Nick Halverson Costa Rica Update July 2008

 

I returned from a three week trip earlier this month and I wanted to update all of you as to the latest news on our San Buenas Golf Resort project and Costa Rica.

 

Costa Rica’s environment enabled the grass to grow at a great rate. The standard grow time before transferring to another location is generally 70 – 75 days. However, Rob believes we will be able to transfer the first cut around 55 days. We will be using the turf initially on the driving range which we hope to have open by year’s end.

San Buenas Golf Resort Update

The paspalum Platinum TE grass was delivered and put down by the second week of June. The grass was delivered in a refrigerated container and then applied by hand over a three day period. One of our customers in Phase I, who is building a house on Phase I who is also a turf farmer in the United States, was with me when we arrived to take the photos below. He and Rob Cuncic, our turf expert, had a great conversation about turf, genetics and growing turf in Costa Rica.

 

Costa Rica’s environment enabled the grass to grow at a great rate. The standard grow time before transferring to another location is generally 70 – 75 days. However, Rob believes we will be able to transfer the first cut around 55 days. We will be using the turf initially on the driving range which we hope to have open by year’s end.

San Buenas Golf Resort is committed to replanting/re-foresting the land where the project is located. The land was stripped of its original trees decades ago and we intend on bringing back the original beauty that this land deserves. Between the two nursery’s on Phase I and Phase II there are almost 14,000 plant and tree seedlings that will be planted throughout the development.  This will help attract native wildlife and will greatly enhance the look and the value of the land. The genetic mother of each group of trees and plants is registered and used to prevent cross-pollination of geneticly ‘related’ plants.  Our forestal engineer, Ing. Pablo Castillo Baldares,  advises us to keep pollinating with different strains of the same plant to ensure the most healthy and robust strains will be grown.

 

San Buenas is now proud to offer title insurance and financing on all Phase I lots through Chicago Title. Please contact us for more details.

 

Community

 

San Buenas Golf Resort continues to help the surrounding community with numerous projects. We decided to send our crew of workers to help build the public school in San Buenaventura. The success of this project is tied directly to the success and employment of the local community. We are ensuring that our development makes the smallest environmental impact as possible, while at the same time, ensuring that the local community grows with us. We employ all local workers and are training them for not only their current job, but also what their roles/responsibilities will be in the future.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s tourism continues to grow at a double digit rate. ICT (Costa Rica Tourism Board) expects over two million visitors this year!

 

The United Nations also rated Costa Rica schools as the second-best (second only to Cuba) in all of South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Costa Rica’s continued commitment to education is just one of many reasons why it is routinely a top destination for international corporations looking for a talented employee pool.

 

Wildlife

What would a recap of a trip to Costa Rica be without a couple of beautiful photos? I took these photos in the same week while going to/from Dominical/ San Isidro del General.

I will be back down in Costa Rica from August 14 – 28^th. It would be great to see you in paradise! 

 

 

Nick Halverson holding a sloth that was in the middle of the road from Dominical to San Isidro. The sloth was put back in the jungle.