Luxury Tulum Condo Project Under Legal Fire

Environmental activists have successfully drawn attention to a luxury beachfront condominium development in Tulum, which was previously penalised for violating environmental and land use permits during construction. The civil organization, "Defending the Right to a Healthy Environment," secured a provisional court order requiring federal, state, and municipal authorities to scrutinize the legality of the "Maiim Condominiums" development.

The court order mandates a review of the development's environmental compliance and the validity of its permits and construction licenses. The aim is to prevent further harm to the natural environment along the Caribbean Sea coastline. The court also approved a preventive annotation for 31 of the properties, listed in the public registry office of Solidaridad municipality, to warn potential buyers of ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit called for a halt to construction and a cessation of property sales until it could be confirmed that construction debris would not interfere with local turtle nesting. However, this request was not granted.

The Maiim Condominiums project includes 38 apartments spread across two buildings on 600 square meter plots. Amenities include a swimming pool, restaurant, lobby, gym, children's club, and art area, covering a combined area of over 900 square meters. The properties being advertised for sale online include eight studio apartments, eight one-bedroom units, eight two-bedroom units, and 14 three-bedroom units.

The development is reportedly nearing completion on a 3,144.28 square meter parcel of land adjacent to the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone. The developers have acknowledged that they are in the process of obtaining an Environmental Impact Statement, in line with an administrative resolution issued on November 27, 2023.

The case is part of a penalty procedure issued by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) in Quintana Roo, which stipulates that the properties must be evaluated before they can be operational. The company responsible for the environmental procedure, Incentives Promoter Mexico, S.A. de C.V., is suspected by the civil organization of operating outside the law.

As part of the legal proceedings, the development is under scrutiny by Profepa, the Secretariat of Sustainable Urban Territorial Development (Sedatus) of Quintana Roo, and the municipality of Tulum. The lawsuit accuses the authorities of failing to carry out their supervisory, investigative, and regulatory compliance duties in ecological and urban development matters. The federal agency is required to comply with Article 162 of the General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection.