Sonoran beachfront project planned

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. - Hotels, condominiums, vacation time-shares and other tourist attractions would spring up along a stretch of coastal highway between El Golfo de Santa Clara and Rocky Point, Son., under plans unveiled here Friday by a group of investors, landowners and other participants in the proposed project.

In all, the Sea of Cortes Tourist Corridor group wants to develop about 25 miles of beachfront property between two communities.

The group, formed in July, called a news conference Friday to present conceptual plans for the Collar de la Perla project prepared by the HOK Planning Group, a global firm that provides planning and design services for architectural and development projects.

"The first step (in the project) is the master development plan," said Guillermo Braniff, vice president of the Sea of Cortes Tourist Corridor group. "I think it could cost up to $2 million. If that first step goes well, the other investors in hotels, businesses and housing will follow."

In what would be the first stage of the project, developer Henry Altman, a former president of the Coldwell Banker affiliates in Central America, plans to build La Frontera Oasis consisting of 184 condominiums, a hotel with a boutique and spa, restaurant and 32 lots for homes along a six-mile stretch of the border, said Braniff.

Aside from Altman, the area's tourism potential could attract numerous other investors, said Braniff, "and I would be pleased if it were done by Americans, according to U.S. codes, because at the end of the day, 90 percent of the customers are going to be Americans."

Braniff is president and owner of the Mexico City-based Braniff Development Group, which also plans to invest in the project. He said the Sonoran coastline has advantages over Baja California as a tourism draw.

"First of all, we have a precious beach, without waves, and the upper desert (above the water) is a very important attraction for tourists. That's a beautiful combination of sea and desert. It's a precious place, and the principal advantage that we have is that we are hardly an hour and a half away from the states of California and Arizona.

"The quality of water and the beauty of the Sea of Cortes which, as Jacques Cousteau said, is the 'aquarium of the world.'"

The group's first task, Braniff said, will be to negotiate with various government agencies in Mexico to fund the basic water and electrical infrastructure to handle the development.

"We are struggling to find the resources. We are going to the municipal, state and federal level. And if it's necessary, to the president, so that the resources are dedicated for an environmentally sustainable development."

Attending the news conference was San Luis Rio Colorado Mayor Manuel Baldenebro, who signed a letter of support for the project. Even though his city doesn't currently have funding to invest, he said, "I will help them knock on doors at the state and federal level, with the secretary of tourism, wherever is necessary. I'll knock with one hand and when I get tired, I'll knock with the other. But this project must move forward, and as I've always said, development needs to be regional, with a hand from our neighbors."

The Sea of Cortes Tourist Corridor group brings together owners of property in the coastal area proposed for development; Petra Santos, who represents San Luis Rio Colorado as a federal lawmaker; directors of the city's International Industrial Park; plus other local investors such as Luis Carlos Valencia and Francisco Flores.

The current global recession, Braniff said, not only will not limit the project but actually "gives us time to prepare for when the economy does recover. We must take advantage of the time to prepare the plan and the infrastructure, so that when the economy does recover, we will be ready to receive investors with open arms."