, foreign homebuyers are attracted because luxury property is accessible in the Dominican Republic. By investing in a place of your own, your monthly living costs would be much less. This is a realistic and appealing option for affordable luxury & to truly live in the location of your dreams.
Since our resort community is situated in the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, it offers advantages such as:
Unobstructed Ocean views. Your villa will be framed by mountain vistas or expanses of our beaches and Caribbean ocean. There’s something inherently relaxing about these types of surroundings.
Recreation and amenities. If you’re the active type -- you can enjoy surfing, golfing, trail riding, or kayaking in the bay. If you enjoy the relaxed island lifestyle — enjoy our spa, yoga sala or gym and the beach club. You can find these and more activities in LOE. And if you plan to live in the resort home full-time, or visit regularly, you’ll have lots of time to take advantage of these and other amenities. If you own a villa within the resort, you can take full advantage of the services and amenities for your family or your renters.
Exclusive shops, market & entertainment. A wide variety of infrastructure buildings are also created exclusively to complement the resort lifestyle. A market place with locally grown produce, seafood, beef, poultry and more. A coffee and tea shop with the best Dominican coffee and tea selection around. Resort boutique with all the items you might need for your stay in LOE. Entertainment at the beach club and residence club restaurant every weekend.
Residents & Community. Resorts tend to attract people from all over the world, resulting in a more interesting and diverse population than many other towns of a similar size. Our community is based on luxury villas in a private gated ocean view beach community with surrounding natural beauty. Secluded locations with access to exceptional beaches, activities and nearby towns are hard to find even on this island nation.
Villa Design Options. Depending on what you're looking for, our master-planned community offers a list of (6) villa sizes that you can deploy beyond the included elements in the plans. These options give you the freedom of choice and selection based on your lifestyle and design needs. Materials in these options can also be explored with color and or material changes.
Safety and security. Even when you’re away, you can rest assured your vacation villa is safe and secure. Along with gated and secured entry / perimeter and surveillance systems, resort communities employ security staff to ensure all visitors and properties are in good hands.
Your new home awaits…View availabilities now.
Unobstructed Ocean Views.
Mountain Vistas at Luperon Ocean Estates
Voted one of the top affordable luxury destinations in the Caribbean, Puerto Plata & Luperon offer a Caribbean lifestyle that's achievable while meeting all your needs.
In addition to the spectacular beaches of the Dominican Republic's north coast or the adventure & activities along the lively Malecón boardwalk, there's also the magnificent colonial architecture of the historic district. In short, Puerto Plata's features include plenty of activities for all, and luxury for a reasonable price.
But tourists aren’t the only ones taking notice of this island paradise, Americans interested in acquiring luxury real estate for primary, holiday, or retirement homes are gathering in the Dominican for its tax advantages and the high quality of life offered in an ideal setting.
The stability of the government and a steady economy that has been growing in the past years have transformed the Dominican Republic into the perfect place to visit, and also for expats or looking for a safe and affordable option in the Caribbean. A booming luxury home market and an updated infrastructure serve as examples of the long progression the Dominican Republic has made through its centuries-old history.
Ocean views
As we are all aware, The Dominican Republic does not generate enough power to support 100% on demand access to that power for its Island businesses and residences. The country has what they call rolling brown outs. The majority of all power still uses fossil fuels which is costly and dirty. They are generating a small amount of wind energy on the south cost at this time, and will continue to grow this as outside funding increases. With this in mind, we are promoting and designating our resort community as Energy Neutral. This means that we are generating as much power as we use.
The first reason for this is essentially to have access to consistent power as we need it.
The second is ecologically minded resorts need to walk the walk. Third is that we have an abundance of solar and wind power available to us in our front yard and overhead.
Each of the homes that have been developed all have optional solar panels applications, hot water panel systems, water collection and reserve backup generators built into the homes. These are all options for each home owner but offer great consistency and return on investment in short order.
As for the development itself. Each building and structure will use solar power, water collection and have access to back up power generation on site. We are also in the early stages of R&D on a small low impact wind farm for the top section of the development in a designated "green space" area that is currently the equestrian center. This would allow us to be 100% independent from the power provider while still having access to multiple forms of backup power on site. We are blessed with consistent on-shore breezes that will make a low impact wind farm a big benefit without the need for tall tower-like industrial turbines.
This simple idea of energy neutral gives us longevity, consistency and conservation for our beautiful resort community. We hope you all agree.
Our exceptional gated community of Luperon Ocean Estates, designed by the award-winning architect Eric Urbahn was conceived and developed with a master plan that respects the abundance of natural ocean views, beach access and the natural onshore trade winds, which all preserve the natural beauty of our environment with over 250,000 M2 of terrain.
In addition to our residential areas, we have designed and currently developing:
· Club House & Restaurant
· Fresh Food Market
· Whale watch tower
· Resort-style club pool & Jacuzzi
· Tennis true courts, Tennis pro shop + Lounge
· Equestrian center
· Spa/Gym
· Yoga Sala
Whether you plan to live in the resort home full-time, or visit regularly, you’ll have lots of time to take advantage of these Resort Community inspired luxury amenities & services.
Luperon Ocean Estates welcomes all guests to feel at home, for true a relaxing and comfortable experience.
General Development Plan - Amenities
Happy holidays to all of you from the team at Luperon Ocean Estates. Wishing all of you great success and happiness in the coming year.
Some of the best news this year out of the Dominican Republic is the economy. Despite major flood damage very recently their economy grew by 6.5%.
The central bank in December said that Dominican Republic's economy activity and domestic demand "evolve favorably" and forecasts expect the economy to grow as high as 6.5%, the highest in the region. It said the economy will grow despite the effects of recent floods that have caused widespread damages to agriculture and infrastructure mostly in the north region.
"Credit to the private sector continues to expand at close to 12.0% in November and close the year with an expansion above the Nominal estimated product, " the Central Bank Said on its website.
So, how does all this affect our development. Positive economic growth fuels better infrastructure for our region. This also affects prices for land and homes as rising economies typically are parallel with rising land and home prices.
Happy New Year to all.
Year end update on the Luperon Ocean Estates infrastructure. While there has been a lot of behind the scenes work on the development progressing along, we are now preparing to get our Engineering drawings completed, commence with the environmental study and put a schedule together for all to follow.
In this process of essentially starting over, there are a large number to challenges and planning documents and procedures to put in place. Once we have a set of engineering drawings completed, which is typically 2.5 to 3 months we will have what we need to proceed with permit submittal and a number of other tests and procedures.
Our engineering drawing are essentially our construction documentation set. These documents sort out the details of the streets, the sewers, the water and power and cable lines. They show and detail the water treatment center and the excavation and land moving that needs to take place during the construction process.
To be very clear. All aspects of the previous development were scrutinized, most of it altered for the better. But all of this was and is now designed. Previously it was not. My apology for the delays between the last infrastructure blog post and now. But we are working on all fronts at the same time.
In the meantime the DR has had some of the most intensive weather and rain storms in recent history. Roads and bridges were washed away, people have died as a result. We mention this so that you also understand some of the physical and weather challenges we face ahead of us when we start construction. As we move into the holiday part of the year, most of our development efforts will be on engineering and completing the lot owners CCR's document for each lot owner by early January. The CCR's for each development are basically the clarifications and restrictions under which each lot owner must operate within. It's a guide for all aspects of the development from restrictions on home sizes based on lot sizes, lines of site, materials, rentals, facilities and much more. Look for our next blog before the end of the year on this subject.
Happy holidays, from all of us at Luperon Ocean Estates.
You might not know this but one of the premier luxury boutique resorts opened its doors on the North coast of DR earlier this year at Playa Grande. The Amanera Resort is the newest in the collection of truly 5 star luxury resorts from the Aman Hotel Group.
They are also now the owners of Playa Grande golf course which was designed by the celebrated architect Robert Trent Jones Sr and considered the pebble beach of the Caribbean. It's currently ranked as 21 in the list of top golf courses.
So why is all this important to Luperon Ocean Estates? The entry of this level of luxury in the hotel and golf industry brings with it another positive level of affluent consumer and travelers that will now be arriving to the North Coast of DR. This, in combination with the Carnival cruise line port and other state sponsored infrastructure projects means our coastal area is on the rise and will continue for a long time to come.
Playa Grande Golf Course - Image by Aman.com