AOL Founder Steve Case’s
Project in Costa Rica
Delayed Until 2010
The financial problems
in the United States are
taking a toll on Costa
Rica. Several
well-publicized projects
have been put on hold,
including Cacique, an
ambitious us$800 million
development on the
northern Pacific Coast
spearheaded by AOL
founder Steve Case.
Construction was
scheduled to begin next
year on the
much-discussed Cacique
development, which
includes two boutique
hotels, a spa, an array
of high-end home sites
and a tennis facility
designed by Andre Agassi
and Steffi Graf. But now
the project won’t break
ground until 2010, at
the earliest.
“In the current
environment, we do not
consider it prudent to
start construction,”
said Jorge Cornick,
spokesman for the
project. “But as soon as
the market goes back to
normal, the project will
proceed, as planned.”
A St. Regis hotel
planned for the central
coast and a Regent Hotel
project in Guanacaste,
not far from Cacique,
are also in limbo due to
financing concerns. “We
are pausing for the
moment, giving us a
chance to investigate
further how the
situation with the
capital markets might
play out,” Regent hotel
developer Blaine
Kirchert said.
Costa Rican president
Oscar Arias joined Case
to announce plans for
Cacique last year. The
first project for Case’s
company, Revolution
Places, Cacique is
designed to combine the
“highest-end services
and amenities” with the
latest in environmental
and green development
practices, according to
marketing materials.
Plans call for only 300
private residential
units on the 650-acre
site.
The delay is more bad
news for Agassi and
Graf, who are having a
tough time in their
initial forays into real
estate. Earlier this
year, a project they
were helping to develop
in Idaho, the Fairmont
Tamarack, also ran into
financial problems.
|
