Does anyone know who is working on developing Puerto Cancun? At some point I remember reading it was in conjunction with a Dallas company like Staubach or Trammel Crow. Hopefully the project is still in the works post Wilma...I just moved to Dallas and want to try and get a real estate position on the project if possible.
Puerto Cancun is in a heap of trouble with the arrest of Michael Kelly for fraud. Check out this thread.... http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28037&highlight=michael kelly
Cool. Here's the "official" Puerto Cancun website: http://www.puertocancun.com/ Realtor/financier(?) http://www.wallstreetassoc.com/puertocancun.php Did I read right from one of the press releases on the website that Michael Kelly is/was at the head of the project? Isn't he very recently behind bars now?
I'm curious why you would want to work selling Puerto Cancun properties exclusively? My several real estate agent clients tell me the opposite. There is very little in the Puerto Cancun development that they would be willing to sell, they are very afraid the Mike Kelly will screw their clients! And I can tell you that many of the properties in Puerto Cancun are being sold by lots of unaffiliated real estate agents. I think some of the projects are closed and are not paying commissions to outside sales people. But I know for a fact that many of them are paying outside commissions to agents not affiliated with Puerto Cancun. And around here the outside agents often make a better commission than the ones who only sell that property...it's pretty screwed up actually.
I actually was interested in working on the development end and not in sales and leasing. I remember reading several years ago that a Dallas real estate company (Staubach, CB Richard Ellis, or Trammell Crow - I can't remember which one) was in charge of the masterplan and development. It looks like maybe there were some problems and the Dallas firm dropped out. Mike Kelly aside I think a marina in that location was a good idea. I've been up to that area around Punta Sam (or whatever it was called) and the beaches weren't very good. It is close to El Centro and will shelter a lot of large yachts. Has anyone seen the marina in Cozumel. It is old and has a lot of character. It looks like it was built in the 1950s. Even though it is rundown there are a lot of boats there. The marina is located towards the north end of the western coast of the island.
I know nothing about the actual development, as in who is working on it. The beach there are not as lovely as those out on the east side of the 7. There is seaweed in the water there, which darkens the water. But if they clean the beaches the sand there is lovely. I walked my dog on the Puerto Cancun beach just the other day. Personally I wish they've never started Puerto Cancun. They've wrecked tons on mangrove and wildlife habitat. There are still a lot of birds there, but most of those will be gone once the development is finished. I do think that Cancun needs more nice, well planned development. But Puerto Cancun will be so exclusive that it won't really bring Cancun, in general, up. It will just be a nice place for the people who live there, the rest of us won't be going there. I wish that Cancun had more nice places for the public to go. We need more public parks and more nice public beaches. I wish that they had included some good stuff for the regular population in Puerto Cancun. But Mike Kelly is not exactly someone who seems to care much about the public good or the environment. I think he cares about lining his pockets.
If you are going to build a marina for mega yachts the area already under development is the place to do it. In the past a few yachts anchored at Embarcadero or somewhere in the lagoon. A real marina is going to be a big draw in my opinion. It will be fun to watch large yachts and sailboats come in to the harbor. If you've ever been to Cabo you have see what a centerpiece a large marina can be. There will probably be some fun restaurants and bars that the general public will enjoy hanging out at and being part of the scene. One of the "funnest" places in Texas is a Carlos N Charlies that is located on a small lake marina near Austin. If a Carlos N Charlies in central Texas can be that fun you can imagine how much fun the bars in Puerto Cancun could be.
>I remember reading several years ago that a Dallas real estate company (Staubach, CB Richard Ellis, or Trammell Crow - I can't remember which one) was in charge of the masterplan and development. That was plan B for Puerto Cancun I think. Pretty sure they're on Plan C (Kelly version) right now. As for the marina, at present the "big" yachts mainly berth at Isla Mujeres, because the draft there is deep enough already. The area around Puerto Cancun is VERY shallow. Probably the shallowest area anywhere around Cancun. Originally they were planning on making it able to berth cruise liners, but as they've proceded, their expectations have lowered somewhat. There's a LOT of dredging required, and with the strong current through there, they'll have to KEEP dredging to stop those yachts from running aground as they head out.
Michael Kelly will be in jail for the rest of his life Michael Kelly appeared at his detention hearing in Chicago today. He was denied the right to bail since he has no assets in the US and is a flight risk. The case against him is overwhelming and he is facing 53 years in jail for defrauding thousands of retirees. He actually had the nerve to state that he only makes $55,000 a year and has a meager $48,000 in assets. There is more information at this page http://www.lesliestipek.com/michaelekelly.asp
Lots of great info at that link. You can dnld PDFs with the statements from Mike Kelly's family and doctor, very interesting reading.
