Naturewalk, Turrubares, Costa Rica

Life in BalanceNaturewalk

Teatro Nacional In the capital city of San Jose is known as the ‘Opera House’ for live performances

Naturewalk Costa Rica

This is the story of a country of only 4 million people. A country with very large eco plans that has impressed the world. Not only are they producing 95% of their energy needs from hydro, wind and thermo power, they had the foresight to focus on thse technologies more than 20 years ago. Their plans are to be carbon neutral by 2021. To achieve this they need to work through various channels. One effort is the planting of 7 mil-lion trees in 2010, more per capita than anywhere else in the world. To actually achieve the carbon neutrality goal, it will take signifi cantly more trees planted and much more land preserved. This is the why the contin-ued appreciation of development land will occur.

Costa Rica is a very attractive tourist destination with the industry worth over 2 billion a year to the country. From the capital of San Jose to the coasts of the Caribbean to the Pacifi c Ocean, tourists fl ock here from the US, Canada and abroad on a regular basis. Costa Rica welcomes visitors to stay and own land and homes, and the country has created an easy process for immigrating to Costa Rica that is very straightforward. And, there are no capital gains taxes, and a very low property tax rate.

Naturewalk Costa Rica

Naturewalk is an eco-mountain resort community. It contains a large teak plantation (Naturewalk 1)as well as bio-estate farm lots (Naturewalk 2) and a new hybrid teak to be planted along with a high-end root crop of Nampi (Naturewalk 3). The majority of this land are residential lots of varying square meters from 1/4 acre lots in Mountain Crest community of Naturewalk 1 to a few lots over 9 acres in Naturewalk 2.

The development will soon have an Adventure Center, a jungle hotel, and a small tropical themed hotel, as well as a Retreat & Wellness Center in Naturewalk 3. There will also be a plantation hotel in the the middle of the coffee and pineapple plantations of Naturewalk 2, ideal for leisure travelers and social events such as weddings. This plantation hotel will also have a cooking school. Naturewalk is at the top of a hill tucked away in it’s own valley, with proximity to the Pacifi c Ocean only 8.6 miles west. The familiar beach towns in their neighborhood are Herredura, Jaco, Esterillos and then Manuel Antonio 45 minutes to the south.

Many investors will buy these lots as a pure investment for the land, tree and crop appreciation value. While others will build a vacation home, retirement home, or estate home on their lot(s). this development offers diversity in plant and animal life. Naturewalk is an eco-community for lifestyle advocates desiring a healthy environment and lifestyle as it is themed - life in balance. This development will be built out over many years.

Montelimar where this church resides on the ride from Esterillo Beach

View Halfway up secondary road to Naturewalk

The Mountain Crest 50 teak lots of 1/4 acre + have all sold since the original offering that began in 2010. Their teak is estimated to be worth $23,450 to the investor at harvest in seven years, after the milling pro-cess.

The larger La Reserva teak lots of 1 1/4 acre have also sold except one 5,000 sq. meters + lot remaining and priced at $70,000. We estimate the profi t to the investor will be $117,250 in seven years. These larger lots face the Carara Mountains in the distance over a neighboring valley.

Teak trends at the high-end of all timber and this class of investments has performed extremely well for the past 100 years. When considering teak pricing there is unmilled teak pricing that today range from $300 to $550 per cu. meter of teak. And there is milled teak that in Costa Rica is valued at $1,250 cu. meter and in the US at $1,750 per cu. meter.

Naturewalk The Investment Opportunity

Naturewalk 1 Teak that is now 13 Years Old

Mountain Crest Lots (each approximately 1,000 sq meters)

Mountain Crest #3 with a view to the Ocean 8.6 miles in distance

La Reserva Estate Lots (approximately 5,000 sq meters)

Naturewalk 1View to Neighborhood Valley and Carara Mountains

Many original investors bought for pure investment reasons. Today, the majority of investors are buying be-cause they desire to build a home for vacations or retirement. PRG, the development company headed by Tim Alexander, has a sustainable home building division. Homes in Naturewalk may be as small as weekend retreats of only 800 sq. ft., or as large as estate home up to 10,000 sq. ft.

The options for lots to build a larger estate home are varied. Some may choose Forest Glen in Naturewalk 1, while others may desire to build a Farm Estate Home in Naturewalk 2’s bio-farm community called Estancia Montana. Estancia Montana will be planted with bio-crops, including Jatropha and Macauba Palm for the purpose of creating bio-fuels. Some of these 35 lots are hilltop lots that are ideal for estate homes.

There is the potential of have organic coffee planted on some of the larger estate lots within Estancia Mon-tana. There is one lot that is 12.5 acres and is already determined to have coffee planted as soon as it is pur-chases.

Pure Investment or Home Building Alternative

Naturewalk Parkway view to Naturewalk 2 Estancia Montana

Naturewalk 2 lot #23 of Estancia Montana view to ridge of Lot #26

Naturewalk 3 with its community called Summit Ridge released the original 41 lots in April that line Nature-walk Parkway which is the secondary road coming up from the beach at Esterillos. These lots range in size from .41 acre up to .80 acre with just one of those lots above an acre.

These lots are located west of Naturewalk 1 and 2 lots. They run the length of the property touching the Na-turewalk Parkway. This is on the secondary roadway that comes up from the Costanera Highway. This road has recently been widened and is in the process of paving at various villages. It is anticiated to be paved from Naturewalk all the way down to the beach over the next year plus.

These lots will be planted with a new hybrid teak and also with a value root crop called Nampi or Taro. The teak trees are to reach maturity in 17 years, and the Nampi will have harvest beginning in Year 1. Nampi is a valued crop that is esteemed as a gourmet food product. It also has very large leaves, and when viewed from a distance is a deep green lush landscape that is ideal for home sites within an agricultural setting.

Naturewalk 3 Summit Ridge

Naturewalk 3 Site Plan

Naturewalk 3 Summit Ridge - Lot 54 View

Naturewalk 3 Summit Ridge - Lot 66 View

Home Building in Naturewalk

The sprawling ‘Farm Estate Home’ design could be a combination of masonry and teak, or masonry and stuc-co, whichever a client prefers. It could be located in Naturewalk 1 on larger lots of La Reserva or Forest Glen or within Naturewalk 2 which is comprised of bio-estates of either 5,000 sq. meters (1 1/2 acres)with some approximately 10,000 sq. meters (2 1/2 acres). This example is masonry and stucco. If re-created with some teak, it may be stained in this tone of grey or even much darker to be stunning. The undulating roofl ine can be fi nished in a slate reproduction tile, or one could choose a standing-seam metal roof. The metal roof would be desirable in hunter green or copper.

This home is approximately 10,000 sq. ft. and designed for an estate farm lot of 2 1/2 acres in Naturewalk 2 Estancia Montana. With 7 bedrooms & 7 baths, and can also be built in either Naturewalk 1 on an estate lot or two individual lots. This size home in either location on 2 1/2 acres would be a cost of $1,000,000 de-pending on the lot may include the land.

This design can also be reproduced in a 4,500 sq. ft. model with 4 bedrooms at $495,000 plus the cost of the lot. And, it also could be scaled down to 2,400 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and a study for a cost of $295,000 to $315,000 plus the cost of the lot.

The Farm Home Design

The Farm Home Design

The ‘Infi nity’ design home could be built on two combined Mountain Crest lots, on an La Reserva estate lot, or in Naturewalk 2 Estancia Montana for those who prefer a more contemporary look. And it would be ideal for any of the larger lots in Naturewalk 3. This series of home designs will have a good amount of teak and glass vistas and a cost of $135 per sq ft. for under roof for medium grade.

These would also have plentiful decking for outdoor living and entertaining, averaging 450 sq. ft to 800 sq. ft. The construction timing for this home would be seven months.

The Infi nity Home Design

The Infi nity Home Design

The bungalow style home is priced 1 bedroom from $119,500 with 850 sq. ft. up to 2 and 2+ bedrooms for $225,000 with 1,400 sq. ft. Financing is available for up to 75% of the purchase price through Costa Rica banks. The styles to follow offer advantages for investors who may want to lease out the home when not on property. This leasing can be handled by the Naturewalk Hospitality team.

When leasing in mind, one could have the bungalow constructedwith a ‘lock out’ feature allows a two-bedroom bungalow and larger variations to be separated in peak rental seasons into two separate units. This is accom-plished if the 2nd bedroom also has a kitchenette within closeted area. This variations could also have a 2nd smaller pool that could also have a jacuzzi system.

The Bungalow Home Design

Two Bedroom Bungalow

Two Story Bungalow ideal for Sloped Lots

The jungle home is ideal for many areas within Naturewalk, and specifi cally for Naturewalk 3 with its rivers, and steep peaks surrounding the rivers. There are specifi c lots in Summit Ridge that have jungle views, and also larger lots to be launched later alongside the Naturewalk River and the Tulin River that would be ideal settings for this home and various sizes of this home.

It is 2,100 sq. ft as shown below with two stories. The deck are to made of wood and can vary in the openness of their design. This home offers living areas that can completely be open to nature, or can have sliding win-dowed walls that close in various times.

The Jungle Home

The Jungle Home

The pricing for PRG to build a home would be $100 sq. ft for value grade, $125 sq. ft for medium grade, and $160 sq ft. for high grade when considering the ‘under roof’ construction costs. Decking is usually chosen at medium grade of $60 sq. ft. and pool at medium grade of $35 sq. ft.

Homes in Costa Rica would have plentiful decking for outdoor living and entertaining. These homes could be built with signifi cant teak, or variations could be a combination of teak and masonry for a more colonial style of tropical home. Others may desire to use the cut stones at the foundation and as accents with masonry up the sides and some wood trim. Cut stone is prevalent in Costa Rica and makes ideal accents for exterior and interior design.

A client may like a particular home already designed by the PRG architectural team, but the client’s budget is less than that home’s design. No problem, PRG’s team can take a home and size down with some material variations and fi t a client’s budget. Other clients may like particular aspects of one home interior, and perhaps prefer exterior materials shown on another home which can be combined for their custom home.

Some clients may need to start with a smaller home and later add to that home which can easily be accom-plished with architectural planning in the beginning. More than one building can be on an adequate lot, if the buildings are joined by a covered walkway. There could be main home and a pool house, or guest house, for example. Or two friends may want to build joined home with separate entrances on each side.

Pricing for PRG Home Building

Contact for Naturewalk James Cahill - Costa Rica Invest International Sales & Marketing for Naturewalk [email protected]

Wicklow, Ireland +353 1 272 4184

Naturewalk life in balance