AOL founder Steve Case’s project in Costa Rica delayed until 2010
Source :
(Kent Gilbert for The New York Times)
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 $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, according to the Costa Rica press. “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 told the Beach Times. (A spokesman for St. Regis did not return calls.)
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.About the Authors
Kevin Brass travels the world reporting on tempting locations, unusual homes and hot markets. His home-buying experience began in Southern California, where he managed to completely miss the real estate boom. He now lives with his wife, Lietza, in an oddly Tudor-style two-story house with canyon views in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. The key selling point was a screened porch, a special treat for their two cats. Unfortunately, only one has figured out the mechanics of the kitty door. He is a longtime contributor to the Properties section of the International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, People, NWA World Traveler and a wide variety of other publications. 
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