Costa Rica Has A
Subdivision High In The
Trees
By
Jack Kohane, For Canwest
News Service
The blueprints for Kevin
Ablett's future home are
up a tree. But he's
ecstatic by the prospect
of having such colourful
neighbours as howler and
spider monkeys, toucans
and scarlet macaws
squawking on his
rooftop.
"This is what living in
a rain forest in Costa
Rica is about," says
Ablett, 29, a former
Toronto realtor who
moved to Calgary to tap
into the oil patch's
gushing housing market,
and is now the proud
owner of a tree house
above the jungle floor.
"When the opportunity
came to be a part of
this unique community, I
took it. This is the
ultimate in green
development."
Examining the branches
of the 150-foot-high
trees that will carry
the weight of their
1,000-square-foot
wood-sided home, Ablett
and his 28-year-old
fiancé, Anne Stefanyk,
are among the first
titleholders to a slice
of the tropical Eden
called Finca Bellavista,
the world's only tree
house subdivision.
Foot power is the main
mode of transportation
to enter this earthly
paradise, which is fine
with Ablett. "We'll be
growing our own crops in
the organic garden. And
if we want to stay
connected with the
outside, there's easy
access to a Wi-Fi signal
and a high-speed direct
link satellite dish. We
have everything needed
within walking
distance."
Located at the base of a
1,800-metre mountain on
the South Pacific coast
of Costa Rica, a region
that boasts the highest
percentage of land
devoted to National
Parks and Forest
Reserves in the country,
Finca Bellavista
(translated as "estate
with a beautiful view")
offers panoramas of the
Pacific Ocean and
breathtaking vistas of
the surrounding
landscape of this
ecologically lush
125-hectare property.
Currently in the first
phase of a planned
three-stage development,
the 72-lot Finca
Bellavista is the
brainchild of
co-founders Matt Hogan,
a sports marketing
consultant from Maryland
and his wife, Erica, a
former newspaper editor
from Colorado.
"We came to Costa Rica
two years ago on a
surfing trip to Pavones
(a hot spot with large
waves) with no intention
of buying a property,"
Erica Hogan says. "On
arrival, we fell in love
with the place. Our
first thought: We have
to build a vacation home
here."
They became so
passionate about the
project that it wasn't
long before the decision
was made to share it
with others. "We want to
bring something totally
different and
adventurous into
peoples' lives," Matt
Hogan says.
Inspired by the Star
Wars Ewok village they
fantasized about as
kids, with its
interconnected suspended
bridges linking the
trees and adjoining
huts, the Hogans wanted
to recreate that
storybook experience at
Finca.
"We're astonished no one
has done this before,"
says Matt. "For many,
the idea of living in a
tree house is rooted in
our childhood
imagination. Whatever
the age, six or 60, the
thought of being in a
tree house never fails
to elicit a smile."
Finca Bellavista's lots
vary in size from about
one to two hectares. The
initial 30 parcels in
Phase 1, priced at
$40,000 U.S., are almost
sold out. The one- and
two-hectare lots of
Phase 2, are available
ranging from $50,000 to
$65,000 U.S. (higher for
riverfront and
ocean-view parcels). The
details of Phase 3 are
still to come.
Housing construction
costs are extra, of
course, but no need to
worry -- there's no rush
hour, no contractor's
schedule to meet and no
pressure to build until
you're ready.
There's plenty of
privacy for Fina
Bellavista homeowners.
But building a community
nestled within the
canopy of tall tropical
trees has its design and
engineering challenges.
To untangle the lofty
logistics, the Hogans
sought world-renowned
tree house designer
Roderick Romero. Among
his eco-friendly
creations, which he
describes as more
sculptural than
architectural, are
treetop hideaways for
the kids of celebrities
such as Sting's in
Tuscany, Val Kilmer's
Pacos, Tex., rear-yard
retreat and Julianne
Moore's New York City
getaway aerie.
Finca Bellavista is his
first jungle job, one he
calls a landmark
project.
"This is a fantastic
experience," says
Romero, whose work
studio is in New York
City.
"One of the main hurdles
in building a tree house
is building a structure
that's lightweight as to
not overburden the
trees, but heavy enough
to carry the weight of
kitchen appliances,
beds, balconies and the
other creature comforts
people want."
To do that, Romero and
his crew of bough-abode
builders, the
Seattle-based Treehouse
Workshop, are using all
reclaimed, salvaged wood
from the region,
manoeuvring each seven-metre
beam, which weigh about
320 kilograms, through
the rain forest along
narrow paths.
Each tree must be
inspected and analyzed
inside and out to ensure
there is no decay to
weaken a tree and its
branches. "I've seen
these trees and they are
ideal for this
development," Romero
says.
Since the design of each
tree house will be
different, he must scale
every tree to assess its
strengths and
weaknesses.
"Once I'm up there, I
can devise the house
plan, the best staircase
or ladder access points,
where to situate
balconies for optimal
lookouts and ensure
everything works to
harmonize with the
environment."
The Sky Trail network is
an interconnected system
of ziplines and
platforms that allow
users to access
different portions of
the community. Since you
can't drive a car into
the interior of the
property, the Sky Trails
are another option --
besides hiking -- to get
to your property.
As for plumbing and
electricity, Finca
Bellavista is teaming
with nature to provide
utilities. Rainwater,
which there is no
shortage of in a rain
forest, will be
funnelled into the home
from a catchment system
on a home's roof and
distributed to sinks and
bathrooms via pipes.
Rather than tying into
the existing municipal
power grid, which has
frequent rolling black-
and brown-outs, the
Hogans opted to create
their own hydro-electric
power grid for the
community.
The system uses the
water flowing through
the mountain-fed Rio
Bellavista to power a
turbine attached to an
electric generator. The
water will be diverted
into the turbine from
the river through
piping. After passing
through the turbine, the
water is returned to the
river as pure and
natural as when it
entered the pipeline. |
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