If this is for real it is scary - Lake City project

I can tell you as a hotel owner in the area that a luxury hotel like this located here will fail very quickly. The number of wealthy people from Guadalajara is limited, the demand for accommodations is 95% on Saturday nights only, the rest of the week is quite often no business. The Mexican customer comes here mostly looking for family accommodations, with families of six or eight, not luxury.
The gringos coming here are not looking for luxury, they want affordability and to stretch their retirement income as far as they can. Also they are only here from December to April, five months at best to earn enough to support them throughout the year when the gringos leave.
I have to ask what will the drawing card be here - the weather alone wont do it when the whole of Mexico has good weather to offer, many locations with beaches and supporting infrastructure, which we dont. It wont be the clean, clear waters of the lake that does it or the sandy beaches to laze on.
My best guess is it wont materialize unless the builders only want to dispose of money and lots of it.

http://gruponaimar.com/index.php/lakecity-proyecto

Note that a hospital, assisted living and other goodies are projected, with part of the pitch referring to the over 60's among us.

I have two geologist friends who are going to attend the brunch and presentation this coming Monday and invited me and esposo to join them. They are planning to ask questions, of course. I have a meeting and can't go (plus a dis-inclination to listen to such things).  My intuition is that they will be looking for investors.  We have all heard that song before.
I believe there are a few huge properties on the lakefront: one just before La Floresta as you approach from the East end and another in Chapala.

And, as P.T. Barnum said about what's born every minute........Happy April Fools Day.

Is there really any question about this "project's" legitimacy?

kb9gzg wrote:Is there really any question about this "project's" legitimacy?

Ever heard a pitch for a timeshare? The worst of it is that over on the coast, some of these have been semi-completed and then went broke, leaving the investors hanging out to dry.

A few weekends ago when Chapala had the big celebrate the Lake day there was a booth set up that was handing out very expensive glossy brochures for this development. The website linked to a company in Spain. I doubt it will ever break ground.

The domain name "lakecity.mx" is real and taken. So, I am assuming that this is likely a real project. If not, it is a well put together hoax.

The Website is real - mas o menos. Long on hyperbole and short on fact.

Totally unrealistic - what little I know of construction and the land around the lake and all the areas with shifty soil along the lake, I can't imagine they have even had an engineer look at the subsoil, let alone do any kind of feasibility study. And they'd have to build their own waste water treatment plant to handle all those toilets for another example.

Hoax for sure

Flamingo wrote:The Website is real - mas o menos. Long on hyperbole and short on fact.

Totally unrealistic - what little I know of construction and the land around the lake and all the areas with shifty soil along the lake, I can't imagine they have even had an engineer look at the subsoil, let alone do any kind of feasibility study. And they'd have to build their own waste water treatment plant to handle all those toilets for another example.

Hoax for sure

If not a hoax, it's a "shity" idea. My geologist friend is attending and planning to ask those questions. My guess is that it's something like a timeshare scheme. Leave your checkbook and wallet home.

I guess not a hoax but a scam. Collect the money and run.

You are right - scam is a better word. So are con game and fraud.

Just send your Maid & Gardener, to ask when they will be hiring.

We attended this promotion this morning. The impression that we came away with was that the reception to this development was underwhelming.
Some very good questions were asked, and the answers given were always reassuring, although met with some scepticism.
My opinion is that the majority of expats do not want "change"...some were adamant that
the scope of this development would spoil the area, and would forever destroy the ambiance of the area...and the very reason that they chose to move here.
No doubt there were some who were interested; the aspect of hospice accommodation
could be a draw for those with deep pockets.
The developers are Spanish, and seem to have done their homework, they've already bought the land, and have all of the official permits in place. Building is projected to begin in 6 months. We'll watch this project with interest.

Was there any solicitation for money or is this thing funded and did they give the location? tx

Nosnow wrote:We attended this promotion this morning. The impression that we came away with was that the reception to this development was underwhelming.
Some very good questions were asked, and the answers given were always reassuring,  although met with some scepticism.
My opinion is that the majority of expats do not want "change"...some were adamant that
the scope of this development would spoil the area, and would forever destroy the ambiance of the area...and the very reason that they chose to move here.
No doubt there were some who were interested; the aspect of hospice accommodation
could be a draw for those with deep pockets.
The developers are Spanish, and seem to have done their homework, they've already bought the land, and have all of the official permits in place. Building is projected to begin in 6 months. We'll watch this project with interest.

Who catered the "Brunch", and what was it like??

oncesubtle wrote:Was there any solicitation for money or is this thing funded and did they give the location? tx

I understand the location is across from the Monte Carlo Hotel.

¿Would this project need a substantial increase of property taxes to get it built in the Chapala Municipality?
Or
Will it contribute to the State property taxes when finished?

Whoever opens the first taco stand across the street from this mega construction project is gonna do well.

Based on the postings from those who attended on TOB, this project already has all the necessary permits, is slated to begin this coming fall and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it at this point. It's across the street from the Monte Carlo Hotel where they are planning to level the hill and build an appalling number of units.
Welcome to Enhanced Paradise.

Considering how the Spanish builders have screwed up in Spain it would be smart to ban them from building anything here .

brigitte wrote:Considering how the Spanish builders have screwed up in Spain it would be smart to ban them from building anything here .

Considering how the Spanish screwed Mexico in the past it might be smart to ban them entirely.

There is already a vast glut of product on a very weak RE market. Who in their right mind would add another 1500 plus units to this market????

I know it sounds insane. BUT, there is a great number of baby boomers that will soon be looking for a place to retire.
There's a chance they are going after the european market more than N.A. I'm sure the locals are not part of their target market.

The biggest risk for this project, beyond all the political crap, will most likely be selling units before all the services are completed. And that will take a while, since nobody will want to set up shop there unless there is a critical mass of residents. There's a chance it will end up looking like Eldorado and Laguna center for a long time.

If you take a look at PV or Cancun, there are loads of gigantic hotels there that were put up by spanish interests, so this type of project is not unheard of. Grupo Naimar is probably just a Mexican spin-off created just for this project.

The traffic is going to be insane, unless they put in a new road of some sort, even during construction.

Pete

Google Earth shows the suspected location being about .7 mile in from the libramento.

This would be horrible. The construction alone would be very disruptive to the community. If it were successful, the influx of people would forever change the area. It won't affect my plans for this fall, but if it were to go ahead I could see myself changing my plans from Lake Chapala to some other locale.

The kind of people who would want to live in a place like the one we are being shown would definitely change the community, most especially the area immediately around it. The whole thing is ugly in every sense of that word. What an abomination.

We miss our home in Chapala, but if this project becomes a reality, I will be very happy that we have sold and moved already.